# 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:** 5
**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 24, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/81 "2023-07-24T19:12:43Z")
Check it out: ["Loosely patterned after a Greek myth," Joe Haldeman wrote](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loosely-patterned-after-a-greek-myth-joe-haldeman-wrote/987364) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/82 "2023-07-25T15:35:03Z")
**In Sardinia: An Unexpected Journey in Italy** Jeff Biggers A travel / history covering Italy’s second largest island. Pretty good book, although I wish the author had spent less time on obscure Sardinian poets, and more time on…well, anything other than obscure Sardinian poets. **The Reason for Flowers** Stephen Buchmann The history, culture, and biology of flowers. Good book, even though it covers a wide range of topics, which means that it doesn’t go into depth on any one subject. ---
**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 25, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/83 "2023-07-25T17:33:19Z")
Finished _I Brake for Yard Sales and Flea Markets, Thrift Shops, Auctions, and the Occasional Dumpster_, by Lara Spencer. Meh. Now I’m reading _Disobedience_, by Naomi Alderman. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/84 "2023-07-25T17:39:31Z")
A little late to the party here but I’ve started the Expanse series. I’m reading _Leviathan Wakes_ this week. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/85 "2023-07-25T19:05:25Z")
Now reading Here by Richard McGuire. It’s a graphic novel that chronicles a single point in space: a corner in what is apparently the living room in NJ where the author grew up at different points in time from the distant past to thousands of years in the future. It’s an interesting piece of art. ---
**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 26, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/86 "2023-07-26T02:55:49Z")
Finished _Broadway Butchery_ by C.S. Poe. It’s the third book in her “Memento Mori” series, someone is sending clues to Cold Case detective Everett Larkin about murders committed in the 80s, that have been unsolved and generally unnoticed by law enforcement. Weird, creepy and with just the right amount of tension. ---
**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 26, 2023, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/87 "2023-07-26T12:38:44Z")
Finished The Militia House. I wasn’t bored along the way, but came to suspect that the ending would be a cop-out and it was. 😒 ---
**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 27, 2023, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/88 "2023-07-27T12:38:57Z")
Started this morning on [Going Zero](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=going+zero+anthony+mccarten&crid=1T1RLUYKWF4KK&sprefix=going+zero%2Caps%2C95&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_10) by Anthony McCarten. It’s about ten people in a contest to test a new technology by disappearing and avoiding capture for thirty days. Pretty good so far. ---
**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 27, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/89 "2023-07-27T14:38:39Z")
Finished _Disobedience_, by Naomi Alderman. Some parts of it were interesting, but overall I can’t say I enjoyed it. Now I’m reading _All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia_, by Simon Garfield. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/90 "2023-07-27T15:54:47Z")
This isn’t something I’m now reading, but this thread looks like the appropriate one. I turned on my tablet in bed last night for some before-sleep reading, and turned on Kindle. I clicked on “Store” to see what new things were available, and then in “suggested for you”. Every suggestion was either comic book-related material or a book of philosophy. Really. _The Guide to the DC Universe, Volumes 1 and 2_, Friedrich Nietszche, _Marvel Secret Wars_ Arthur Schoepenhauer, David Hume, _Weird Superheroes_, Bertrand Russell’s _Why I am not a Christian_ I am nothing if not eclectic. Too bad it didn’t suggest George Bernard Shaw’s _Man and Superman_. Or Nietszche’s **Übermensch** ---
**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:** [July 28, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/91 "2023-07-28T00:45:48Z")
I always have a few books On Hold at the library. They transfer them from other libraries. The new one is by Bob Sears called The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump. Something to read when you’re feeling blue, probably a few good laughs. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2023, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/92 "2023-07-28T14:31:31Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > he new one is by Bob Sears called The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump. > Something to read when you’re feeling blue, probably a few good laughs. I’ve been doing threads on The Poetry of Donald J. TRump for over six years now, but it’s good to see that other people recognize The Orange One’s talent for unintentionaslly hilarious verse. > [@The Poetry of Donald J. Trump -- special Stolen Documents Indictment Edition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poetry-of-donald-j-trump-special-stolen-documents-indictment-edition/985259/26): > > I wish one of those actors who does dramatic readings of restaurant reviews (like “the food was cold and the plastic spoon they gave me hurt my lips”) on You Tube would do a reading of this poem. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/93 "2023-07-28T18:00:30Z")
I finished _Cradle of the Deep_ by Dietrich Kalteis. It’s an adventure story set in 1974 Vancouver, about an American draft dodger and the girlfriend of an Italian mobster. The pair steal a million bucks in cash from the mobster and set out on the run to northern Canada, pursued by a hit man, and then run afoul of the law as well. I found it quite entertaining. I’ll probably look for more works by this author. ---
**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 29, 2023, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/94 "2023-07-29T04:07:20Z")
Finished: _Death in Daylesford_, by Kerry Greenwood _Stranded in the Sky: The Untold Story of Pan Am Luxury Airliners Trapped on the Day of Infamy_, by Philip Jett _Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire_, by Richard B Frank Started: _The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions_, by Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher short stories) Next up: _Libra_, by Don DeLillo > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > [@SCAdian](#): > > > > Next up: > > _Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire_, by Richard B Frank > > I’m almost done with that myself! Despite the goofy subtitle (why mention both “Imperial” and “Empire” in the same short sentence?), I think it’s excellent - very well-documented and readable. Good book, but I really prefer books at the tactical level – _Band of Brothers_, _A Bridge Too Far_, _Brothers in Arms_, &c. ---
**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 29, 2023, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/95 "2023-07-29T14:30:18Z")
Gotcha. I prefer strategic-level military history books myself. ---
**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 29, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/96 "2023-07-29T20:00:23Z")
Finished _All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia_, by Simon Garfield, which I enjoyed. The first Encyclopedia Britannica’s entry on “Midwifery” included step by step directions, with diagrams. (One wonders if it was ever put to emergency use.) The first Wikipedia entry on poodles said only, “The dog against which all others are measured.” Now I’m reading _The Rose Rent_, a Brother Cadfael mystery by Ellis Peters. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/97 "2023-07-29T20:25:55Z")
Just started _The Recovery Agent: A Novel_ by Janet Evanovich. ---
**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 30, 2023, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/98 "2023-07-30T01:38:20Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Now I’m reading _The Rose Rent_, a Brother Cadfael mystery by Ellis Peters. One of my favorite Brother Cadfael books. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2023, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/99 "2023-07-30T14:27:55Z")
I just finished _The Elegance of the Hedgehog_ by Muriel Barbury last night and loved it. (Despite the downer ending.) It’s the perfect book for overeducated people in menial jobs, i.e. moi. I’m working on finishing _The Red Sphinx_ by Alexandre Dumas. It takes place right after the end of The Three Musketeers and focuses on Cardinal Richelieu (the titular sphinx) and how he tried to keep Louis XIII from being overrun by his relatives. It’s a fun swashbuckling adventure like most Dumas pere novels. ---
**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 31, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381/100 "2023-07-31T18:42:57Z")
My book club gave _The Elegance of the Hedgehog_ very mixed reviews after we read it about a decade ago. I didn’t care for it myself. Just finished _Martin House: Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect_ (no author given), the official guidebook to Wright’s residential-campus masterpiece in Buffalo, N.Y. Very interesting and well-illustrated; someday I hope to visit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-july-2023-edition/986381.md?page=6)