# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - January 2025 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [December 30, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343 "2024-12-30T14:02:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/21 "2025-01-04T14:08:42Z")
One book I’m in right now is _The First Patient_ by Michael Palmer, M.D. (Palmer was a doctor in the Boston area before he became a writer, and he wrote quite a few medical/hospital thrillers, 5 of which I’ve read and enjoyed [first one I read was _Flashback_ from 1988, which I got at a thrift store in Alabama when I was staying with my sister]). Since then, I’ve read four more, and have been truly enjoying that genre. ---
**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:** [January 5, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/22 "2025-01-05T02:06:30Z")
_1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created_, by Charles C Mann – sequel, more or less, to his earlier book, _1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus_ _Agent Zo: The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter_, by Clare Mulley – biography of [Elżbieta Zawacka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El%C5%BCbieta_Zawacka), the second female brigadier general in the Polish army. ---
**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 5, 2025, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/23 "2025-01-05T14:50:18Z")
Finished _The Human Comedy_, by William Saroyan, which I enjoyed. I was struck by a couple of parallels between this book, a 1943 bestseller, and The Catcher in the Rye, which (according to Wikipedia) was partially serialized in 1945-46 and published as a novel in 1951. Saroyan’s protagonist is named Homer Macauley, while Salinger’s is named Holden Caulfield. Saroyan’s protagonist says, “…I’m going to go to work and do something for the kids everywhere. All kinds of kids having all kinds of trouble…” Caulfield says, “Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff…” I think, consciously or not, Salinger was influenced by Saroyan’s book. I googled, but didn’t find any mention of this online. The characters are otherwise very different. Next up: _Beijing’s Imperial Palace: The Illustrated Guide to the Architecture, History, and Splendor of the Forbidden City_, by Yang Zhigang, and _A Rover’s Story_, by Jasmine Warga. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2025, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/24 "2025-01-06T12:17:02Z")
I’m just about finished with the Harry Harrison and David Harris conclusion to the Bill the Galactic Hero saga. It’s hit-or-miss humor, and basically just a bit of fluff, but **Bill the Galactic Hero : The Final Incoherent Adventure** is worth it, if only for this brief bit. Bill has been injured, and is lying in a hospital bed.: > [@](#): > > Dr. Presume took a small salt shaker out of his pocket. He made a soft whirring noise while he ran the salt shaker up and down, just above Bill’s legs. Where the electrodes were attached, he sprinkled a few grains of salt. > Bill watched him intently. “What does that do?” he asked. > “Absolutely nothing,” the doctor said. “But it makes some patients feel as though something is happening while I look at them. I got it from an old holovision series.” After this it’s back to Adrienne Mayor’s **Amazons** , or maybe a side trip to Kevin J. Anderson’s anthology **War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches** On audio I’m almost finished with Terry Pratchett’s **The Hogfather**. I picked up a collection of used audiobooks at a salvage store, and I’ll get into one of those. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2025, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/25 "2025-01-06T20:27:54Z")
I think I’ve read four books since I last posted: [Navola](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199927764-navola), by Paolo Bacigalupi. A low fantasy set in a Venice-like Renaissance city full of warring families and economic shenanigans. Very bloody, very grim; someone described large sections of it as torture porn, which I think is overboard, but it’s not always fun reading. But it’s beautifully written, with a main character alternatingly infuriating and pathetic and deeply relatable, and that complexity makes me respect the book, even if I’m not sure I’m up for the inevitable sequel. [We are Legion (the Bobiverse)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32109569-we-are-legion-we-are-bob), by Dennis Taylor. This was for a book club. It’s a story about a guy who dies, has his head cryogenically frozen, and is woken up as the AI in charge of von Neumann Probes–reproducible spacecraft designed to explore the stars. It’s pleasant enough popcorn, as long as you can turn your brain off enough not to notice the plot holes and flat characters and blithe sexism and general Barry-Sue-ness of the protagonist and the protagonist’s incessant Simpsons and other pop culture jokes. I was unable to turn my brain off enough, and consequently spent much of the book being irritated. [The Dissonance](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200555190-the-dissonance), by Shaun Hamill. Owing a huge debt to _It_, this book features a bunch of adults traumatized by the supernatural happenings of their teen years returning to their hometown to confront the evil once and for all, along with some gratuitously graphic teen sex. A bit flat in terms of characterization, but a decent romp of a horror fantasy. [City in Glass](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209439468-the-city-in-glass), by Nghi Vo. Hot damn, _this_ is a novel! A demon watches her pet city destroyed by righteous angels, and spends the rest of the book reckoning with its loss, and with the angel who’s cursed to wonder about his actions. Nghi Vo is a phenomenal author, and if you haven’t read her yet, you’re in for a treat! Earlier this year I read _Witch King_, another book with a demon protagonist who confronts angelic beings who are way more sinister than the demons–but _City in Glass_ does everything right that _Witch King_ did wrong. This book is beautiful, elegant, and weird in all the right ways. I dunno if it’ll be on my best-of-2025 list, but it seems likely. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/26 "2025-01-06T20:39:51Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Tonight I finished John Scalzi’s _Starter Villain_, a crime comedy with a sf gloss, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of twists and turns, memorable moments and funny lines, with a very, _very_ satisfying conclusion. I also finished this last week or so, and while I found it mildly amusing overall, I disagree about the ending. It was much too _deus ex machina_ for me, and I found it disappointing. Overall, I’m not sad I read it or anything, but it landed with a wet plop for me. I’ve just started [Reykjavik: A Crime Story](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65214641-reykjav-k) by Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir. Too soon for any judgment. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/27 "2025-01-07T02:29:16Z")
I’m not a voracious reader but definitely read more in the winter than the rest of the year. In the past couple of weeks I’ve reread a couple of childhood favourites; _Bunnicula_ and the sequel _Howliday Inn_. Both were entertaining and lived up to my expectations, particular the first of the two. Still a favourite. I just finished reading _The Fragile Threads of Power_ by VE Schwab. I pretty much love everything this author writes, and this one is no exception. It’s the first of a sequel trilogy to The Shades of Magic trilogy and I can’t wait for the next installments! Not sure what I’ll read next, likely something light. I often pick up whatever my 10 year old has finished reading…there’s an Investi-gators graphic novel I haven’t read yet, should be good for an evening. ---
**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 7, 2025, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/28 "2025-01-07T13:47:55Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I often pick up whatever my 10 year old has finished reading I think that’s wonderful. And then you guys talk about it, right? 😍 ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/29 "2025-01-07T15:15:02Z")
**The Sunday Philosophy Club** Alexander McCall Smith A mystery set in Edinburgh. A man mysteriously falls to his death from the upper balcony of an auditorium. Just an accident or something more sinister? A book editor who witnesses the tragedy decides to find the answer. Interspersed with the mystery is a slice-of-life look at middle class Scotland through the main character’s friends and relations. Enjoyable book ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/30 "2025-01-07T18:02:26Z")
Yes, of course! He likes to tell me his favourite parts, or show certain details in illustrations. He reads quite a lot, and while a lot of it is still silly, there are some pretty good stories. At least enough to pass the time between me reading more serious books. I love to read, but a lot of my job is reading technical reports and so I don’t always feel like getting into heavier stories. I love hanging out with my son, he’s an awesome person. ---
**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 8, 2025, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/31 "2025-01-08T02:07:24Z")
Finished _Beijing’s Imperial Palace: The Illustrated Guide to the Architecture, History, and Splendor of the Forbidden City_, by Yang Zhigang. It had some excellent photos and interesting information, but it was greatly in need of an editor, due to numerous typos and grammatical errors. Also finished _A Rover’s Story_, by Jasmine Warga. It’s a book intended for young readers (8-12) about a fictional Mars rover which is (unknown to the engineers) sentient. The book is very enjoyable and I’d recommend it to young readers interested in science–the author did her homework. Still reading _The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes_, edited by Gyles Brandreth. Next up: _Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion_, by Nancy MacDonnell, and _The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito_, by Erle Stanley Gardner. ---
**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 8, 2025, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/32 "2025-01-08T15:12:17Z")
Finished The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Sixteen. This was a pretty good one in the series, having only a couple of duds in the nineteen stories contained therein. One was Dodger, by Carly Holmes. This was one of those stories where things are just weird, and then at the end you say huh? Plus this one had some child abuse. I felt worse for reading it. The other dud was Lover’s Lane, by Stephen Graham Jones. It was so long and boring I began to skim, then just skipped ahead. ---
**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 9, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/33 "2025-01-09T14:30:12Z")
Started today on [Trainspotting](https://www.amazon.com/Trainspotting-Irvine-Welsh/dp/0393314804), by Irvine Welsh, a novel about Scottish heroin addicts. I have some vague recollection of having seen the movie long ago, but the real delight of this book is the dialect it’s written in. It’s slow going, and disgusting of course, but I’m very pleased with it. ---
**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 9, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/34 "2025-01-09T18:54:01Z")
I remember when the movie came out, some critic suggested it should have been released in the US with subtitles, so impenetrable were the characters’ accents. ---
**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 12, 2025, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/35 "2025-01-12T12:34:45Z")
Finished _Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion_, by Nancy MacDonnell, which was interesting, but would have benefited from illustrations and/or photographs of the garments described. Also finished _The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito_, by Erle Stanley Gardner, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Still reading _The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes_, edited by Gyles Brandreth. Next up: _We the Scientists: How a Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged a New Path for Medicine_, by Amy Dockser Marcus; and _What Does It Feel Like?_, a novella by Sophie Kinsella. ---
**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 12, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/36 "2025-01-12T20:46:57Z")
I finished _The Doomsday Book_ by Connie Willis a few days ago. By and large, I enjoyed but Lordy, she needs an editor: so MANY scenes of people walking from one place to another and then standing around talking on the phone. Why does she have freaking time travel but everyone is still using landlines? ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/37 "2025-01-13T14:03:07Z")
I am also reading (am more than halfway through) Arthur Hailey’s first book, a medical novel from 1959 called _The Final Diagnosis_; after I finish this one, I’m planning to read more of his work, like _In High Places_ from 1962, _Airport_ from 1968, _The Moneychangers_ from 1975, and _Overload_ from 1979. ---
**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 13, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/38 "2025-01-13T19:32:11Z")
Finished _We the Scientists: How a Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged a New Path for Medicine_, by Amy Dockser Marcus which was interesting and well-written. Also finished _What Does It Feel Like?_, a novella by Sophie Kinsella, which was okay. The latter is a fictionalized memoir by the author about her own battle with brain cancer. Next up: _One Day We Had to Run!: Refugee Children Tell Their Stories in Words and Paintings_, edited by Sybella Wilkes; and _Hench_, by Natalie Zina Walschots. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/39 "2025-01-13T19:46:44Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Now, if any of you have any recommendations of books on US history, US politics I’m not a big fan of history books, but I do like books on politics, which often contain history in them and show how history contributed to the modern state of affairs. I have a Goodreads bookshelf labeled “Political or Political Undertones” with 50 books on it. Here are some of my recommendations from that shelf: - _Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis_ by Robert D. Putnam looks at why fewer Americans today have the opportunity for upward mobility than they did forty years ago. - _Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs_ by Johann Hari is pretty self-explanatory. - _The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness_ by Michelle Alexander looks at how racial tension in the US between whites and blacks has evolved over time. - _Sporting Gender: The History, Science, and Stories of Transgender and Intersex Athletes_ by Joanna Harper isn’t specific to the U.S., but does provide the history of a social issue that’s pretty prominent in today’s political climate. - _Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right_ by Arlie Russell Hochschild addresses the perspective of working class white Republicans in modern day America. - _The Tyranny of Merit_ by Michael J. Sandel takes a look at shifting prejudices and feelings of superiority in the U.S., and the disdain that many highly educated politicians have towards working class Americans. - _Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics_ by Tim Marshall is obviously about global politics, rather than just U.S. politics. But I decided to include it because it is one of the best books on politics I have read. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2025, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343/40 "2025-01-15T00:59:54Z")
Because it was written in 1992? While cell phones technically existed, very few authors (or tv shows) predicted the smart phone. Digital cordless phones apparently weren’t commercially available until 1994. That said, I also really enjoyed_The Doomsday Book_ despite feeling that it suffered due to the technology level. I loved _To Say Nothing of the Dog_ even more, as it doesn’t have much “modern day” content and it’s more light hearted. I’ve never read the last one in the series. I should see about getting it from the library. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2025-edition/1012343.md?page=3)