# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - January 2024 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [December 31, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416 "2023-12-31T19:32:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [January 10, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/61 "2024-01-10T22:14:34Z")
I really enjoyed the book _Station Eleven_, so much so that I’m now reading my way through all of Emily St. John Mandel’s novels - but haven’t seen the miniseries yet. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/62 "2024-01-10T22:28:57Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > My only complaint is the damned tiny print thast doesn’t need to be that small. Kindles are good for that… 😁 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/63 "2024-01-11T14:42:28Z")
I saw a woman reading her kindle on the beach and I noticed the pages flashing very quickly. I thought she was a speed reader until I noticed the print was **HUGE**. She was just reading one sentence per page or so. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/64 "2024-01-11T17:04:39Z")
Finished _The Order of Odd Fish_ by James Kennedy. Wow. Normally it’s easy for me to “grade” a book, but this one’s simultaneously awesome and terrible, often on the same page or even paragraph. The author stuffs it with brilliant ideas, but often far too much, and some of it hasn’t aged well at all. It’s a mix of fantasy and horror, with a lot of violence. Now I’m reading _Station Eternity_, by Mur Lafferty. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/65 "2024-01-11T20:00:38Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I saw a woman reading her kindle on the beach and I noticed the pages flashing very quickly. I thought she was a speed reader until I noticed the print was **HUGE**. She was just reading one sentence per page or so. Now that I’m over 50 I’ve had to find a balance between larger print and what feels like having to press the “next page” button too often (I have an Oasis; I _vastly_ prefer having physical buttons). I hold my Kindle such that all I have to do is barely move my thumb to press the button, but I’ll notice/it’ll annoy me if I feel like I’m having to press it frequently. I couldn’t imagine having the print set as large as that woman on the beach! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/66 "2024-01-11T21:11:17Z")
Hey, if that was the only way I could read… I bet audiobooks are also a godsend for some people. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/67 "2024-01-11T22:37:07Z")
**Operation Vengeance: The Astonishing Aerial Ambush That Changed World War II** Dan Hampton In 1943, it was learned through codebreakers that Japan’s Admiral Yamamoto would be near the front lines, and a group of U.S. fighter pilots set off to shoot down his plane. Pretty good, book although only the final third of it describes the mission. Most of the rest is a recounting of the battle of Guadancanal, where the pilots took off from. Recommended ---
**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:** [January 12, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/68 "2024-01-12T18:00:37Z")
Interesting, thanks. That mission even came up on _The West Wing_: [We Killed Yamamoto | West Wing Wiki | Fandom](https://westwing.fandom.com/wiki/We_Killed_Yamamoto) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/69 "2024-01-14T16:40:43Z")
I finished **The Road** by Cormac McCarthy. I recommend this book for: 1. Masochists 2. Post-apoc completionists 3. People who are really into dark, cold environments. I have a lot of criticisms of this work precisely because I expected so much from it. I have nothing against dark themes in books. I write dark, I read stuff like _Lord of the Flies,_ there’s nothing wrong with dark. But when you create a world so devoid of hope, and hammer that point in again and again and again through mostly boring landscapes and occasional disturbing imagery, the book becomes not only repetitive but unbelievable. It lacked dynamism, character development, a fundamental logic, and the boy behaved in ways I found implausible. The prose is good, and at times beautiful. Thematically, there’s something worth exploring, which is why I kept reading - the lengths you would go to protect your child, even if protecting them meant killing them to prevent a fate worse than death. Good theme. Not pleased with the execution. 2/5 stars. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/70 "2024-01-14T17:02:48Z")
I started _Radium GIrls: The Dark Srory of America’s Shining Women_ by Kate Moore. Knowing a bit of the story already, I am certain that tears will be had before the end of the book. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2024, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/71 "2024-01-14T17:54:47Z")
_Behind the Bastards_ did a podcast on this. He quotes from that book. Recommended listening. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/72 "2024-01-14T18:05:23Z")
Started today on The Ascent, by Adam Plantinga, despite a feeling that it might be a bit much for me. Then on page 28, the dog died. “And for that reason I’m out.” ---
**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:** [January 15, 2024, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/73 "2024-01-15T02:16:25Z")
I’ll get to it eventually. _Behind the Bastards_ is my go to listening for yard work in the spring and autumn. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/74 "2024-01-15T14:55:56Z")
Finished _Station Eternity_, by Mur Lafferty. Although I was spoilered for this book, I still thought it was excellent, mostly for the plot, worldbuilding, and characterization. Now I’m reading _Chaos Terminal_, Lafferty’s second book in this series–The Midsolar Murders. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/75 "2024-01-15T16:35:29Z")
Started _Paladin’s Strength_ by T. Kingfisher. The second book in a fantasy romance series I’ve been reading. So far, so good. I like the woman protagonist, she’s pretty hardcore – especially for a nun. Though I have known some badass nuns in my day. I need to select another book and I’m on the fence. I have _Curse of Chalion_ by Lois McMaster Bujold, but I kinda feel like I should wrap up _The Vorkosigan Saga_ first. (I am about halfway through _Cryoburn_ but I left it for years.) Someone else gave me Patrick Stewart’s autobiography. I have a friend with incredible speed reading abilities, she reads at least four times faster than me. I envy her so. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2024, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/76 "2024-01-15T23:46:10Z")
Started today on Good Girls Don’t Die, by Christina Henry. Premise: what if you found yourself to be a character in your favorite genre of fiction? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/77 "2024-01-16T13:48:06Z")
I’ve just started _I Am Pilgrim_ by Terry Hayes. The writer has had an interesting career. An Englishman who emigrated to Australia as a child, he began his career in the 70s as a journalist and radio-show host. He then transitioned to screen writing (_The Road Warrior_, _Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome_, _Dead Calm_ and the TV mini-series _Bangkok HIlton_.) His last screenwriting credit was in 2001 for _From Hell._ Then, at age 62, he puts out his first novel, the aforementioned _I Am Pilgrim_. The book makes a splash and fans eagerly awaited the follow-up, _Year of the Locust_. Originally slated to be released in 2016 (and a few copies were circulated then) the novel finally had its official release in 2023. That’s George R.R. Martin-level maddening. MGM bought the movie rights for _I Am Pilgrim_ in 2014 and it has languished in Hollywood hell for the past ten years, with different directors attached. It’s supposedly in ‘pre-production’ but nobody is holding their breath. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/78 "2024-01-16T20:56:56Z")
I’ve finished Isaac Marion’s _The Burning World_, a sequel to his dark comedy/zombie romance _Warm Bodies_. R. and his girlfriend Juliet make their blood-spattered way to New York City as they confront the creepy minions of an evil corporation. Some very farfetched moments, even given the genre, and it just wasn’t as good as the first book. Also finished _USS Lexington CV-2_ by Steve Wiper, part of the Warship Pictorial series. Some great rare photos of the WWII aircraft carrier, but a lot of historic info left out of the text, which was also poorly edited. Started _Dream Town_ by Laura Meckler, nonfiction about the very nice Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights. Despite its conscious and largely successful efforts to remain integrated since the Sixties, and widespread community support for its excellent schools, there’s an enduring achievement gap between white and black students. Meckler tries to figure out why. Also listening to an audiobook of _Space Cadet_, a 1948 novel by Robert Heinlein, one of my early sf favorites, about an academy for the Solar System’s peacekeepers. Good stuff, although the absence of women students and faculty is glaring. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/79 "2024-01-16T22:14:09Z")
That’s the problem with older sci-fi. I can rarely find myself in it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416/80 "2024-01-17T02:04:21Z")
I got 50-100 pages into a couple of books and then put them down again. I tried the Thursday Murder Club series, in particular, went into it with high hopes, but it feels like it’s intended to be character-driven and the characters just are not clearly drawn. Or at least they’re not clearly drawn, _yet_, in _this_ book, but I ain’t waiting around to find out. I did better with Angeline Boulley’s _Warrior Girl Unearthed,_ which someone–I think @Chronos?–may have recommended here. A spunky and somewhat slackerish Ojibway teenager gets involved in the movement to repatriate Native American bones and funerary objects. There is much intrigue, and a murder, and some pretty unpleasant people. It does have a tendency to move into Aboriginal Nancy Drew territory from time to time (I think the author might agree), and like many YA books the main character sometimes seems too old and wise for her years and sometimes comes across as way less capable and sensible than you’d think (of course this is true of YA people in general, and a whole lot of people who are no longer YA). But on the whole it’s well-written, the characters are interesting (and well-drawn!), and the plot intriguing enough to keep me going. Plus which I learned a lot about the repatriation process or lack thereof. Overall, both thumbs up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2024-edition/995416.md?page=5)