# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - July 2023 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [June 30, 2023, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381 "2023-06-30T23:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 4, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/21 "2023-07-04T17:24:19Z")
Hmm. I’m past my fair-chance 50 pages myself, but think I’ll give it up. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/22 "2023-07-04T21:42:40Z")
I read [Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead](https://www.amazon.com/Everyone-This-Room-Will-Someday/dp/B08N1LDDC7/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=someday+everyone+in+this+room+will+be+dead&qid=1688506469&sprefix=someday+every%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-1), based on a friend’s recommendation that it was similar to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. I can see how they’re similar, but I didn’t think it had the same heart as Eleanor Oliphant. I also read Martha Wells’ [The Witch King](https://www.amazon.com/Witch-King-Martha-Wells-ebook/dp/B0B9KVV7JH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3SIME4VAUXOVU&keywords=witch+king&qid=1688506655&s=digital-text&sprefix=witch+king%2Cdigital-text%2C69&sr=1-1), which I really enjoyed. It’s more similar to her Raksura books than Murderbot. I’m now in the middle of Sally Rooney’s [Normal People](https://www.amazon.com/Normal-People-Novel-Sally-Rooney-ebook/dp/B07FS25XTW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=normal+people&qid=1688506843&s=digital-text&sprefix=normal+people%2Cdigital-text%2C69&sr=1-1), which I’m enjoying except that the author uses a lot of dialog but didn’t bother with quotation marks and it’s driving me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/23 "2023-07-04T23:20:15Z")
I think I have The Witch King around hete somwhere. The next Murderbot is out in November. > **[Revealing System Collapse, a New Murderbot Novel From Martha Wells](https://www.tor.com/2023/01/24/cover-reveal-murderbot-system-collapse-by-martha-wells/)** > > The million-copy, New York Times bestselling Murderbot series is back in another full-length novel adventure! We’re thrilled to share the cover of System Collapse, a new Murderbot Diaries nov… ---
**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:** [July 4, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/24 "2023-07-04T23:59:50Z")
I have the new Murderbot on preorder, in both audio and print. I’ve been eying _The Witch King_ and hoping maybe Tor will put it on sale later in the year. ---
**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:** [July 5, 2023, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/25 "2023-07-05T13:13:11Z")
Finished The Way Home. The first story was all right, the second an awful slog. Started this morning on [My Murder](https://www.amazon.com/My-Murder-Novel-Katie-Williams/dp/0593543769/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1688562534&sr=8-1), by Katie Williams. It’s about a serial killer’s victim who is cloned and restored to her family. ---
**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:** [July 5, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/26 "2023-07-05T20:57:40Z")
Gave up on the novel _A Visit from the Goon Squad_ by Jennifer Egan. Just never clicked for me. Now I’ve started _Satchel_ by Larry Tye, a bio of the pitching legend Satchel Paige. He was remarkable on the mound, always quotable about baseball and how to live a good life, but enigmatic as to his family, childhood and even his date of birth. I’m enjoying learning a lot more about him. ---
**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:** [July 5, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/27 "2023-07-05T22:24:30Z")
Just finished _Bryony and Roses_ by T. Kingfisher. I quite enjoyed it, read it in 2 days pretty much, _Nettle & Bone_ is still my favorite, but this will likely be reread as 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:** [July 7, 2023, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/28 "2023-07-07T22:00:38Z")
Finished _The Loved One_, by Evelyn Waugh, which was okay. Read _A Thousand Mornings_, by Mary Oliver, of which the best poem was “For I Will Consider My Dog Percy”. Now I’m reading _The Spare Man_, by Mary Robinette Kowal. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/29 "2023-07-08T19:25:41Z")
Finished _The Spare Man_, by Mary Robinette Kowal, which I enjoyed. Now I’m reading _Chita_, by Chita Rivera with Patrick Pacheco. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/30 "2023-07-08T19:29:22Z")
I have The Spare Man waiting on audio. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2023, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/31 "2023-07-08T21:32:35Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Finished _The Spare Man_, by Mary Robinette Kowal, which I enjoyed…. Tell us more, please. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/32 "2023-07-09T20:05:42Z")
It’s a “Nick and Nora Charles (and Asta)” type mystery IN SPACE! All the tech either already exists (at least according to the author) or seems as if it could in, say, a century or two. The tech interested me more than the mystery itself, and my favorite character in the book Fantine Brandt, the snarky super-lawer deserves her own mystery series. Finished _Chita_, by Chita Rivera with Patrick Pacheco, which was okay. Now I’m reading _Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen_ by Annabel Abbs. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/33 "2023-07-09T23:19:24Z")
Reading Burn it Down by Mo Ryan. It’s not exactly a tell all but just an aggregate of everything that is wrong with the Hollywood System and how it allows Monsters to flourish and abuse the people around them. ---
**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:** [July 10, 2023, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/34 "2023-07-10T12:12:56Z")
Thanks, **DenDa**! ---
**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:** [July 10, 2023, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/35 "2023-07-10T12:20:17Z")
Hey, if we’re doing nicknames, would mine be Du\_Bee? Or possibly Doo\_Bee. 😁 Anyway, I finished My Murder. It was fairly good, I was enjoying it…and then came the weekend. I had to set it aside for a couple of days. So when I picked it up this morning, the urgency was gone and I didn’t care for the ending. 🤷‍♀️ ---
**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:** [July 10, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/36 "2023-07-10T15:41:16Z")
More-or-less recently finished: The first twenty Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood. Now reading: _Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan 1942-1945_, by Barrett Tillman _Shift_, by Hugh Howey Up next: _Death in Daylesford_, the 21st Phryne Fisher 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:** [July 11, 2023, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/37 "2023-07-11T12:27:52Z")
Started this morning on Joanne Harris’ [Broken Light](https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Light-Novel-Joanne-Harris/dp/1639364714/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1689077651&sr=8-1). Joanne Harris is a talented writer who’s done a variety of books; this one seems almost aimed at me. It’s about a woman going through menopause, which reawakens a supernatural talent she had as a child. A bit heavy on the feminism, but I’m really enjoying the story. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/38 "2023-07-11T19:11:52Z")
Finished _Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen_ by Annabel Abbs, which was okay. Now I’m reading _Come Go With Me: Old-timer Stories from the Southern Mountains_, edited by Roy Edwin Thomas. It’s a collection of reminiscences from people who lived in the Appalachians and Ozarks as young 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:** [July 11, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/39 "2023-07-11T19:23:14Z")
I tossed _Something Fabulous_ by Alexis Hall for being very NOT-at-all-fabulous and have started _Spellbound_ by Charlie N. Holmberg. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/40 "2023-07-12T14:47:54Z")
Finished _Come Go With Me: Old-timer Stories from the Southern Mountains_, edited by Roy Edwin Thomas. It was a fun read. My favorite (which I’m not sure I believe) was related by “Doc” Davis, who said that as a boy, he killed a snake in the hen house by cutting off its head, and retrieved the “setting” (i.e., fertile) eggs it had just swallowed, none of which were cracked. He washed them off, put them under a hen, and they hatched. The family called them the “snake chickens”. My husband said, “That’s how you get a basilisk.” Now I’m reading _Against Infinity_, by Gregory Benford. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381.md?page=3)