# 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:** 1
**Showing post:** 13

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### Author: ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2020, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-oct-2020-edition/921914/13 "2020-10-02T13:47:23Z")

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> [@Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - Sept. 2020 edition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-sept-2020-edition/919607/70):
>
> I finished [Piranesi](https://www.amazon.com/Piranesi-Susanna-Clarke/dp/163557563X/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1QWYX6AOHGBHE&dchild=1&keywords=piranesi+susanna+clarke&qid=1601295816&sprefix=piranesi%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzU05VN0k5SERHU0QwJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTk5MTQwM1VUTlI3WjdPVVZYQiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODc3OTc3M0cxT1pRN0FGN1MxMCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=) over the weekend, and absolutely loved it. I expect it’ll be my best of the year. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll say only that although it isn’t about Narnia, I felt joyfully inspired to go on looking for forests in wardrobes.

I had _Piranesi_ on pre-order and finished it fairly quickly over a few days, trying to pace myself and not rush through it. It was much more straightforward than JS&MN (and a third of the length), with no big story twists or surprises but rather a slow gradual reveal throughout the book.

Where it excelled was its descriptive power, building a world that was at the same time intimate and infinite, and for this alone it is worth a read. To be honest, it reminded me less of Clarke’s earlier work and much more of the works of Italo Calvino, synthesizing the best of his character- and scenery-building writing style but stripping out the structural OCD that often undermines his stories, with the result of a setting that retains a wild and organic quality absolutely required for the story Clarke is telling.

After that, I’ve re-read six of the seven Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde (haven’t got a copy of _The Woman Who Died A Lot_ to hand at the moment) as well as continuing my slow and steady reading of [Katie Whitaker’s biography of Margaret Cavendish](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mad-Madge-Margaret-Cavendish-Newcastle/dp/0099569965/ref=pd_lpo_14_t_0/257-6811327-0420844?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0099569965&pd_rd_r=5382c3d8-aa94-491e-a53f-30aa876348a4&pd_rd_w=pwWyF&pd_rd_wg=B4jBf&pf_rd_p=7b8e3b03-1439-4489-abd4-4a138cf4eca6&pf_rd_r=C32EWE4XQQCD95EKAXP6&psc=1&refRID=C32EWE4XQQCD95EKAXP6).

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