# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - February 2024 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [January 30, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849 "2024-01-30T00:45:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/21 "2024-02-06T14:58:44Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Back on track: Finished _Sal and Gabi Break the Universe_, by Carlos Hernandez, which was also an excellent read. SO FREAKING GOOD! I think I told my story here in December of having a Zoom call with Carlos Hernandez and my fifth graders, which was like the coolest thing ever. It’s my favorite kidlit of the past decade, at least, and rewards multiple readings. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2024, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/22 "2024-02-06T23:20:39Z")
Recently finished: _Voices of the Fall_, edited by John Ringo and Gary Poole Now reading: _The Valley of Shadows_, by John Ringo and Mike Massa Next up: _River of Night_, by John Ringo and Mike Massa All part of Ringo’s “Black Tide Rising” zombie apocalypse series. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/23 "2024-02-08T13:42:52Z")
Started today on a non-fiction book, [Raw Dog](https://www.amazon.com/Raw-Dog-Naked-Truth-About/dp/1250847745/ref=monarch_sidesheet): the naked truth about hot dogs, by Jamie Loftus. I will not be finishing it because it’s already overdue at the library, but it’s pretty amusing. Whoever else here read it recently, I picked it up because of you. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/24 "2024-02-08T18:32:01Z")
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe had been on my TBR list for a while, but when I read your story about the Zoom call, I moved it up. Thanks! Back on track: Finished _Frankenstein’s Brain: Puzzles and Conundrums in Mary Shelley’s Monstrous Masterpiece_, by John Sutherland, which was very interesting and occasionally quite humorous. Recommended for anyone who read _Frankenstein_. Now I’m reading _System Collapse_, by Martha Wells. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/25 "2024-02-09T02:08:36Z")
I finished listening to _Persuader_ by Lee Child. A decent Reacher novel, which I read primarily because it’s going to be the basis for Season 3 of the Reacher series on Amazon. Next up: _The Latecomer_ by Jean Hanff Korelitz, based on the review by @Ulf_the_Unwashed. Like Ulf, I thoroughly enjoyed _The Plot_ by this author, so I’m looking forward to this one. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/26 "2024-02-11T00:47:33Z")
Finished _System Collapse_, by Martha Wells, which I enjoyed. Next up: _Desert Wisdom: Sayings from the Desert Fathers_, translated by Yushi Nomura. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/27 "2024-02-11T13:54:08Z")
Just finished [The Ferryman](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/61282437), by Justin Cronin, whose apocalyptic vampire series _The Passage_ was pretty great. I had high hopes for this one, and boy was I ever disappointed. It starts off as a knockoff of _The Time Machine_: a utopian world supported by an almost invisible underclass, where you know shit’s gonna go real bad. But there are also hints of surreality, of “this is not what it seems,” of interesting mystical ideas. The book had so many cool places it could go. And it squandered all of them. The class issues were handled with zero subtlety or insight. The big reveal was something any SF reader has seen a million times. The villains didn’t actually twirl their moustaches, but only because the author forgot. The solution to the problem was nonsensical. And I found myself wondering whether the author knew any women. Not recommended. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/28 "2024-02-12T15:34:54Z")
Recently finished: _River of Night_, by John Ringo and Mike Massa I don’t normally read zombie apocalypse stories, but I really enjoyed this series. Now reading: _The Wages of Sin_ , by Harry Turtledove Next up: _The Ides of April_, first book in the Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/29 "2024-02-12T15:58:41Z")
Finished reading Stephanie Schorow’s **Cat Dreaming** , which is definitely worth it (my favorite line: “What were you thinking? You could have been hurt! You could have been killed! You could have been sued!”) Now on to finishing Dan Simmons’ **Ilium** , which I had to take a two-book break for. I’ve also picked up a stack of books at Boskone, and the first one I want to read is **The Road to Dune** by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson. It’s got a lot of background material to Herbert’s original book, along with a version of the _original_ story Brian and Kevin wrote from Herbert’s outline and notes. The book was published almost twenty years ago, but I missed it somehow. Also, I now have a working audio system for listening to audiobooks on my commute. Now i need to get the books. Until then, I’m re-listening to **Earth** by the Daily Show and read by Jon Stewart. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/30 "2024-02-12T16:04:07Z")
I started this morning on [The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years](https://www.amazon.com/Djinn-Waits-Hundred-Years-Novel-ebook/dp/B0C1Y8T6JP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+djinn+waits+a+hundred+years&qid=1707753543&sr=8-1). It looked so good but by the time I was a couple of chapters in, I felt that the style of the writing was more important to the author than telling the story, and it began to annoy me. It’s already overdue at the library anyhow. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/31 "2024-02-12T21:00:57Z")
Finished _Desert Wisdom: Sayings from the Desert Fathers_, translated by Yushi Nomura, which I enjoyed. The translator also illustrated the book and did a great job. Now I’m reading _But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes_, by Anita Loos. (It’s the sequel to _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_.) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/32 "2024-02-13T13:59:31Z")
Finally getting around to _Station Eleven,_ by Emily St. John Mandel. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/33 "2024-02-13T14:20:50Z")
Finished **Earth** on audio and **The Epic of Gilgamesh**. I picked up Stephen King’s **Fairy Tale** last night at the library. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/34 "2024-02-13T14:28:27Z")
I am currently almost completed with book 2 of the “Theodore Rex” trilogy of books about TR Roosevelt by Edmund Morris and I can say they are astoundingly engaging. Might be the best Presidential biographies I’ve read, it’s certainly up there with Chernow. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/35 "2024-02-13T19:25:04Z")
Just finishing it right now… ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/36 "2024-02-13T19:33:12Z")
Reading buddy! 😁 ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/37 "2024-02-13T20:20:19Z")
I finished _Station Eleven_ by Emily St. John Mandel. I won’t spoil it but I had some issues with the pacing and the characters. Overall, I liked the story and it had a better ending than _The Stand_ but King is definitely the better storyteller and I say this as a person who is not a fan of King. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/38 "2024-02-13T23:56:56Z")
Finished _But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes_, by Anita Loos, which I enjoyed. Now I’m reading _Venice Is a Fish_, by Tiziano Scarpa. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/39 "2024-02-14T18:09:29Z")
The Palace From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court Gareth Russell A history of Hampton Court Palace, home of the British monarchy starting with Henry VIII (he of the six wives) to the Georges, focusing the personal lives of the monarchs and the various courtiers who also lived there. And when I say personal lives, I mean sex lives, which were quite eventful. James I for example had at least one mistress and several male partners. It was good to be the king. Personal note, I visited the Palace (it’s now a tourist site) a few years ago and it is stunningly beautiful. Enjoyable book. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849/40 "2024-02-15T21:11:42Z")
Finished _Venice Is a Fish_, by Tiziano Scarpa, translated by Shaun Whiteside. This book, which is more or less a love letter to Venice, is wonderful–the best nonfiction I’ve read this year, and possibly the best book. Note: it’s not for everyone–there are some descriptions some people might find objectionable. Now I’m reading _The Shockwave Rider_ by John Brunner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2024-edition/996849.md?page=3)