# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - Oct. 2020 edition
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** books-writing-myths
**Created:** [September 30, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914 "2020-09-30T19:51:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)
#### Post date: [October 18, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/41 "2020-10-18T18:22:57Z")
Yes, MG means middle grade, which is (very) approximately 8-12 years. I’m an author who writes mostly for children, (although this is changing as the number of children’s magazines decreases) and so I sometimes read books written for that demographic.
Finished _The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars_ , by Dava Sobel, which was interesting.
Now I’m reading _Wicked Witch Murder_, a cozy mystery by Leslie Meier.
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/42 "2020-10-19T12:57:41Z")
I finished _Horrid_ over the weekend, and awarded it the rare five-star rating over at Goodreads.
That doesn’t mean it was the best darn book I ever read, far from it, but it was exactly what I wanted at this time. It was a perfect story to read in October. Saturday night I woke up in the wee hours and just lay there thinking about it, trying to figure out what was going on. I had some mixed feelings about the ending, but enjoyed the journey so much. Thank you, Katrina Leno!
I started this morning on [The Scapegracers](https://www.amazon.com/Scapegracers-1-Hannah-Abigail-Clarke/dp/1645660001/ref=sr_1_1?crid=P91IT639XQMP&dchild=1&keywords=scapegracers&qid=1603110661&s=books&sprefix=scapegrac%2Caps%2C154&sr=1-1) by Hannah Abigail Clarke, a YA novel about witches. I’m on page 48 but I think our lives are going in different directions and I just don’t see a future for us together.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/43 "2020-10-19T19:18:48Z")
I finished the Longmire novel. I think it’s time for him to be retired from literature.
Started #1 in the Spenser series, which I’ve never read.
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### Author:  [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/44 "2020-10-19T20:39:13Z")
Finished _Wicked Witch Murder_ by Leslie Meier. Not recommended.
Now I’m reading _Endangered Words: A Collection of Rare Gems for Book Lovers_, by Simon Hertnon.
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2020, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/45 "2020-10-19T20:45:43Z")
I finished _With the Old Breed_ by EB Sledge about his experiences on Peleliu and Okinawa during WWII in the Pacific. It was interesting to note how they consolidated characters and incidents in the mini-series (_The Pacific_ on HBO) for time or continuity or whatever compared to the source material. Sledge comes off as a very sympathetic narrator, in spite of the racial slurs peppered through the book, but that’s just how it was in 1945. I’m still obsessed with that theater of operation and I continue to consume documentaries all over Prime and YouTube.
Then I started my next Audible freebie - which has nothing to do with warfare. _Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life From an Addiction to Film_ by Patton Oswalt. It’s about his years long addiction to watching movies - cult, classic, smashes, etc - but peppered with hysterical anecdotes and some quite profound life lessons. It’s a pretty short read/listen though and now I’m stuck until next month until I get another credit so I’ll have to surf the free library.
So, I’m doing the audio-book thing because I’m too weak to throw Twitter away. I was told that discussing audio-books here was completely copacetic, but it does make me feel kind of unclean. Then again, “unclean” is my middle name so whaddayagonnado?
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [October 19, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/46 "2020-10-19T20:47:32Z")
Come on, I’m reading children’s books here. I’m fifty years old!
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/47 "2020-10-20T03:47:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> …Started #1 in the Spenser series, which I’ve never read.
Hope you enjoy it - I’m a fan. Later books in the series are even better IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/48 "2020-10-20T12:42:32Z")
Started today on [The Companion](https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Katie-Alender/dp/0399545913/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VOFK8KZO4ZHD&dchild=1&keywords=the+companion+katie+alender&qid=1603197305&s=books&sprefix=the+companion%2Caps%2C156&sr=1-1) by Katie Alender, another YA novel in which a young girl moves into a big (spooky?) mansion and complains about it. Jeez, kids these days.
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### Author:  [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/49 "2020-10-20T18:30:19Z")
Right??
Sheesh, I would have loved to live in a haunted house as a teen. Though to be fair, we were living in a 19th century two story Victorian that creaked with every step so…
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### Author:  [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/50 "2020-10-20T18:32:16Z")
I started _Johannes Cabal Necromancer_ by Jonathan L Howard for the second time. I talked my book club into reading it for our Halloween book this year 😃
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2020, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/51 "2020-10-20T18:34:10Z")
All right! 🕶
I saw your Goodreads update about the Cabal short story, so I went and read that this morning. Thanks!
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### Author:  [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/52 "2020-10-20T18:42:41Z")
Trust, by Pete Buttigieg, I have something to tell you by Chasten Buttigieg, AOC by Lynda Lopez, Hoax by brian Stelter, Don’t Lie to Me by Jeannine Pirro, and Born Trump by Emily Fox.
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### Author:  [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)
#### Post date: [October 20, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/53 "2020-10-20T22:26:36Z")
_Dune_, still. It’s kind of a slog honestly.
In nonfiction I’m reading a book called _Anti-Diet_ which is about the harm caused by the diet industry.
I read a great romance novel (I find these rare) called _Lasso the Moon_. It’s a Wild West romantic comedy by Beth Ciotta, not at all what I would normally read but a friend mailed me a copy and it turned out to be quite a page-turner.
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### Author:  [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2020, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/54 "2020-10-21T07:09:14Z")
Welcome!
I plan to read it tomorrow… er today after I have slept.
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### Author:  [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2020, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/55 "2020-10-21T07:09:43Z")
It’s totally a slog… even fans admit that.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2020, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/56 "2020-10-21T10:53:52Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#):
>
> Started today on [The Companion](https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Katie-Alender/dp/0399545913/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VOFK8KZO4ZHD&dchild=1&keywords=the+companion+katie+alender&qid=1603197305&s=books&sprefix=the+companion%2Caps%2C156&sr=1-1) by Katie Alender, another YA novel in which a young girl moves into a big (spooky?) mansion and complains about it. Jeez, kids these days.
You’re one of the T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon fans, right? I think you’ve read _Castle Hangnail_, but on the off chance you haven’t, that’s one kid unafraid of a haunted house.
I finished Jim Butcher’s _Battle Ground_ earlier this week. It did _not_ benefit from being finished the same week as I finished reading _Fellowship of the Ring_ to my 11yo daughter. I almost felt sorry for it.
Now reading _Hollow Spaces_, by T Kingfisher. Great stuff as usual!
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/57 "2020-10-21T14:52:06Z")
I’m a T.Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon noob. I haven’t read Castle Hangnail or Hollow Spaces but they’re both on my list!
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### Author:  [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/58 "2020-10-21T19:33:51Z")
I’m a big fan of _Castle Hangnail_.
Finished _Endangered Words: A Collection of Rare Gems for Book Lovers_ , by Simon Hertnon. My favorite was “quaquaversal” which means “dipping, pointing, or occurring in every direction.”
Now I’m reading _The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek_, by Kim Michelle Richardson.
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### Author:  [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2020, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/59 "2020-10-22T01:34:08Z")
I’ve followed Ursula since her Livejournal days. I haven’t bought _Hollow Places_ yet, but if you liked _Castle Hangnail_ DO read _Minor Mage_. It was a fun read with a good main character. It’s in the same age range as CH and just as much fun.
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### Author:  [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/60 "2020-10-24T15:21:41Z")
Thanks for the recommendation re _Minor Mage_. I’ll get around to it, but probably not until next year.
Back in play: Finished _The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek_ , by Kim Michelle Richardson, which was interesting.
Now I’m reading _Life Among the Savages_, one of Shirley Jackson’s memoirs.
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