# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - January 2026 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga, books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [December 29, 2025, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156 "2025-12-29T23:34:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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 16, 2026, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/41 "2026-01-16T20:56:36Z")
At just past 300 pages, I’m giving up on The Once and Future Queen. I was hoping it would be a time travel book, or a historical novel, or a fantasy, but more than anything else it’s a romance. Also, there’s none of the detail needed to give it a sense of place: it’s happening at Camelot, but it could be at summer camp or something. Too bad, they put a lot of care into the aesthetics of this book. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/42 "2026-01-18T03:19:56Z")
Finished _Act of Oblivion_, by Robert Harris. The title refers to England’s Indemnity and Oblivion Act of 1660 following the restoration of the monarchy. It was a general pardon for everyone who had committed crimes during the English Civil War and subsequent Commonwealth period, with the exception of certain crimes such as murder (without a license granted by King or Parliament), piracy, buggery, rape and witchcraft. It also excluded all those deemed responsible for the execution of King Charles I in 1649 – the trial judges, prosecutors and signers of the king’s death warrant. Two of the signers – Colonel Edward Whalley and his son-in-law, Colonel William Goffe – manage to escape from England and flee to the New World, where the close-knit Puritan community renders assistance. But Privy Council Clerk Richard Nayler is in hot pursuit. Very good. Recommended. Next up is another Harris, his latest: _Precipice_. ---
**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 18, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/43 "2026-01-18T18:14:33Z")
Finished _The Passenger: How a Travel Writer Learned to Love Cruises & Other Lies from a Sinking Ship_, by Chaney Kwak. It’s excellent, and I strongly recommend it unless you’re planning to take a cruise anytime soon. Also finished _Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early Photography and How It Transformed Art, Science, and History_, by Anika Burgess, which is interesting. Next up: _How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories_, by Holly Black; and _Stormy_, by Jim Kjelgaard. ---
**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 18, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/44 "2026-01-18T21:19:50Z")
I finished _Sea of Tranquility_ by Emily St John Mandel and this lands as a solid Meh. It’s not a bad book, the characters, for the most part, are decently well drawn, the pacing ambles along at a steady pace, the plot is twisty but not confusing, but it just never once creates any anticipation or feeling of… really any sort at all. Just “yep that happened.” ---
**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 20, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/45 "2026-01-20T14:05:48Z")
Something I realized while listening to the audiobook version of _A Connecticut Yankee on King Arthur’s Court_ is that it contains an early example of MST3K’ing. I have to back up here a bit and explain. If you’re a big science fiction fan, especially one who goes to conventions, you’ll be familiar with _The Eye of Argon_, a Conan the Barbarian-esque pastiche written by one Jim Theis and published ina fanzine circa 1970. The piece has achieved notoriety as an especially bad piece of writing that’s not entirely deserved – Jim could come up with interesting scenes, a plot, and had a sense of pacing. But his choice of words and phrasing left much to be desired. Also whoever typeset his work added errors of their own. I’m not sure who gets the blame for poor spelling and inconsistencies. But reading “The Eye of Argon” without breaking up in laughter has become a challenge. Twenty five years afterwards one Adam Cadre gave the story the MST3K treatment, interspersing comments from Mike Nelson and the bots between snippets from the story, “riffing” it in the style of the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000. It’s pretty good, and includes short interludes that capture the spirit of the show quite well. If you haven’t got a roomful of SF convention-goers handy, this is a great way to get a laugh. Other people through the years have tried “MST3K’ing” other works, but I find most of these efforts unsatisfying. (You can find it here: [The Eye of Argon](https://thedailyfic.neocities.org/posts/argon) ) But, listening to the audiobook of _Connecticut Yankee_, I realized that Mark Twain had done the same thing long before Adam Cadre or even MST3K ever existed. Twain frequently quotes long excerpts from Thomas Mallory’s _le Morte d/Arthur_, which was his source for the King Arthur legends (also .H. White’s inspiration, and, by extension, the source for Disney’s _The Sword in the Stone_ and the musical _Camelot_). Mallory is, to the modern ear, long-winded, archaic, and boring. Also, as Twain points out, the actions of the characters is frequently illogical or absurd. His book is a very long critique of this seminal text. But when his hero, Hank Morgan (the titular Yankee) is riding on his imposed Quest in the company of Demoiselle Alisande la Corteloise (whom he sensibly calls “Sandy”) she recites long portions of this work, apparently from memory. Morgan then comments on them in his 19th century American slang and with his modern view of the thing. Then we revert to Sandy’s tale, then back to Hank’s riffing on it. It’s exactly like what Cadre did to The Eye of Argon. But it doesn’t last all that long. Fortunately, probably, because the quotations from Mallory are the most boring stretches in the book. ---
**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 20, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/46 "2026-01-20T15:33:47Z")
Currently reading [Collected Short Stories: volume 1](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/150549.Collected_Short_Stories) by W. Somerset Maugham. Pleasant writing, and of course lots of sexism and racism, as you would expect. ---
**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 20, 2026, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/47 "2026-01-20T15:41:50Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I finished _Sea of Tranquility_ by Emily St John Mandel and this lands as a solid Meh. Definitely my feeling. The writing is lovely, but the POV character who was an author who hated doing a book tour after writing a book about a pandemic apocalypse–that felt really self-indulgent and unnecessary. The central plot depended on a twist that occurs in just about every novel in the subgenre, and it came across like a magician who pulls a coin from behind your ear and says, “Oooh! Ahhh! Alakazam! Magic!!!” And the most interesting bit of philosophical questioning in the book was resolved by the characters saying, “Huh, oh well.” ---
**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 20, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/48 "2026-01-20T21:52:28Z")
Finished _How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories_, by Holly Black. There were three versions of one story in the book, and there were very good. The frame story? Not so much. Also finished _Stormy_, by Jim Kjelgaard. It’s one of his dog books, and I enjoyed it. Wish I’d gotten to read it as a kid, when I would have liked it even more. Next up: _Into Unknown Skies: An Unlikely Team, A Daring Race, and the First Flight Around the World_, by David K. Randall; and _Janissaries_, by Jerry Pournelle. ---
**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 20, 2026, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/49 "2026-01-20T21:54:46Z")
I would totally agree. I thought Edwin was the most interesting character and his story the most readable. Gaspery-Jaques was just plain obnoxious, some of that due to the awful read in audio. ---
**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 21, 2026, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/50 "2026-01-21T10:39:18Z")
Two new books: [The Incandescent](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/15fbeb80-8621-4c3e-829b-abb28f6181c9), by Emily Tesh. The title references a poem by Ogden Nash about teenagers, so already you know it’s gonna be good. I kind of thought I was over the whole “teenagers go to a school for wizards in England” genre was played out, but this book manages to do something new: it tells the story from the perspective of a middle-aged teacher/administrator who’s both passionate about her job and clearheaded about adolescents. It’s lovely, and recommended. [Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/bcef7254-c9a4-48a8-8c0c-d6bc7f5cecd6), by VE Schwab. I didn’t care for this one nearly as much: it came across like lesbian _Interview with the Vampire_ fanfic. Nothing wrong with that, but I’ve read a million stories that follow sexy vampires through the centuries, and I didn’t really need a million-and-first. VE Schwab has lost her luster for me, I think. ---
**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 21, 2026, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/51 "2026-01-21T18:07:25Z")
I finished _The Princess Bride_ and it has solidly taken its place as one of my top ten favorite books of all time. What a beautiful adventure that was. I was surprised by how completely taken in I was because I liked the movie but I wasn’t exactly a superfan. The book gives it all so much more depth. I never wanted a character to win more than Inigo Montoya. So where’s _Buttercup’s Baby_? I got the first chapter, that’s it? ---
**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 23, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/52 "2026-01-23T18:51:32Z")
I’m giving up on the Maugham story collection, after reading more than half of it. The writing is lovely but the stories don’t excite me, and I’m not looking forward to picking it up again. I’m nearly always disappointed in books of short stories; they’re usually uneven and don’t take me out of reality in the way a longer work can. ---
**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 23, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/53 "2026-01-23T21:53:32Z")
I hate just getting interested in characters and then the story is over and I’m having to meet new people. ---
**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 23, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/54 "2026-01-23T21:56:45Z")
For those of us who have been here awhile: i just received notification that it was 13 years ago this month that our founder, Khadaji, passed away. Thank you , Khadaji, for giving us a place to absolutely geek out over books and I’d like to think he’d be pleased as anything that his little thread is still going strong. So raise a book to Khadaji today! ---
**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:** [January 23, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/55 "2026-01-23T22:19:58Z")
I wish I’d known him! Reading is my life. I usually go through 15 books a month. The biggest being 890 pages. ---
**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 23, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/56 "2026-01-23T23:15:30Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I hate just getting interested in characters and then the story is over and I’m having to meet new people. I enjoy reading short stories, but I hate writing them, so I sort of get it. I don’t like abandoning people I’ve just created. I’m reading _Decluttering at the Speed of Life_ by Dana K. White. I really like her approach. It’s pointed and practical. And her method avoids the “dump everything out and make a huge mess” problem. ---
**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 24, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/57 "2026-01-24T00:11:18Z")
Oh man. He was a good guy, I’ve often thought about him. He died alone in a sad and preventable manner. Get your flu shot, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/58 "2026-01-25T00:13:41Z")
Well I finally got around to reading a classic that has been on my list a long time, one many here have read decades ago: _Left Hand of Darkness._ Yes a great book. What I am struck by though is how it is simultaneously a book ahead of its time and a bit … dated? Not here even just referring to the pronouns choice. I was going to claim happiness at having reduced my ignorance some by having read it, probably not for the last time, but in the spirit of the book I don’t deign to have achieved such a lofty state … ---
**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:** [January 25, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/59 "2026-01-25T00:17:10Z")
Just started listening to _The Widow_ by John Grisham. I read the synopsis, and I believe I’ll enjoy another legal thriller by this bestselling author. ---
**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 25, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156/60 "2026-01-25T00:33:46Z")
I read an interview with her once where she talked about getting crap for using he/him through the whole book. So when she wrote “Winter’s King” (I believe that’s the right story, it’s in “The Wind’s Twelve Quarters”) Ms LeGuin used she/her. I don’t think they/them were on the radar at that time and it would have been too “dehumanizing” for her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2026-edition/1026156.md?page=4)