# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - May 2023 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [April 30, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379 "2023-04-30T19:16:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/21 "2023-05-03T01:03:51Z")
I believe that was me, and yeah, I didn’t love the ending–not so much the “where are they now” part, though that’s not really my kind of thing, but that the narrative kind of dribbled off before we got to that point. Oh well. Agree that some of the (many) perspectives were more interesting than others. Ramsey was the wannabe writer, correct? He was certainly something of a drip, and “completely out of patience” works. But I think that was probably deliberate on Atkinson’s part. (We could argue about whether it was a _good_ choice to feature him so much, but I do believe she intentionally made him difficult and not very likable.) ---
**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:** [May 3, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/22 "2023-05-03T04:54:22Z")
I marathoned the new Irons and Works book _Heavy Hand_ by E.M. Lindsey. Complicated relationships, diferently abled people having lots of hot nookies and tattoos, yes please and can I have more? ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/23 "2023-05-03T18:22:11Z")
I’m starting Willa Cather’s **O Pioneers!**. I thought her **My Antonia** wass the best book I read in 2020 or 2021, so I have high hopes for 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:** [May 3, 2023, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/24 "2023-05-03T18:59:40Z")
Finished A House With Good Bones. Not among T. Kingfisher’s best, which made it merely very good. Starting next on a book which was coincidentally mentioned in the afterword of AHWGB, [Bryony and Roses](https://www.amazon.com/Bryony-Roses-T-Kingfisher/dp/1614504040/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1683140160&sr=8-1), a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/25 "2023-05-04T20:03:22Z")
Finished _The Secret Network of Nature: The Delicate Balance of All Living Things_, by Peter Wohlleben, translated by Jane Billinghurst, which was interesting. Now I’m reading _Spider-Man: Down These Mean Streets_, by Keith R. A. DeCandido. This isn’t a graphic novel. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2023, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/26 "2023-05-05T00:37:57Z")
Finished _Climate Chaos: Lessons on Survival from Our Ancestors_, by Brian Fagan and Nadia Durrani. Gave up on _A Dangerous Mourning_, by Anne Perry – couldn’t get interested in the main character. Started _Callander Square_, by Anne Perry, and _12 Seconds of Silence: How a Team of Inventors, Tinkerers, and Spies Took Down a Nazi Superweapon_, by Jamie Holmes. Next up: Not sure yet. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/27 "2023-05-05T01:42:55Z")
I finished _False Witness_ by Karin Slaughter. A reasonably good read about a defense attorney who is defending a certainly-guilty client accused of rape, and the client also knows a terrible secret about the attorney and her junkie younger sister. A decent plot, but very dark overall with some really graphic, violent scenes. Next up: TBD ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/28 "2023-05-05T16:28:54Z")
I’ve read probably 6-7 books by Atkinson and I tend to think endings are not her strong suit. I remember a lot about individual characters and general themes and conflicts from her books, but rarely much about how everything wrapped up. Next up is [Some Desperate Glory](https://www.amazon.com/Some-Desperate-Glory-Emily-Tesh-ebook/dp/B09XL83PCQ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1683304102&sr=8-1) by Emily Tesh. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/29 "2023-05-05T19:00:07Z")
A few days ago I finished my (I think) third re-read of Ken Grimwood’s classic sf novel _Replay_, and still enjoyed it, but not as much as the first two times. [Insert your own ironic title-related joke here]. Maybe I need to wait another decade before I go back to it. Just started _Sea of Tranquility_ by Emily St. John Mandel, a sf novel I know nothing about other than it’s by the author of _Station Eleven_, which I enjoyed. From a few early hints it’s shaping up, I think, as a time-travel novel - no spoilers, please! I like it so far. Also reading Rob Sheffield’s total-fanboy pop history _Dreaming the Beatles_, which is too gushy at times but still pretty good. I did a lot of browsing, but didn’t read cover to cover, Richard Norton Smith’s _On His Own Terms._ It’s a weighty bio of Nelson Rockefeller, the filthy-rich longtime Governor of New York, a progressive Republican who three times came up short in his quest for the Presidency and briefly served as Ford’s VP. Interesting man, interesting book; I learned a lot. > [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > …I am about halfway done with [A Man Called Ove](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774964-a-man-called-ove?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=1iK9sRap2y&rank=1) by Fredrik Backman. It started out promising, as a humorous, light-hearted novel featuring a cranky old man… My sister loved and recommended it, but I gave up after 50 pages and haven’t since seen the Tom Hanks film adaptation. Just never hooked me. ---
**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:** [May 5, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/30 "2023-05-05T21:11:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > My sister loved and recommended it, but I gave up after 50 pages and haven’t since seen the Tom Hanks film adaptation. Just never hooked me. Thank you, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one. Looks like it’s been generally well-received according to Goodreads ratings and reviews. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/31 "2023-05-06T17:59:17Z")
Just started _The Plot Against America_ by Philip Roth. Published in 2004, it’s a look at what might have happened in the USA had Charles Lindbergh ran against and defeated FDR in the 1940 presidential election. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/32 "2023-05-06T19:00:25Z")
Finished _Spider-Man: Down These Mean Streets_, by Keith R. A. DeCandido, which was okay. Now I’m reading _Clockwork Futures: The Science of Steampunk and the Reinvention of the Modern World_, by Brandy Schillace. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/33 "2023-05-06T19:04:18Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Just started _The Plot Against America_ by Philip Roth. Published in 2004, it’s a look at what might have happened in the USA had Charles Lindbergh ran against and defeated FDR in the 1940 presidential election. Haven’t read it, but there was a pretty good HBO miniseries a few years ago. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/34 "2023-05-06T19:15:32Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > there was a pretty good HBO miniseries a few years ago. I have heard good things about the HBO series, so I thought I’d read the book first. And I like the books by Roth that I’ve previously read. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/35 "2023-05-07T01:18:21Z")
I liked _The Great American Novel_ quite a bit. That may be the only one of Roth’s I ever read. “Mundys Mercy-Killed” I took a break from _The Cider Hose Rules,_ which I continue to enjoy, and read Daniel Stone’s _Sinkable,_ because it was due back at the library and someone else wanted it (the nerve). This is the story of efforts to locate and raise the _Titanic,_ with attention paid to the science behind shipwrecks (and locating and raising shipwrecks), other famous shipwrecks not involving the _Titanic,_ and the sometimes outsized personalities of the people who have devoted years of their lives in some cases to trying to resuscitate the ship. It hopped around kind of a lot, but it’s well researched and it’s an interesting topic. I learned a bunch of stuff, which is always nice. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/36 "2023-05-07T13:33:37Z")
I finished _The Last of the Mohicans_. It is, indeed, a thrilling tale. However I now have a new appreciation for Mark Twain’s “[Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses](https://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/HNS/Indians/offense.html).” The man knew what he was talking about. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2023, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/37 "2023-05-07T13:51:10Z")
Twain and I are on the same page, I _reeeeeeeeeeally_ tried to read “The Last of the Mohicans” but I couldn’t get more than twenty pages iirc, it was just too boring. (In fairness, I’ve only finished one Twain book, because my attention wanders off SQUIRREL!) ---
**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:** [May 7, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/38 "2023-05-07T18:19:54Z")
I had to employ the Thomas Wolfe defense to get through it. I threw myself into the rip current of words and let it carry me along until something happened and I could swim to shore. ---
**Author:** ![TruePisces](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/truepisces/32/13628_2.png) [@TruePisces](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruePisces)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/39 "2023-05-07T23:14:42Z")
I just finished **Sakamoto Days, vol 1 & 2** [**Sakamoto Days, vol 1 & 2**](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakamoto_Days) for one of my book clubs. Now I’m starting on **The City of Brass** by S. A. Chakraborty for another book club. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379/40 "2023-05-07T23:24:26Z")
I have a friend who attended high school in upstate NY, not far from where _Last of the Mohicans_ takes place. The school had all students read the book for an English class. The students overwhelmingly disliked the assignment but the school did nothing. Until (my friend says) there was a student who after reading each page would tear it out of the book and throw it in the fireplace. According to my friend, that was that for the tradition of reading Mr. Fenimore Cooper’s works at that school. Who knows whether it’s true. But it should be! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2023-edition/983379.md?page=3)