# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/21 "2013-02-28T21:33:20Z")
I finished Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Loved it. Now reading some short ghost stories, notably by [M. R. James](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9629). ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/22 "2013-02-28T23:16:05Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Perhaps this bibliography would be better for your purposes - [Rex Stout](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/rex-stout/), from the Fantastic Fiction website. I use this site constantly, because I have this compulsion (bordering on a fetish) to read mysteries in their order of publication. Ah, that’s perfect, thank you! The Wolfe Pack bibliography is too detailed for my purposes (e.g., figuring out what I need to read next). ---
**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 28, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/23 "2013-02-28T23:40:31Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > I finished Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Loved it. > > Now reading some short ghost stories, notably by [M. R. James](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9629). Oh M.R. James! My favorite ghost story writer! ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/24 "2013-03-01T01:00:02Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Oh M.R. James! My favorite ghost story writer! Did you know there’s a [podcast](http://www.mrjamespodcast.com)? ---
**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:** [March 1, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/25 "2013-03-01T01:08:06Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Did you know there’s a [podcast](http://www.mrjamespodcast.com)? I did not! I will have to look into this! ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/26 "2013-03-01T01:45:22Z")
I’m up to the early twentieth century in Simon Sebag Montefiore’s [_Jerusalem: the Biography_](http://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Biography-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore/dp/0307280500/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362102067&sr=8-1&keywords=jerusalem+a+biography), which I’ve enjoyed very much. A great read with lots of colourful characters and incidents along the way. I’ve also just started Antony Beevor’s _[The Second World War](http://www.amazon.com/Second-World-War-Antony-Beevor/dp/0316023744/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362102254&sr=1-1&keywords=ANtony+Beevor)_ which is much better than Max Hastings’ recent one volume history of the War. Time for some novels next I think. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/27 "2013-03-01T01:59:13Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I really enjoyed it, and I thought the second volume (1980-1988) was even more interesting – maybe because his diaries didn’t go too far into the details behind the scenes of the TV series, but did have a fair amount of interesting background pertaining to his movies. I liked the second volume because, not only did it cover some of the same period as Stephen Fry’s Chronicles, but I was old enough to remember what I was doing then as well (I was four when this current diary started, not socially aware at all - I’ll be 14 when it finishes and not much better). But I am loving it, just in a different way. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/28 "2013-03-01T14:02:22Z")
_Into The Silence_, Wade Davis. A rather weighty tome about Mallory, the people he was most associated with, and his attempts on Everest, written in the context of WWI and its aftermath. It’s good so far, but the small print is slowing me down. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/29 "2013-03-01T14:10:03Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > James Lee Burke: Creole Belle > A Dave Robicheaux novel. > > I enjoy his writing especially the descriptions of southern Louisiana and New Orleans. Almost makes you want to go there. I used to like these novels, but _Creole Belle_ jumped the shark for me. Dave and Clete are real-time characters, which means at this point they’re somewhere around 65 years old. What Burke has them doing in this book defies logic and physical abilities. I thought it was a muddled mess and that Burke is just padding his bank account at this point. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/30 "2013-03-01T14:19:47Z")
I have almost finished Sharon Penman’s “Lionheart”. She’s one of my favourite authors for historical fiction, once I’ve finished that one then I think I’ll be heading further back in history for Ben Kane’s “Spartacus” book. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/31 "2013-03-01T14:27:17Z")
Terry Pratchett’s _Thief of Time_. I really enjoy the Discworld novels. Part of it takes place in a school, and he refers to scissors as something that, “by school rules, were treated as Doomsday Machines.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/32 "2013-03-01T15:05:08Z")
On my own time, I’m still reading Salman Rushdie’s _ **Midnight’s Children** _, which I’ve almost finished. But for the past week, my 9 year old son and I have been reading a new book by _ **Pearls Before Swine** _ cartoonist Stephan Pastis. It’s called _ **Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made.** _ Pastis has loads of fans among SDMB regulars, so many of you must already know about it. But in case you haven’t seen it, it’s a very funny kids’ book that answers two questions we’ve all surely wondered about: 1. What if Encyclopedia Brown was a moron? Or… 2. What if Calvin and Hobbes started a detective agency? If you have kids, get it for them. (Though you may find yourself, like me, picking it up after they go to sleep and reading a few chapters ahead! ---
**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:** [March 1, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/33 "2013-03-01T15:49:28Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Terry Pratchett’s _Thief of Time_. I really enjoy the Discworld novels. Part of it takes place in a school, and he refers to scissors as something that, “by school rules, were treated as Doomsday Machines.” 🙂 One of my favorites! I do hope Sue and Lobsang have a future together. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/34 "2013-03-02T19:26:28Z")
Just finished the classic _Cannery Row_ - I love Steinbeck and loved the book. Now I’ve started _The Gashouse Gang_. Although I’m not a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, I’m in the mood for a baseball book, and I like reading about old baseball. ---
**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 4, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/35 "2013-03-04T02:28:26Z")
Just finished _Gold from Crete_ by C.S. Forester (better known for his Horatio Hornblower novels). It’s a collection of mostly-unrelated World War II stories, most at sea, but some not. There was also a well-written what-if essay on a Nazi invasion of Great Britain that seemed plausible. Also finished _Lamb_ by Christopher Moore, a mostly-unfunny Bible spoof about Christ’s childhood friend, Biff, who was written out of the New Testament. A few laughs but not nearly enough. Still reading Stephen C. Neff’s Justice in _Blue and Gray_, about legal issues raised by the Civil War (slavery, secession, the President’s war powers, the suspension of habeas corpus, commerce raiding, etc.). A bit dry but interesting to me. Just started Dave Stevens’s _The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures_, which so far isn’t as good as the movie. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/36 "2013-03-04T02:47:42Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Also finished _Lamb_ by Christopher Moore, a mostly-unfunny Bible spoof about Christ’s childhood friend, Biff, who was written out of the New Testament. A few laughs but not nearly enough. You know, I didn’t find it hilarious, but I just found it _interesting_. Moore isn’t laugh-out-loud funny for me, and that’s not what I expect out of his books. I liked it as a speculation of how to make sense of the gospels, and especially of how Jesus dying on the cross is supposed to get God the father to forgive humans their sins. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/37 "2013-03-04T08:11:58Z")
I am enjoying The Day of Battle by Rick Atkinson. As the second in his “Liberation Trilogy” it describes the war in Sicily and Italy. The first in the series was An Army at Dawn about the green US Army in North Africa and its first disastrous encounter with German panzers at Kasserine Pass. I assume the third will cover Normandy to VE day. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/38 "2013-03-04T11:38:06Z")
Reading [Pure](http://www.amazon.com/Pure-The-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B004RCNGSK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362396915&sr=8-2&keywords=pure) now. Pretty good post-apocalypse story. The world is divided into “Pures”, people who were protected from the Big Bad Nuclear Bomb and now live in a protected dome, and the “Wretches” who somehow survived the detonation. The wretches tended to meld with whatever was close when the bomb went off - a bicycle, other people, a dog - and that makes for some pretty creepy people. The second book in the trilogy is also out, and I’ll probably read that one, too. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/39 "2013-03-04T13:54:59Z")
Rather late in my updates, some of these should really be in the February thread, but as they say on Earth: _C’est la vie_… [Destroyer of Worlds](http://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-Worlds-Larry-Niven/dp/0765361779), Larry Niven & Edward Lerner. Oops, another series. Double-oops - this is the third in this series. Hate it when that happens. Space opera, for those of you who are Niven fans, this series is billed as a prequel to Ringworld. Pretty good. [Supervolcano: Eruption](http://www.amazon.com/Supervolcano-Eruption-Harry-Turtledove/dp/B007PM02VI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362404472&sr=1-1&keywords=supervolcano+eruption), Harry Turtledove. _Another_ series - I need to pay better attention when I buy books. Yellowstone National Park erupts with a fury unseen for 600k years and fucks our shit up. As disaster porn, it’s OK - could have been more disastery. I think the really bad shit is going to happen in the next book (mass starvation, years without a summer, etc.) [Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years](http://www.amazon.com/Billion-Dollar-Lessons-Inexcusable-Business/dp/1591842891/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362404638&sr=1-1&keywords=billion+dollar+lessons), Paul B. Carrol & Chunka Mai. I like business profiles and this one was pretty good. The last 40-50 pages were a bit of a slog once the authors got away from the profiles and descended into biz-school speak. Still, a worthwhile read and definitely the best book I’ve read by a guy with the awesome name of “Chunka Mai.” [Firestar](http://www.amazon.com/Firestar-Saga-Michael-Flynn/dp/0812530063/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362404768&sr=1-2&keywords=firestar), Michael Flynn. A re-read, this book was at times just _so_ early-mid 1990s that I commented on it to my wife. It probably was a bit more believable 20 years ago, but now it comes across as a Libertopia fantasy about how to create a private space industry, complete with meddlin’, over-regulating governments, corporate espionage, etc. I used to recommend this book highly… now I’ll recommend it with reservations. [American Icon: Alan Mullaly and the fight to save Ford Motor Company](http://www.amazon.com/American-Icon-Mulally-Fight-Company/dp/0307886069/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362404995&sr=1-1&keywords=american+icon), Bryce Hoffman. A decent business profile of Ford Motor Company from 2005-2010. Could have been more detailed, imho, and suffered because the author had the approval of Alan Mullaly and Bill Ford (so he pulled his punches at times (at best, at worst you could describe many passages as flat-out hero-worshipping)), but all-in-all it was a relatively honest look at FMC during the Great Recession. Currently starting the rest of the books in the “Destroyer of Worlds” series - there are three of them, but they are Larry Niven so they should be pretty fast reads. FWIW, I’m keeping a spreadsheet of all the books I’m reading in 2013 - so far I’ve read 21 books, a total of 10,066 pages. 13 fiction books (6,858 pages) and 9 non-fiction books (3,208 pages.) ---
**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:** [March 4, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/40 "2013-03-04T14:07:11Z")
I’m shocked to be saying this, but _Martin Chuzzlewit_ is pretty good so far. I’m not bored and lost in the sea of characters like I usually am ten chapters into Dickens. In fact, the title character(s) have only had a couple of pages of “scene time” and that seems to be working in the novel’s favor. Of course, I haven’t gotten to the infamous American sequence yet so we’ll see what happens then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578.md?page=3)