# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' - February 2013 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2013, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895 "2013-01-31T07:54:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/21 "2013-02-01T18:17:51Z")
I’m less than a hundred pages into The Comanche Empire by Pekka Hamalainen. Not exactly light reading, more of a scholarly, professorial account but very well researched and presented. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/22 "2013-02-01T19:29:49Z")
Finished _Crossroads Road_ by Jeff Kay. I’m thinking “This reads like a blog”. Turns out the guy is a blogger. It was entertaining as a blog but I’m glad it was free. There was one funny bit where a guy is helping his sister-in-law and her husband move, but mostly it was this guy bitching about his mother-in-law, who had just built him a beautiful house and given him $2 million. Started _The January Dancer_, space opera by Michael Flynn. An artifact has been found. Plots are unfolding. It takes concentration so I’m alternating with _The Misremembered Man_ by Christine McKenna. It’s set in rural Ireland in the 1970’s. A 40-something bachelor has decided he needs a wife, and a 40-something unmarried teacher wants to get out from under her mother’s thumb. I’m liking both of these. And thanks, **Le Ministre de l’au-delà** , for agreeing to start these threads. 🙂 It seems weird not to see **Khadaji** as the thread starter. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/23 "2013-02-01T23:00:58Z")
The Monuments Men Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History By Robert M . Edsel ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/24 "2013-02-01T23:06:33Z")
Still slogging through Joseph Conrad’s _ **Nostromo.** _ Very good, but slow going, and my life has been filled with interruptions. I loo kforward to some lighter reading when it’s over. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/25 "2013-02-01T23:07:44Z")
I’m on \*\*Sweet Tooth \*\*by Ian McEwan. I’ve had mixed results with his books but got this one for Christmas. Pretty good so far. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/26 "2013-02-01T23:08:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’m reading **Ayesha – the Return of She** which I have had sitting around forever, and never read. H Rider Haggard? Kelly, John. _The Great Mortality_, a history of the 14th century plague. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/27 "2013-02-01T23:18:38Z")
I am currently reading “Helen Vardon’s Confession” which sounds soap-opera-ey but is actually another interesting Dr Thorndyke mystery from the first quarter of the 20th century. In this one the good Dr is only a side character, as the story is told in the first person by the title character. The author is R Austin Freeman, and he wrote quite a number of these. It’s nice to see so many folks reading these older books, like Ayesha and others. I do it because they’re out of copyright and therefore free as an e-book, but I also like the more genteel manners and slower pace of the stories. The occasional racism (strong anti-semitism is the most common, as most of the books of this type that I read are British) is a turnoff, but it doesn’t come up very much really. I am trying to read “1491”, which is supposed to be a description of the state of all the native American peoples just prior to the European invasions, but it is dry, and slow going. Roddy ---
**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:** [February 1, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/28 "2013-02-01T23:25:24Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > H Rider Haggard? > > Kelly, John. _The Great Mortality_, a history of the 14th century plague. Of course H. Rider Haggard. I read _King Solomon’s Mines_ ages ago. I read _She_ last month (after having a copy of the unread book for years) because I finally saw the 1934 movie. As I said, Haggard seems to have been the first author to resurrect a character who’d been completely obliterated (rather than simply ignoring the difficulty), as Spock was after Star Trek II, and I wanted to see how he did it. He brought back Ayesha for two more books – _She and Allen_ (where she meets Allen Quartermain) and _Wisdom’s Daughter_. As for the plague, try Winchester’s book on it. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/29 "2013-02-01T23:45:40Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > H Rider Haggard? > > Kelly, John. _The Great Mortality_, a history of the 14th century plague. May I suggest [The Black Death](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1130098.The_Black_Death). Picked it up in England sometime ago, very informative. Zeigler seems to feel that the Plague wasn’t nearly as devastating as usually depicted, so it’s a nice balance of perspectives. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/30 "2013-02-01T23:46:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Of course H. Rider Haggard. Cool. I have most of them somewhere…may be Palm Reader on some abandoned hard drive. Back to Gaslight or Gutenberg, I guess. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/31 "2013-02-02T00:14:09Z")
_The Full Monty_. This is a two-day read but highly entertaining and I MUST see the movie now. I’ve also been on a vintage Stephen King kick for the last few months; currently plowing through some of his short stories. He is just so much _fun_ to read. I recently flung _[Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluenza)_ across the room. Literally; I really did - I’m pretty lefty but that book was a piece of uber-liberal, brainless, adolescent swill. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/32 "2013-02-02T00:22:06Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > _The Full Monty_. This is a two-day read but highly entertaining and I MUST see the movie now. One of my all time favorites! It’s fantabulous! ---
**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:** [February 2, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/33 "2013-02-02T01:22:00Z")
My current car book is _Escape from Germany_ (Aidan Crawley), the official account of RAF POW escape attempts - successful and otherwise - in WW II. My current house book is _The Great Journey: The Peopling of Ancient America_ (Brian M Fagan). A bit outdated, perhaps - I first read it 23 years ago - but still interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/34 "2013-02-02T01:37:15Z")
_Nemesis_, By Jo Nesbo, the second (US available) in a series featuring the unfortunately named detective Harry Hole. It’s pretty good, though some of the plot twists are implausible. Nesbo gets compared sometimes to GwtDT author Steig Larsson, but I don’t think that’s right. His books are much more straight up police procedurals. ETA: Thanks for keeping this thread series going **Ministre**. Good job on the title too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/35 "2013-02-02T02:03:47Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > [The Time Ships](http://www.amazon.com/Time-Ships-Stephen-Baxter/dp/0061056480), by Stephen Baxter, the authorized sequel to _The Time Machine_ by H. G. Wells. Assuming you’re not kidding… authorized by whom? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/36 "2013-02-02T02:05:01Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moi aussi. Just finished a re-read of _Sons of Sinbad_ by Alan Villiers. Fascinating book about a 1938 voyage on an Arab dhow trading down the east coast of Africa (as had been done for about 2000 years). Will soon start _Faraway_ by Lucy Irvine, a British woman who decided to take her young sons to live on a small Pacific island. Suggested by a friend who is much the most reliable recommender of moderately obscure books I’ve ever run across. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/37 "2013-02-02T13:31:36Z")
I finished _The Prisoner of Heaven_ by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which, while a quick and entertaining read, left me feeling a little unfulfilled at the end. It’s the third of a series of interconnected books, but while each one is supposed to be able to stand on its own–and I’ve read the previous two–this one seemed incomplete. Some stuff was very clearly left as a lead-in to a fourth book. I do like the writing, so I’d recommend it for someone interested in keeping up with the complete line of books, but not as a one-off. Now reading [High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed](http://www.amazon.com/High-Crimes-Fate-Everest-Greed/dp/B002KHMZJ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359811492&sr=1-1&keywords=high+crimes) by Michael Kodas. The author has twice attempted to summit Everest and this book is reflection on those trips. He apparently has a lot to say about the cut-throat nature of the climbers and the business of Everest expeditions, both of which create dangers to climbers above and beyond what the mountain itself provides. For example, he talks about people stealing other people’s equipment on the mountain and about inexperienced or unethical guides who leave their clients to die at the first sign of trouble. I don’t know how much of it is colored by Koda’s own disappointment in not reaching the summit, but it’s an interesting story and well-written. And it’s a nice counterpoint to the book I finished recently about the first expeditions to Everest in the 1920s, showing how much the experience has changed over time. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/38 "2013-02-02T13:46:29Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Assuming you’re not kidding… authorized by whom? The people who are in control of H.G. Wells’ estate. > **[The Time Ships](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Ships)** > > The Time Ships is a 1995 hard science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. A canonical sequel to the 1895 novella The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, it was officially authorized by the Wells estate to mark the centenary of the original's publication. The Time Ships won critical acclaim. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and the Philip K. Dick Award in 1996, as well as the British Science Fiction Association Award in 1995. It was also nominated for the Hugo, Clarke and Locus Awards in After... > [@](#): > > A sequel to The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, it was officially authorized by the Wells estate to mark the centenary of the original’s publication. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/39 "2013-02-02T14:23:37Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > _The Full Monty_. This is a two-day read but highly entertaining and I MUST see the movie now. I had no idea this was a book, I will have to look for it. You really do learn something every day. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895/40 "2013-02-02T15:13:20Z")
I bought _Confessions of a Gnostic Dwarf_ when it was on a $1.99 Kindle special, and started it last night. What a treat. George R R Martin lost Tyrion Lannister, but he was resurrected here… albeit with a different background and different proclivities. Same voice though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-february-2013-edition/648895.md?page=3)