# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - June 2026 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga, books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [May 30, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498 "2026-05-30T21:27:47Z")\ **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:** [June 6, 2026, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/21 "2026-06-06T04:52:38Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > …I started _Old Man’s War_ by John Scalzi. It’s a signed copy that a fellow Doper sent me when he saw Scalzi talk recently. ❤ I’m not far but the narrative already feels comfortable, like catching up with an old friend. I’m a big fan, as you know. Hope you love it! > [@Frodo](#): > > Scalzi is a Doper in spirit. > [@DZedNConfused](#): > > He really IS! Agreed. He’d fit right in here. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2026, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/22 "2026-06-06T10:45:24Z")
So far, so good… but I’ve been busy so only on page 40 or so. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2026, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/23 "2026-06-08T01:20:16Z")
I finished _Eve: How the female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution_ by Cat Bohannon. I’m not up on the science well enough to make a truly critical review but it was highly enjoyable and I enjoyed the “what if this is the way it went” of it all. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/24 "2026-06-08T17:21:31Z")
Finished _Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life_, by C. S. Lewis, parts of which were interesting; and _Little Book of Tiffany and Co.: The Story of the Iconic Brand_, by Tamara Sturtz-Filby. Aside from the photos of gorgeous jewelry, I enjoyed the history. Among other anecdotes, I hadn’t realized that the stylized NY on the Yankees’ uniform originated as a design on a medal created for a New York police officer wounded in the line of duty and made by this company. Next up: _Reaper Man_, by Terry Pratchett, and _Imagination’s Other Place: Poems of Science and Mathematics_, edited by Helen Plotz. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/25 "2026-06-08T18:23:06Z")
Over the weekend, I finished The Fountain and really liked it! I’ll definitely pick up the next book from this author. Currently skimming [25 Great Sentences and how they got that way](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53122390-25-great-sentences-and-how-they-got-that-way), by Geraldine Woods. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/26 "2026-06-08T19:40:29Z")
murder your employer. there is a conservatory that will help you to delete your target without collateral damage or getting caught, using the mcmasters guide to homicide. set in the 1950’s it follows 3 students who follow their thesis to delete their chosen target. a fun read. dendarii dame, i do enjoy ms andrews’ books. i take the day off when a new one is published and enjoy a day of leisurely reading. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2026, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/27 "2026-06-08T20:06:44Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Now I’m about two-thirds through an audiobook of Robert Harris’s _Precipice_, about the real-life affair between British Prime Minister H.H. Asquith and the aristocratic Venetia Stanley around the time of the outbreak of World War I. It’s quite engaging as both a historical novel and a kinda-skeevy romance (he was married to someone else, and she was much younger than him; he was also extraordinarily reckless in sharing military and diplomatic secrets and documents with her). > > Still occasionally returning to Dan Chaon’s supernatural-circus novel _One of Us_… I finished _Precipice_ and enjoyed it. There’s an interesting postscript to let you know what became of those who appear in the book. Recommended for anyone interested in British history, or WWI in particular. I also finished _One of Us_, which got better and better as I read it. Terrific characterization, dialogue and period detail, and a delightfully creepy atmosphere. Recommended for anyone interested in carnivals, freak shows, serial killers and early 20th C. Americana. Just started _To Paradise_ by Hanya Yanagihara, an alternate-history romance set in an 1894 New York City where same-sex (and arranged) marriages are common, and the flow of refugees from the United Colonies (the Confederacy, more or less) is a significant political and social issue. The book has a strong Edith Wharton/Henry James vibe. I’m not crazy about it, but I’ll keep going. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/28 "2026-06-08T23:02:54Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Next up: _Reaper Man_, by Terry Pratchett, My favorite Discworld book! DEATH/Bill Door is at his best in this one. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2026, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/29 "2026-06-10T13:42:10Z")
Today I re-read a children’s book, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume. The last time I read it was over forty years ago. It’s about two things mostly, puberty and religion. I’d pretty much forgotten the religion part (yes, I know it’s right there in the title!) It’s light reading for such heavy subjects. I’d be unimpressed, but it has endured, hasn’t it? Next up, Then Again, Maybe I Won’t, which is Blume’s book about a boy the same age as Margaret. I’m disliking this kid on the very first page. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/30 "2026-06-10T15:19:32Z")
I liked Are you there vodka, its me, Chelsea. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2026, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/31 "2026-06-11T12:26:59Z")
I finished Then Again, Maybe I Won’t. I went into it expecting to like it more through adult eyes, but no. It was a hot mess and Tony, the main character, is a turd. Skip it. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/32 "2026-06-11T12:50:13Z")
I remember reading that when I was a kid and being very upset that boys got so much of an easier puberty than girls. Wet dreams? That’s it? Come back when they give you severe cramps, maybe then I’ll have sympathy. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/33 "2026-06-11T23:33:42Z")
Finished _Reaper Man_, by Terry Pratchett. I agree that it’s excellent, and one of the best novels I’ve read this year. (However, I prefer Hogfather for this character, and my favorite Discworld book is Lords and Ladies.) Also finished _Imagination’s Other Place: Poems of Science and Mathematics_, edited by Helen Plotz, which I also enjoyed very much. Next up: _Harry S. Truman_, by Margaret Truman; and _Turn Homeward, Hannalee_, by Patricia Beatty. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/34 "2026-06-12T00:17:38Z")
I was addicted to John Sanford’s **Prey** books Some years ago. Then I got distracted in 2021 by Covid and didn’t keep up with newer releases. Then a guy here in The Home told me he was reading them, so I went to check, and sure enough, Sanford is (or was) still writing them. So I’m most of the way through book 32, which is **Righteous Prey**. It’s typically well-written, even after this many novels in the series. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/35 "2026-06-12T00:27:00Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I was addicted to John Sanford’s **Prey** books Some years ago I’ve read all of them, and I grab the latest one as soon as it becomes available on Libby. I absolutely love those books. I’m on the wait list for the latest one, which was released in April. He’s also written two books which star Davenport’s daughter, Letty, as well as several books focusing on Virgil, also known as That Fucking Flowers. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/36 "2026-06-12T02:52:07Z")
Finished _On the Road with Charles Kuralt_, by Charles Kuralt. Very good. I thought I had read this years ago, but I hadn’t. Apart from a short introduction at the beginning of each section. it’s all transcripts from Kuralt’s _On the Road_ segment for the Sunday morning news on CBS. But very good. A nice window on the country. Mostly from the 1970s and early '80s, maybe a couple from the late '60s, it’s sad that almost all these people are certainly dead now. Mostly elderly – one lady was 103 years old – and even Kuralt himself is dead almost 30 years now. A pleasant read. The wife is going to read it next to get a little extra insight into her adopted country. Next up is _A Life on the Road_, by Charles Kuralt, his memoir. Another book from my buddy up in northeastern Thailand. This is the one I think I may have read many years ago. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2026, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/37 "2026-06-12T02:55:41Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I finished _Precipice_ and enjoyed it. There’s an interesting postscript to let you know what became of those who appear in the book. Recommended for anyone interested in British history, or WWI in particular. I second the recommendation. Read it myself a few months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/38 "2026-06-12T12:01:48Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > He’s also written two books which star Davenport’s daughter, Letty, as well as several books focusing on Virgil, also known as That Fucking Flowers. I think I enjoy that fucking Flowers even more than Lucas. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/39 "2026-06-12T14:15:20Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Just started _To Paradise_ by Hanya Yanagihara, an alternate-history romance set in an 1894 New York City where same-sex (and arranged) marriages are common, and the flow of refugees from the United Colonies (the Confederacy, more or less) is a significant political and social issue. The book has a strong Edith Wharton/Henry James vibe. I’m not crazy about it, but I’ll keep going. I almost decided to give up on it (mostly because the protagonist is such an annoying, overprivileged, indecisive nitwit), but just read a not-too-spoilerific summary of the book and learned that he’s not featured throughout. So that’s a relief! I’ve started _Rejection_ by Tony Tulathimutte, a collection of interconnected short stories which David Sedaris recommended in his recent show here. The first two stories are about a man and a woman who separately make very bad decisions, both online and IRL, which pretty much ruin their lives. The stories are often cringeworthy, but are just funny and interesting enough that I’ll keep reading. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Finished _On the Road with Charles Kuralt_, by Charles Kuralt… I haven’t read much of Kuralt, but I shared an Atlanta airport peoplemover with him in the summer of 1988. He was covering the Democratic National Convention that year, and I was there as a young Dukakis campaign field staffer. He was considerably more rotund than he appeared on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498/40 "2026-06-12T16:01:25Z")
I finished Project Hail Mary. It was a decent read, but… pretty similar to The Martian, yes? Next up is [The Voice in the Night: Best Weird Stories of William Hope Hodgson](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220204703-the-voice-in-the-night?ref=nav_sb_ss_2_38). Embarassingly, I haven’t actually read any stories yet featuring Carnacki the Ghost-Finder – this will be the first. It also includes some of his Sargasso Sea stories. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-june-2026-edition/1030498.md?page=3)