# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - February 2026 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga, books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [January 31, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219 "2026-01-31T00:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/21 "2026-02-06T02:10:53Z")
The library has been getting new books in lately. Definitely thought I would check out Vagabond by Tim Curry. Its all about his career. He said his personal life is no one’s business. ---
**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 6, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/22 "2026-02-06T02:15:59Z")
Wonderful idea! There are several Kingfishers I haven’t read, but I don’t want to rush through. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/23 "2026-02-06T13:14:24Z")
Thanks for that. Vagabond is on my library list and now I know what to expect. I wanted to know about his thoughts on his various roles anyway so this might be exactly what I wanted. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/24 "2026-02-06T13:29:16Z")
You will love it. ---
**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, 2026, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/25 "2026-02-06T14:08:41Z")
I’ve been reading mysteries by Edward Marston (mostly the “Home Front” and “Railway Detective” series, though I’ve started “The Domesday Books”). Now I’m reading _Twelve Months_, the new Harry Dresden book. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/26 "2026-02-06T14:57:59Z")
Oh goody! 🙂 Now if I can only whoever has it now will turn it back in so I can snatch it off the shelf. I love Tim Curry and his versatile acting. Right now I’m slogging through _The Quincunx_ by Charles Palliser. It’s like if Dickens went ultra-dark and had no humor. I was thinking about tossing it aside because the narrator’s mother got on my last raw bleeding nerve, but she’s going to die soon so I’ll stick with it. It’s a slog because Palliser was writing a Victorian novel in 1989. As someone who reads a lot of Victorian novels I can attest that it’s fairly true to the form but he’s trying too hard. Jury’s still out on whether I agree with my mom’s long-ago thoughts about the book. (She read it when it first came out.) On the finished pile we have the latest Travis Baldree book, _Brigands and Breadknives_. This one’s a bit of a departure from the other two books he’s written because it’s not about a fantasy small business. In this one Fern, the bookshop owner from _Bookshops and Bonedust_, has a mid-life crisis and goes on an adventure with a legendary mercenary and a very odd goblin. It was great, and it shows you more of the world he’s created. I’m becoming a big fan of the rattikins. ---
**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 6, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/27 "2026-02-06T18:39:02Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > the latest Travis Baldree book, _Brigands and Breadknives_. I have that series on my list. I have_Bookshops and Bonedust_, I think that’s the 2nd or 3rd book in the series? ---
**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 6, 2026, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/28 "2026-02-06T18:40:56Z")
Oh it’s the prequel written after the first book, that explains my confusion. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/29 "2026-02-06T19:04:06Z")
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City - Jonathon Mahler The crazy year 1977 in New York City, which featured: - The Son of Sam serial killer - A bruising mayoral election between Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo (father of Andrew Cuomo) - A blackout accompanied by widespread looting - Arson-set fires in the Bronx - Chaos and conflict in the Yankees clubhouse between the new superstar Reggie Jeckson and embattled manager Billy Martin. They nevertheless went on to win the World Series Entertaining and enjoyable book ---
**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 8, 2026, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/30 "2026-02-08T00:25:04Z")
Finished _The Murder at World’s End_ by Ross Montgomery. I really enjoyed the book, it had red herrings galore, colorful characters and copious swearing but I felt it suffered a bit from being unable to decide if it was a serious Golden Age mystery or a 1920s farce. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/31 "2026-02-08T00:46:05Z")
Read the small book by Hilaria Baldwin called Manuel Not Included. Not bad. ---
**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 8, 2026, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/32 "2026-02-08T03:03:36Z")
I finished listening to The Widow by Grisham. Another good read by a good author. The protagonist is a small-town lawyer whose marriage is crumbling and he also has a drinking problem. When a rich widow wants him to draft a new will and needs somebody to administer her estate, he thinks his ship has come in. But when she dies under mysterious circumstances, he is suddenly a suspect in a homicide. The only thing I didn’t like about it was how the plot got wrapped up very neatly and quickly, like the book was long enough and it was time to send it to the publisher. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/33 "2026-02-08T03:34:29Z")
Started reading _Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead_ by K.J. Parker, as always with this author a good read. ---
**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 10, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/34 "2026-02-10T23:55:08Z")
Finished _Jazz_, by Toni Morrison, which was brilliant; and _The Journey with Jonah_, a play by Madeleine L’Engle, which was okay. Also finished, but forgot to post before I read them, _One Writer’s Beginnings_, by Eudora Welty, which I enjoyed and then enjoyed even more when I discovered that the book was autographed by the author. (I’m guessing the owner of the used bookstore didn’t realize it was autographed or would’ve charged more than $3.50), and _Old Nathan_, by David Drake. It’s a collection of short stories, of which the best was “The Bull”. Next up: _The Roma: A Traveling History_, by Madeline Potter, and T_he Case of the Marble Monster and Other Stories_, retold by I. G. Edmonds. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/35 "2026-02-11T00:15:45Z")
Finished _Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead_ which I ended up not liking very much, a disappointment. Started a non-fiction book _The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt From Alexander the Great to Cleopatra_, by Toby Wilkinson which is not quite capturing my attention and a fiction book _Space Trucker Jess_ by Matthew Kressel which started very well but took an unexpected turn into the psychedelic and is risking a DNF if it doesn’t get back to normal in 10 pages or so. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/36 "2026-02-11T05:28:05Z")
My new audiobook is _Act of Oblivion_ by Robert Harris, a historical novel about the manhunt for two of those who took part in the execution of King Charles I of England, after Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan republic ends and Charles II takes the throne. The book’s OK but not great so far. ---
**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, 2026, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/37 "2026-02-11T11:03:06Z")
Finished _Great Expectations_ last night–and it’s excellent. Pip, the main character, is a literary archetype called a “massive douchebag” for the middle half of the book, but that’s deliberate on Dickens’s part: it justifies a redemption arc. I’m not, ultimately, sure that I buy the arc, that Pip is truly redeemed by the end. That’s a testament to the complexity of the writing and characterization. There were a couple of sentimental outs that I worried Dickens was going to take, to wrap the story up in a bow. He avoided them in favor of a much more bittersweet ending, with a beautifully ambiguous last line. Okay. Back to science fiction! ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/38 "2026-02-11T12:36:35Z")
Abandoned _Space Trucker Jess_ for now ( too much mind expanding with drugs, too little Space Trucking) may return to it later. Proceeded with _The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt From Alexander the Great to Cleopatra_, which while not riveting (too much socioeconomics, too little shield smashing) is interesting. ---
**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 11, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/39 "2026-02-11T13:11:39Z")
Currently reading [A Box Full of Darkness](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231681636-a-box-full-of-darkness), by Simone St. James. A ghost story. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219/40 "2026-02-11T13:27:49Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > I’ve been reading mysteries by Edward Marston (mostly the “Home Front” and “Railway Detective” series, though I’ve started “The Domesday Books”). Now I’m reading _Twelve Months_, the new Harry Dresden book. I’m a big fan of Edward Marston’s ocean liner detective series. I’ve been meaning to get onto the railway detective stuff soon so appreciate it being brought back on my radar. … The first book I started and completed in 2026 is A Cold Wind From Moscow. It’s the next installment in the historical spy thriller series by Rory Clements that now follows the end of the Second World War. The series begins in the 1930s leading up to the war and I’m glad he carried on with it into the Cold War era. He’s got a new one out just now that I should get a copy of soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2026-edition/1027219.md?page=3)