# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' - July 2013 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233 "2013-06-30T01:55:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/1 "2013-06-30T01:55:00Z")
July is almost here - this is some of my favourite reading weather, when I can put my feet up outside and listen to the wind in the garden. The dog sniffs the breeze, wags his tail and goes back to sleep. Heaven. So I’m currently reading ‘ **The Classical World** ’ by Robin Lane Fox. I read his ‘ **Alexander the Great** ’ a few years ago and I remember thoroughly enjoying it. I’m also in the middle of P. D. James’ ‘ **The Black Tower** ’. I know I’m 30 years behind everyone else, but I started reading ‘ **The Vanishing Hitchhiker** ’ by Jan H. Brunvand when I found it on the bookshelf. It was one of those moments where thinking ‘I just need something to read while I sit and wait hold.’ turned into ‘This is Great!! I must keep reading!’. I still have Marcus Aurelius and Confucius on the e-reader, but as I’m at home a lot these days, the paper books are much more appealing. I’m curious - the term ‘beach book’ has been around for ages, but I personally find my reading habits don’t change much with the seasons. In fact, I took my son to the amusement park the other day, and that was the first time I had used the Kobo e-reader in weeks. (He’s still too young to get to the park by himself, but I can’t take the rides that he loves, so - he gets flipped and twisted and spun, I sit at the exit line and read.) It was a somewhat noisy atmosphere to be reading Confucius’ ‘ **Analects** ’, but it was what I felt like reading at the time. So I pose the question to you, fellow reading enthusiasts - do you read what you consider to be ‘fluffier’ books in the summer? **Khadaji** was a long time Doper of a very kindly disposition. He was an omnivorous reader, and loved to discuss books and book recommendations. He started this long line of reading threads many years ago - when he passed away earlier this year, we decided that there was no better way to honour his memory than to name these threads after him, and continue on with the discussion. It still makes me smile to think of him. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/2 "2013-06-30T02:00:43Z")
About 3/5 through _Truman_, by David McCullough. I’m up to 1948, and the president is wrestling with the Palestine issue. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/3 "2013-06-30T06:49:26Z")
Well, I finished another Jack McDevitt science fiction book, and I continue to be impressed at his hard science plotting and at the same time character-driven stories. This one is \*\*Moonfall, \*\*and I think it is one of his best. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/4 "2013-06-30T14:04:00Z")
The current state of the book pile: [Possessing the Secret of Joy,](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/736951.Possessing_the_Secret_of_Joy) Alice Walker–continuing my trend of Deep Subjects in Fiction. I can only take this in small doses due to the subject matter. [Damia](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61959.Damia), Anne McCaffrey–a soap opera to dilute the impact of the Walker book. [The Water Babies](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2066308.Water_Babies), Charles Kingsley–I thought I had lost this book years ago, but it was at my Dad’s house and I took it back in the Big Pile o’ Books I got at the beginning of the year. Continuing the theme of ironic damage to books, this one was once apparently dropped in the bathtub. (See also the copy of James Herriot’s Cat Stories I had to toss because a kitten peed on it.) [The Turn of the Screw and Other Stories](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/778891.The_Turn_of_the_Screw_and_Other_Stories), Henry James–One of those classic stories I’ve always meant to get around to reading. S’okay so far. [Dune](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53732.Dune), Frank Herbert–Ah, Dune. How I love you. [It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/856047.It_Was_On_Fire_When_I_Lay_Down_On_It), Robert Fulghum–This has some of the funniest wedding stories I’ve ever read. I think this is also the one with the donkey at the Christmas pageant that caused someone to say unChristian words during the service. [Bleak House](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31242.Bleak_House), Charles Dickens–Continuing my quest to make peace with Dickens. So far all it’s done is convince me I never want to be a lawyer. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/5 "2013-06-30T19:20:29Z")
I read _The Last Werewolf_, by Glen Duncan, a contemporary literary werewolf novel, quite well-written. It’s dark, violent and hypersexual. I think it’s a very good (vivid, disturbing) imagining of what it would be like to become a werewolf and to relish killing every full moon - to come to terms with the fact that the desire to live is stronger than the guilt. I finished another of John Burdett’s dark comedy/mystery novels set in modern-day Bangkok: _The Godfather of Kathmandu_. It’s not my favorite of the series, but it was entertaining. I’m almost finished with a Christopher Brookmyre novel, _A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away_. (Which seems to be a Scottish saying, but when I google it most of the hits are for this book.) His novels are Scottish contemporary crime/noir/comedy. As usual, this one has an ordinary bloke attempting to thwart a bunch of armed, professional thugs; terrorists in this case. (The book has a publication date of 2001 and was obviously written before September 11th.) These books are fun once you get through some tedious ranting and slowish character development. The bad guys always get their comeuppance, which is as satisfying as it is predictable. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/6 "2013-06-30T19:39:27Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > So I pose the question to you, fellow reading enthusiasts - do you read what you consider to be ‘fluffier’ books in the summer? No, I don’t think my ratio of fluffy books to meritorious books varies according to the season. For a beach trip, though, I would probably choose books that have a high probability of being satisfying, such as a book by a known author, or something highly recommended in one of my favorite genres. Of course, I’d have several books with me anyway, so I’d never be stuck with a dud. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/7 "2013-06-30T20:16:23Z")
I’m reading _Call the Midwife_, by Jennifer Worth. I haven’t seen the TV series, and don’t plan to, but the book is very good. At one point, she quotes an old book for midwives in which the following advice is given: “If a woman is in labor for more than ten to twelve days, a doctor should be consulted.” ---
**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:** [June 30, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/8 "2013-06-30T21:11:28Z")
Well _Turn of the Screw_ didn’t last long. I was deathly bored halfway through and the pages were falling out of the book so I chucked it in the trash. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/9 "2013-07-01T03:07:10Z")
Mickey Spillane was one of the few iconic mystery novelists whose work I’d never read. So, I’m now halfway through the Mike Hammer novel “One Lonely Night.” As for summer reading… my tastes don’t change by season. I’ve read everything from Sherlock Holmes to Saul Bellow at the beach. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/10 "2013-07-01T03:09:25Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I finished another of John Burdett’s dark comedy/mystery novels set in modern-day Bangkok: _The Godfather of Kathmandu_. It’s not my favorite of the series, but it was entertaining. That one’s received such poor reviews over here that I’ve not bothered to read it yet. It seems Burdett may never equal the heights of his first one, _Bangkok 8_. Have you read any Jake Needham? Some of his stuff is pretty good, particularly his first novel, _The Big Mango_, also set in modern-day Bangkok. Word is he’s sold the movie rights to it and James Gandolfini was being considered for the lead before he died. (In the book, everyone tells the protagonist that he looks like Clint Eastwood, but Clint’s probably too old for the part now.) His second one, _Tea Money_, which has since been reissued under the title _Laundry Man_, was good too. And _The Ambassador’s Wife_, set in Singapore but with a brief side trip to Bangkok – a police detective in the city-state investigates the murder of the US ambassador’s wife. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/11 "2013-07-01T07:50:03Z")
Reading _Legion of the Damned_ by Sven Hassel. Rather gritty and gruesome tome about a Wehrmacht penal battalion in World War II. Supposed to be autobiographical but there are sceptics. Just finished the Gospel of _John_ (English Standard Version) and going to plunge into the Epistle to the _Romans_, in my rather ambitious plan to systemetically read through the Holy Bible. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/12 "2013-07-01T10:05:29Z")
Finished the 3 volumes of the **Merchant Princes** omnibus by _Charless Stross_ as well as **Lets explore diabetes with owls** by _David Sedaris_ and have now started **The Lives of Tao** by _Wesley Chu_ ---
**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:** [July 1, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/13 "2013-07-01T14:39:53Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I’m reading _Call the Midwife_, by Jennifer Worth. I haven’t seen the TV series, and don’t plan to, but the book is very good. > > At one point, she quotes an old book for midwives in which the following advice is given: “If a woman is in labor for more than ten to twelve days, a doctor should be consulted.” I liked the first book very much. The next one, _Shadows of the Workhouse_, I didn’t like quite as well: it moved away from nursing and midwifery, and the author tells fewer stories about her own experiences in favor of dramatizing the stories of people whose lives had been impacted by the workhouses during the previous generation. I’m watching season 2 of the TV show now. I like the show pretty well - I’m impressed by the fairly realistic depictions of women giving birth. The first season is very close to the first book, although it does take some material from the second book. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > That one’s received such poor reviews over here that I’ve not bothered to read it yet. It seems Burdett may never equal the heights of his first one, _Bangkok 8_. > > Have you read any Jake Needham? Some of his stuff is pretty good, particularly his first novel, _The Big Mango_, also set in modern-day Bangkok. Word is he’s sold the movie rights to it and James Gandolfini was being considered for the lead before he died. (In the book, everyone tells the protagonist that he looks like Clint Eastwood, but Clint’s probably too old for the part now.) His second one, _Tea Money_, which has since been reissued under the title _Laundry Man_, was good too. And _The Ambassador’s Wife_, set in Singapore but with a brief side trip to Bangkok – a police detective in the city-state investigates the murder of the US ambassador’s wife. It’s certainly not as good as _Bankok 8_, but I still enjoyed it. I do want to read the next book, _Vulture Peak_. I haven’t read Needham, I’ll check out _The Big Mango_. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/14 "2013-07-01T15:32:53Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I’m curious - the term ‘beach book’ has been around for ages, but I personally find my reading habits don’t change much with the seasons. In fact, I took my son to the amusement park the other day, and that was the first time I had used the Kobo e-reader in weeks. (He’s still too young to get to the park by himself, but I can’t take the rides that he loves, so - he gets flipped and twisted and spun, I sit at the exit line and read.) It was a somewhat noisy atmosphere to be reading Confucius’ ‘ **Analects** ’, but it was what I felt like reading at the time. > > So I pose the question to you, fellow reading enthusiasts - do you read what you consider to be ‘fluffier’ books in the summer? Not really. However, I do like to read while I’m in line for the roller coasters at Canada’s Wonderland (my wife hates roller coasters, so I have no one to talk to while I’m in line). In that case, I like to read a cheap paperback book that I wouldn’t have a problem with getting wet or lost or stolen. Currently that’s a cheap copy of the works of Edgar Allan Poe (although I was reading Vanity Fair the other day). I would estimate about 50% of the time when I’m reading my book in line, I get comments from other people. “Is that a good book?” “What are you reading?” “Hey, maybe I should have brought a book!” etc. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/15 "2013-07-01T16:34:53Z")
Incidentally, as I’ve posted earlier, I’ve been alternating between mysteries and books on the Modern Library’s list of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Once I finish Mickey Spillane, I have the following Modern Library choices on my Kindle or in paperback form. Which of the following do you guys recommend I take up next: **An American Tragedy** by Theodore Dreiser **Point Counter Point** by Aldous Huxley **The Ambassadors** by Henry James \*\*The Golden Bowl \*\*by Henry James **Sons and Lovers** by D.H. Lawremce **Appointment in Samarra** by John O’Hara **Angle of Repose** by Wallace Stegner **To the Lighthouse** by Virginia Woolf (I’ll get around to all of them eventually, regardless.) ---
**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:** [July 1, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/16 "2013-07-01T16:57:11Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Incidentally, as I’ve posted earlier, I’ve been alternating between mysteries and books on the Modern Library’s list of the greatest novels of the 20th century. > > Once I finish Mickey Spillane, I have the following Modern Library choices on my Kindle or in paperback form. Which of the following do you guys recommend I take up next: > > **An American Tragedy** by Theodore Dreiser > **Point Counter Point** by Aldous Huxley > **The Ambassadors** by Henry James > \*\*The Golden Bowl \*\*by Henry James > **Sons and Lovers** by D.H. Lawremce > **Appointment in Samarra** by John O’Hara > **Angle of Repose** by Wallace Stegner > **To the Lighthouse** by Virginia Woolf > > (I’ll get around to all of them eventually, regardless.) Among those, hands down I recommend _An American Tragedy_. That was just fascinating. Based on a true murder case that occurred about 1905, I believe. (EDIT: A 1906 case, I see after looking it up.) I recently read _Point Counter Point_, and it’s good. So is _Sons and Lovers_. But I’ll tell ya, I can’t take any more of Henry James – I thought _The Ambassadors_ an ungodly bore, as I did _The Wings of the Dove_, so I’ll probably never read all 100 novels on that list since I doubt I’ll ever bother with _The Golden Bowl_. I also did not care much for _To the Lighthouse_, although I have enjoyed other Woolf novels. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/17 "2013-07-01T17:24:18Z")
Maybe I’ll take a stab at **An American Tragedy** too. ---
**Author:** ![Grrlbrarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrlbrarian/32/4048_2.png) [@Grrlbrarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrlbrarian)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/18 "2013-07-01T20:20:08Z")
Currently reading three books: 1. Lirael by Garth Nix. Very interesting follow-up to Sabriel so far. Current chapter title: Into the Lair of the Chief Librarian. Love it! 😃 2. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis. The fourth book on my quest to re-read the Narnia books in chronological order. 3. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger. Many thanks to the Doper who read this last month and gave me the heads-up that Gail Carriger had a new series afoot. Do I read lighter stuff in the summer? No, I don’t think so. I tend to read as my fancy takes me all year long. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/19 "2013-07-01T20:35:04Z")
It’s eleventy-billion degrees in my corner of the Southwest, so yes, I’m using that as an excuse to wallow in [del]crap[/del] lighter fare. I’m on a Michael Connelly, Carl Hiaasen, Stephen King binge for the duration and I’m not going anywhere near _Wolf Hall_ until my garden thermometer needle is out of the scary red zone. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![simply\_cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@simply\_cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simply_cats)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233/20 "2013-07-01T23:11:59Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > Well _Turn of the Screw_ didn’t last long. I was deathly bored halfway through and the pages were falling out of the book so I chucked it in the trash. I try reading this book once ever 7 or 8 years, thinking I might finally be old enough to appreciate it. I’m almost 41; next attempt in about three years- I’m not optimistic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-july-2013/662233.md?page=2)