# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' - March 2013 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578 "2013-02-28T01:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/181 "2013-03-28T16:32:29Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I recently read three (enormous) books of historical fiction by a Japanese writer, Eiji Yoshikawa: > > 1. Musashi > 2. Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan > 3. The Heike Story: A Modern Translation of the Classic Tale of Love and War Cool, I read _Shogun_ a few years ago and was surprised by how much I like it, I will have to pick up _Taiko_. Thanks for the recommendation! ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/182 "2013-03-28T17:53:10Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Cool, I read _Shogun_ a few years ago and was surprised by how much I like it, I will have to pick up _Taiko_. Thanks for the recommendation! No prob. It’s a good 'un. 🙂 Shogun focussed on the (fictional) version of Tokugawa (“Toranaga”), the third of the “three unifiers” of fudal Japan. Taiko focuses on Hydeoshi, the second one - Tokugawa’s immediate predecessor. The first was a very nasty man name Nobunaga. Hydeoshi’s rise to power is a Horatio Alger-like rags-to-riches one - if it wasn’t true, it would be very hard to believe (he goes from itinerant needle-peddler to sandal-holder … to unquestioned warlord of Japan!) There is apparently a saying about these three, illustrating their different approaches to rule, goes something like this: You have a bird that will not sing. What do you do about it? Nobunaga says: “Kill the bird!” Hydeoshi says: “Make the bird want to sing” Tokugawa says: “Wait. Eventually, the bird will sing on its own.” … Also, if you liked the _Shogun_ story, you may be pleased to know it was based in part on fact. I recommend _Samurai William_, which is about the English pilot marooned in Japan on whom the hero in _Shogun_ was based. > **[Amazon.com: Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan: 9780142003787:...](https://www.amazon.com/Samurai-William-Englishman-Opened-Japan/dp/0142003786)** > > Amazon.com: Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan: 9780142003787: Milton, Giles: Books ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/183 "2013-03-29T11:30:37Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > [side chat] **Les Espaces Du Sommeil:** Does your user name mark you as a Witold Lutoslawski fan or a Robert Desnos fan? [/side chat] Hi, **Le Ministre de l’au-delà**. \*[side chat]\*It marks me as a terrible snob, I’m afraid ;). I know only a handful of **Desnos** poems but like all of them. I’m not enthusiastic about all of **Lutoslawski** ’s music but his best pieces are among the greatest of the late 20th century IMHO. So, to answer your question: both but leaning **Lutoslawski**. As a matter of fact, I chose it first and foremost because I love the phrase and the images it conjures up._[/side chat]_ ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/184 "2013-03-29T21:59:29Z")
I have a short attention span so I’m also reading Goblet of Fire and A Game of Thrones. I figured it’s about time I read those. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/185 "2013-03-30T04:44:41Z")
So shortly after (or before, I forget) takeoff from LGA to my interview in Columbus, I polished off _ **When America First Met China** _. Excellent book, but it does raise a gripe I have with kindle books. I was watching my percentage complete, and so I expected another 40% or so. Unfortunately, that last 40% was all of the foot/endnotes. So I found myself rather suddenly without book. Kindle/Amazon needs to segretgate the foot/endnotes into a separate section that doesn’t count towards the percentage complete of the book. Anyway, I wound up at 10K+ feet with nothing to read, so I broke my usual [del]cheap[/del] frugal rule against buying internet access in-flight to get another book. From all of the Lovecraft talk in here this month, I wound up re-downloading my Complete Works. Instead of going for the Mountains of Madness, I went for a personal favorite–The Dunwich Horror. I’m almost, but not quite done–but loving every word of it. Reminds me why I fell in love with Lovecraft–though my first read was The Rats in the Walls. Lovecraft is one of those things where I wish I could be a virgin again–I’ve not read the Dunwich Horror in probably ten years, but the familiarity is still there, so while I hang on every word, the visceral horror is a bit lost. Will probably be puttering around w/ Lovecraft for a while now, I think. ---
**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:** [March 30, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/186 "2013-03-30T17:11:23Z")
The new thread is up and running [over here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16147199#post16147199). ---
**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:** [March 31, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/187 "2013-03-31T01:39:40Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I believe it is. I certainly enjoyed it. I agree. One of the best books I’ve read in recent years. I describe it as “if Jane Austen wrote a Harry Potter book.” The BBC will soon be making a miniseries of it, if that makes a difference. ---
**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 1, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/188 "2013-04-01T21:53:02Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > I enjoyed \*Wintersmith \*- just delightful. Tiffany Aching is such a good character, and there can’t be too much Granny Weatherwax. One advantage to reading several thousand pages of Jamie Fraser in the \*Outlander \*series is that the Feegles in \*Wintersmith \*were clear as day. I’m an \*Outlander \*fan, too. My husband was recently reading _The Wee Free Men_ out loud to our son, and he mangled the Nac Mac Feegle accents and struggled with the dialect. I told him he hadn’t read nearly enough books featuring men in kilts. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578.md?page=9)