# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - May 2026 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga, books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [April 30, 2026, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657 "2026-04-30T02:12:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [May 20, 2026, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/41 "2026-05-20T11:18:19Z")
I’ve read twelve of them. Many were in literature courses, although a few were my own choosing Left Hand of Darkness Turn of the Screw Dracula Crime and Punishment Metamorphosis Heart of Darkness The Handmaid’s Tale David Copperfield 1984 Moby Dick The Great Gatsby War and Peace I’ve read Dracula more than once, and in four different annotated versions. I’ve read Moby Dick more than once, too. (There’s an exhibit goin on right now at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA about different published editions of Moby Dick). Read 1984 more than once, as well. As I’ve remarked before, I was halfway through The Handmaid’s Tale when I realized that it was set in Cambridge, Massachusetts (where Margaret Atwood was either living at the time, or had lived), and I could recognize the settings – Harvard Square, Harvard Yard, the Hyatt Regency on Memorial Drive (where the Arisia science fiction convention has met several times, including this past year). War and Peace I started reading on my own, then found out there was a college course being given on it, so I signed up. I figured I ought to get credit if I was already reading the book. ---
**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 20, 2026, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/42 "2026-05-20T12:30:23Z")
7 Left Hand of Darkness Rebecca The Master and Margarita Great Expectations Frankenstein The Great Gatsby Pride and Prejudice Jane Eyre There’s about 6 or 7 others I started but couldn’t maintain an interest in, probably because to misquote Emperor Joseph II “There’s simply too many words.” ---
**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:** [May 20, 2026, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/43 "2026-05-20T12:46:46Z")
I forgot _Frankenstein_, which I’ve read numerous times, including two different annotated editions. ---
**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 20, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/44 "2026-05-20T23:38:17Z")
I’ve read 39 of them. It’s tough to pick one, but I’m going to say _Ragtime_. Finished _The Strange Bird_ by Jeff Vandermeer, which was very frustrating because the main character was so interesting and then the plot just collapsed. Also finished _Trope-ing the Light Fantastic: The Science Behind the Fiction_, by Edward M. Lerner, which was okay. Next up: _Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales_, by Justin Richards; _How Soon Can You Get Here, Doc?_; by David Wynia (memoirs of a South Dakota farm vet); and _Northwest Smith_, by C. L. Moore, a collection of SF short stories from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. ---
**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 21, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/45 "2026-05-21T13:50:02Z")
Finished _The Perfect Divorce_ by Jeneva Rose…listened to the whole thing yesterday as I was on an 10-hour road trip. Okay mystery, but a rather unbelievable ending. I’ll still read more by this author, however. ---
**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 21, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/46 "2026-05-21T13:59:14Z")
I’ve read 60 books on that Guardian list. Of course, I also have a BS and a Master’s in English so… I started Lindsay Davis’ Flavia Albia series, the follow up to her Marcus Didius Falco Roman mystery series. The first book was really good. I like how she highlighted the differences between a female investigator vs Falco’s male experiences. Albia can’t just go barging into people’s houses like her dad did and her professional relationship with the vigiles is much more fraught. The difference in the city under Domitian’s rule versus Vespasian’s has a lot to do with it as well. I didn’t guess the aedile’s true identity until near the end which was some nice misdirection on the author’s part. In bad book news, I did not like Isle McElroy’s _People Collide_ and do not recommend it. I have a rant drafted, but I haven’t posted it yet because I had medical procedure yesterday that threw my regular schedule in an uproar for the last few days. ---
**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 21, 2026, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/47 "2026-05-21T14:09:29Z")
Yay, a rant! I hope you’re feeling better soon. 🙂 ---
**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 21, 2026, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/48 "2026-05-21T14:10:10Z")
Three: _Dracula_ _Frankenstein_ _1984_ _1984_, I think – that’s the one I’m most likely to reread. We read a good bit of _Die Verwandlung_ (_The Metamorphosis_) in my third-year high-school German class, but I wasn’t at all interested in getting it in English from the library so I could finish it. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/49 "2026-05-21T14:14:21Z")
Also three: _The Left Hand of Darkness_ _My Brilliant Friend_ _One Hundred Years of Solitude_ But the fact that _The Lord of the Rings_ is not in the list automatically disqualifies 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:** [May 21, 2026, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/50 "2026-05-21T14:31:20Z")
Finished Platform Decay, it was dependably good. Someone over at Goodreads said it felt like more of a side quest, and you know…they were right. I don’t know if there’s a story arc in this series, or just the further adventures of Murderbot. Fortunately I don’t care. This morning I read [Sour Candy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27687495-sour-candy), by Kealan Patrick Burke. At only 84 pages long, it was more of a short story. It passed the time alright, but didn’t pack any more punch than an episode of Tales From the Crypt. ---
**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 21, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/51 "2026-05-21T17:21:50Z")
That gives me time to get the popcorn ready! Feel better soon! ---
**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 21, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/52 "2026-05-21T17:24:01Z")
Next email down from the Dope in my inbox gave me this: [What’s next for Murderbot?](https://reactormag.com/martha-wells-on-platform-decay-found-families-and-whats-next-for-murderbot/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=419768571&utm_content=419768571&utm_source=hs_email) ---
**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 21, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/53 "2026-05-21T17:51:39Z")
Oh man! Good timing, and good article. Thanks! ---
**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:** [May 24, 2026, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/54 "2026-05-24T03:03:16Z")
I’ve read 35 on the list including six in the top 10. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2026, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/55 "2026-05-24T03:48:52Z")
Finished _Camino Ghosts_, by John Grisham, the third installment in his Camino Island series. Set on the fictional Camino Island off the coast of northern Florida, the story centers on the also-fictional, nearby small barrier island of Dark Isle, deserted, supposedly cursed and previously inhabited for hundreds of years by escaped slaves, mainly from Georgia, and their descendants. A big Miami developer wants to turn it into a resort/casino, but 80-year-old Lovely Jackson, who now lives on Camino Island, is supposedly the owner of Dark Isle, being the last surviving descendant. However, she left Dark Isle with her mother in 1955 at the age of 15, the last two residents, and state law says in the absence of any ownership records, of which there is none, there must be continuous occupation for the previous seven years to claim ownership. The fight is on. I spotted one mistake that kept being repeated. The novel opens in June 2020. It does not give the year at the outset, but it is made clear several times later on that this is 2020. The action proceeds into the next year, which of course would be 2021. It never specifically states 2021 but at one point does say the previous year was 2020. But we come to this: “… at 9:30 a.m. on a Tuesday, April 21, and by noon …” One of my habits is looking up dates like these whenever I come across them, and looking at a 2021 calendar I see April 21 was a Wednesday. April 21 was a Tuesday the previous year, 2020, and the author later gives two more dates that also correspond to the 2020 calendar and not 2021. Grisham, this is pure sloppiness, and you should be more careful in the future. But it’s an enjoyable read. Recommended. Next up is _The Running Man_, by Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman. I’ve been wanting to read it for a while. It’s been made into at least two, by all accounts crappy films over the years, but I hear it’s actually a good story. We’re flying up to northeastern Thailand for a couple days this week to visit friends, and I’ll take it with me, although I don’t know how much time there will be for reading. ---
**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 25, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/56 "2026-05-25T13:36:57Z")
Still reading _Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales_, by Justin Richards. Finished _How Soon Can You Get Here, Doc?_; by David Wynia, which was okay, and _Northwest Smith_, by C. L. Moore, a collection of SF short stories from the 1930’s to the 1950’s, which was not. Most of these stories did not age well at all. Not recommended. Next: _Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions from Crime Writers_, by D. P. Lyle, M.D.; and _Gather Round_, by John R. Aurelio. ---
**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 25, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/57 "2026-05-25T16:36:05Z")
I come bearing a Memorial Day gift: [why I didn’t like _People Collide_](https://eclecticreviewer.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/people-collide-isle-mcelroy/). ---
**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:** [May 26, 2026, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/58 "2026-05-26T16:42:17Z")
About halfway through William F. Temple’s **Four-Sided Triangle**. I know about this book only because it got turned in to a movie in the early 1950s, which I have never seen, and only know about because a single image from it showed up in an issue of **Famous Monsters of Filmland**. I’ve never seen the film on TV, or at a retro-SF showing, or at a science fiction convention, or on VHS or (until I started looking for it) on DVD. It’s probably available on some streaming site, but I have no idea which might be hosting it. The idea is an interesting one. Two scientists invent a duplicating machine. They fall in love with the same woman. One scientist perseveres and gets the duplicator to duplicate living things, and proposes that they duplicate the woman. I can see all sorts of problems with this (chief among which, these days, is that nobody asked her if she thought this was a good idea). The novel, thus far, is very well-written. Although I’d heard of TEmple before, I’m not familiar with any of his other work and haven’t read any of it. He was apparently Arthur C. Clarke’s roommmate for a time. If I like the book, I’ll try to get hold of the film, but the reviews published at the Wikipedia site aren’t very compelling – “A very early entry in this field; not too well done, but faithful to its silly theme.”[[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Sided_Triangle#cite_note-19) On audio I’m re-listening to the Nero Wolfe mystery _Some Buried Caesar_, which I dubbed into an MP3 file a long time ago. ---
**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 26, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/59 "2026-05-26T17:34:41Z")
Thank you! I just finished Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke. The premise: a tradwife Instagram star wakes up in the year 1855 and must live the rustic life she’s portrayed. That’s not exactly what we get, though. This book felt like a V.C. Andrews novel, with incredibly wealthy but morally bankrupt people living peculiar lies (not a typo), and having icky sex. Not recommended. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657/60 "2026-05-26T17:59:07Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Just started Adrian Tchaikovsky’s _Shroud._ 40 something pages in but not sure I’m going stick with it. Far enough in that it sure seems like it’s going to be same basic formula with a new alien variation, and his characters are never all that interesting. The science is generally good and there already have been a few good lines … but not enough to grab me if it is the same basic story again. I’ll give a few dozen more pages … Finally picked it back up.Yes it is his same basic structural premise, but the variation ended up to still a fun bit, even if I’d quibble with aspects. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-may-2026-edition/1029657.md?page=4)