# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' - April 2013 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364 "2013-03-30T17:10:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**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:** [April 29, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/142 "2013-04-29T14:48:50Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > There are also a lot of Full House references, which I could do without because I’ve never seen the show. I envy you. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/143 "2013-04-29T15:35:30Z")
I’ve seen enough to know I’m one of the fortunate. 😃 On the other hand, now I know the origin of Kimmy Gibbler’s screen name! ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/144 "2013-04-29T16:08:41Z")
I was all excited to get the Amazon notification that Joe Hill’s new book - [NOS4A2](http://www.amazon.com/NOS4A2-A-Novel-Joe-Hill/dp/0062200577/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y) was on its way. Then I read some of the reviews. Looks like he’s following in his father’s footsteps. Several reviewers describe it as bloated. The worst part is that I ordered it without reading a plot description. It’s 700 pages about a serial murderer/rapist who targets children. I adored Hill’s short story collection and really liked _Heart-Shaped Box_ and _Horns_, but I won’t be reading this latest one. ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/145 "2013-04-29T16:25:25Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’m about four-fifths through _Cracker Culture: Celtic Ways in the Old South_, by Grady McWhiney, a retired Texas Christian University history professor. (The book came out 25 years ago, so he may be dead now, dunno.) Very interesting. His claim is that the Civil War was above all a continuation of the centuries-old tension and conflict between the English and the British Celts, English culture having predominated in the North, especially New England, and Celtic culture in the South. He makes a good case. makes sense, I spent my winters in Indianapolis and summers with family in the Appalachians, the folk music alone is dead giveaway, along with customs to source of culture and a lot of the mindset ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/146 "2013-04-29T16:29:55Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I’m having some funny trouble with my Kobo. It is supposed to save your page when it goes to sleep or when you shut it down. Instead, it is selecting some arbitrary page in a chapter I’ve already read. Using the button to make a bookmark doesn’t seem to help. It’s only doing this on one particular book, and strangely enough, it’s one of the few books I’ve actually bought from the Kobo store (as opposed to the ~200 I’ve downloaded from Project Gutenberg). My kluge has been to annotate a particular word, and that seems to get it, but still… > > My personal jury is out on e-books vs. paper editions. I certainly enjoy having the complete Dickens, Jane Austen, Hornblower series, etc. in one slightly-smaller-than-a-trade-paperback format. The dictionaries are handy for reading in another language. (In English, it’s a pretty safe rule of thumb that if I need to look it up a word, the Kobo dictionary isn’t going to have it…) > > On the other hand, notes are pretty inconsistent. It can’t look up a specific page number, and it’s nowhere near as easy to look up a passage that I read the other day to quote it to somebody. If I’m sitting at home reading, I still strongly prefer the original paper. > > I’m loving the content of ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’, but it makes me yearn for a large coffee table edition with maps, photos and footnotes that I can choose. I’ll probably finish the e-book edition in any case, but this is one I’d much rather read in a ‘too large to carry’ edition. > > How do the rest of you feel about the medium that brings your books to your eyes? give me an actual book any day, but due to an obsession of keeping and rereading books (when I last moved I had close to 2000 paperbacks alone) I now live in very limited space and having to shove books in storage. I got a used sony 659 reader a while back and while I appreciate the portability and multiple book capability but it challenges my failing eyesight. i don’t have the attn span for audio 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sidhechaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sidhechaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidhechaos)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/147 "2013-04-29T17:22:31Z")
currently reading “black blossom of kerishdar” by m.c.a. hogarth. I’ve read a lot of her work and love it, though some find the kerishdar series odd, its basically philosophy of an alien species but incredibly though provoking; I highly recommend her [http://stardancer.org/](http://stardancer.org/) . Since she publishes almost exclusively electronic she’s not well known, but she should be imho. she’s also an extraordinary artist. read "tongue of serpents " (book 4? 5?)of the temeraire books by naomi noviks napoleon era war but with dragons. absolutely delightful. I’ve been tempted to try and drag all my robert jordan out of storage and re read and buy the last book but digging through storage is daunting. read the mockingjay series finally and enjoyed it, but found it a tad predictable read “Grass” by sheri tepper, first I’ve read of her work. nice balance of action and social observation “the bee keepers apprentice” which the authos name escapes at the moment, about a retired sherlock holmes taking on an orphan teenage girl as apprentice while living in the countryside during world war. Greatly enjoyed it! (keep in mind I’m an odd duck who reads everything but classics, so have not yet read the original sherlock holmes!) since it has been raining non stop and I’m flooded in I’m desperate for books. I’m always desperate for reading material as I’m disabled, broke, live 120 miles round trip from the nearest bookstore and the only thing goodwill or walmart seems to have are bodice rippers. local library distressingly small and selection is abysmal (fully half is christian religion books.) can anyone recommend sources for used books that won’t kill me with shipping and aren’t almost purely out of copyright classics like project gutenburg? ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/148 "2013-04-29T18:57:22Z")
I did Camp NaNoWriMo this month, so I didn’t do much reading for the first three weeks or so of April. I’ve been doing some catching up since and I finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King; I, Zombie, by Hugh Howey; and Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America. I also read Home by Toni Morrison this month. All were good reads, but I especially loved I, Zombie. It’s quite possibly the most disturbing book I’ve ever read. Wonderfully disturbing. I’m currently working on Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/149 "2013-04-29T19:59:36Z")
> [@sidhechaos](#): > > I got a used sony 659 reader a while back and while I appreciate the portability and multiple book capability but it challenges my failing eyesight. I think e-readers are better for failing eyesight than most books. The maximum font size on my Sony Reader is pretty dang big – certainly bigger than the average large print book! ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/150 "2013-04-29T20:18:22Z")
Still plugging along on _ **The Stand** _, but I’m not sure if I will be for much longer. It’s just not… doing it for me, this time around. Characters are getting on my nerves, particularly Mother Abigail. Maybe my atheism has gotten more militant since last time I read this, but there’s only so much “Praise God”-ing that I can handle. Even though I don’t have anything specifically lined up at the moment, I’m getting that feeling of “I could be reading something else”. … ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/151 "2013-04-29T21:12:27Z")
> [@sidhechaos](#): > > can anyone recommend sources for used books that won’t kill me with shipping and aren’t almost purely out of copyright classics like project gutenburg? Have you tried [half.com](http://half.com)? Shipping for a single book is a bit high, but if you buy several books from the same seller it becomes more reasonable. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/152 "2013-04-30T02:02:14Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Still plugging along on _ **The Stand** _, but I’m not sure if I will be for much longer. It’s just not… doing it for me, this time around. Characters are getting on my nerves, particularly Mother Abigail. Maybe my atheism has gotten more militant since last time I read this, but there’s only so much “Praise God”-ing that I can handle. Even though I don’t have anything specifically lined up at the moment, I’m getting that feeling of “I could be reading something else”. … How about some other King? My favorites are _'Salem’s Lot_ and _Misery_. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/153 "2013-04-30T02:47:33Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Thanks. I recommend Len Deighton’s _SS-GB_ and Robert Harris’s _Fatherland_ for two excellent mysteries set against the backdrop of a Nazi victory in WWII. The first largely takes place in London in the Forties; the second, in Berlin in the Sixties. I’d also add C J Sansom’s _Dominion_ to this list. It’s set in London in the 50s following the UK’s capitulation after the fall of Chamberlains government. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/154 "2013-04-30T04:10:21Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > How about some other King? My favorites are _'Salem’s Lot_ and _Misery_. I’m not a King Fan as such: I stumbled onto The Stand way back, loved it, and had nothing else to do with the man until my “brother” pushed _ **The Gunslinger** _ into my hands. He’s since then occasionally pushed another King book into my hands, and I’ve always enjoyed it–even the one with the shitweasels. On the other hand, _ **'Salem’s Lot** _ does have a Dark Tower tie in… ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/155 "2013-04-30T11:24:36Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > I’d also add C J Sansom’s _Dominion_ to this list. It’s set in London in the 50s following the UK’s capitulation after the fall of Chamberlains government. It’s excellent, as I said in the March (iirc) thread. Another new ‘Nazis won’ novel is _Afrika Reich_ by _Guy Saville_, set in Africa in 1952 as Germany is gearing up to occupy the remaining British possessions there. I’ve only read a couple of chapters so I’m not sure how good it’ll be… Also read the fairly brief _Gold Dust_ by **Ibrahim al-Koni** , about a Tuareg driven to find a cure in the desert for his ailing thoroughbred camel. I finished it, but I wouldn’t suggest anybody else bother trying. And _Cuttlefish_ by **Dave Freer** is one of the most enjoyable steampunk books I’ve read for a long time, even if it is officially a YA novel. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/156 "2013-04-30T12:57:42Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > I’d also add C J Sansom’s _Dominion_ to this list. It’s set in London in the 50s following the UK’s capitulation after the fall of Chamberlains government. > [@Meurglys](#): > > It’s excellent, as I said in the March (iirc) thread. Another new ‘Nazis won’ novel is _Afrika Reich_ by _Guy Saville_, set in Africa in 1952 as Germany is gearing up to occupy the remaining British possessions there. I’ve only read a couple of chapters so I’m not sure how good it’ll be… Thanks - good to know! I’ll add both to my list. I love a good alt-hist novel. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/157 "2013-04-30T13:39:43Z")
Ha! I received an email this morning from [amazon.co.uk](http://amazon.co.uk), politely informing me that my copy of _ **The New Watch** _ had been dispatched. So I shall keep at _ **The Stand** _ until it arrives, then trade up. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/158 "2013-04-30T15:18:26Z")
I’m now reading Josephine Tey’s mystery\*\*\* A Shilling for Candles.\*\*\* I don’t think Richard III will figure prominently in this one. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/159 "2013-04-30T16:24:12Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > Also read the fairly brief _Gold Dust_ by **Ibrahim al-Koni** , about a Tuareg driven to find a cure in the desert for his ailing thoroughbred camel. Thoroughbred camels? Cool. I’m reading _Philida_ by Andre Brink, a story of slavery in South Africa in the 1830’s, based on a real person in the author’s family history. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/160 "2013-04-30T18:00:34Z")
Currently reading _Darwin’s Armada: Four Voyages and the Battle for the Theory of Evolution_ by **Iain McCalman**. It covers not only Darwin’s early voyages and experiences that led him to develop the theory of evolution, but also those of Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley, and Alfred Wallace. An absolutely fascinating read. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364/161 "2013-04-30T18:21:37Z")
Just finished the ebook version of _**[Wonder Show](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12180226-wonder-show)**_ by Hannah Barnaby. Found it while browsing new books thru the digital library consortium; it got mixed reviews on GoodReads, and the description sounded interesting. It’s a YA book set during the Depression about a young girl, Portia, whose father leaves her with an aunt, who sends her to a Home for Wayward Girls. Portia, after a heart-wrenching experience, runs away to join the circus. It’s got some evocative writing, an engaging (if not totally likable) main character and a serviceable plot. I was hoping the Gypsy elements would be played up for some supernatural elements, but no, not really. Some reviewers were annoyed by the interstitial first-person POV chapters within the larger third-person POV tale, but I thought they provided some interesting insights into the characters. It reminded me a lot of _[INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15751523-inzared-queen-of-the-elephant-riders)_ - another historical YA novel that has its female lead run away to join the circus. It was a bit refreshing to read a “one and done” YA book - as it seems multi-book series is the direction YA fiction (especially genre fiction) is being pushed. It was worth at least a freebie/cheap read, IMHO - and I’d be interested to see what Barnaby comes up with next. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-april-2013-edition/654364.md?page=9)