# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/61 "2013-03-07T20:56:41Z")
Terribly behind in reviews - maybe I should start with what I’m actually reading right now and work my way backwards: _**[Joseph Anton: A Memoir](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13532186-joseph-anton)**_ by Salman Rushdie. A memoir that focuses on the 9 year fatwa and his experience with living in hiding and in fear. I’ve read his “lighter” novels (_Haroun and the Sea of Stories_ and _Luka and the Fire of Life_), as well as his collection of non-fiction _Step Across this Line_ - and enjoyed them all (I’d LOVE to get my hands on the audiobook version of \*Haroun \*that Rushdie himself narrated - borrowed it from the library & now it’s lost) - but am finding _Joseph Anton_ tough to get through - not only is it pretty damned depressing to see how little support he got, but he expresses the tedium of living through such a situation almost too well. I actually had to stop midway (the Kindle copy I borrowed from the library expired) and I’m not 100% sure I’ll make the effort to finish. I’m on my second Ian Fleming James Bond audiobook - _**[Live and Let Die](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3763.Live_and_Let_Die)**_. I’m relatively familiar with the movies (my husband is a huge Bond fan) and it’s interesting to see how the films differ from the original novels. Even more interesting is the … well, sexism and racism aren’t quite the right words, but Bond’s/Fleming’s attitudes towards women and “Negroes” are definitely from the 1950’s. Simon Vance is the narrator and I really enjoy his work overall - though his attempts at an Black accent are kinda dreadful (tho Fleming’s attempt at the dialect is just as awful in print). I took the local library’s “Blind Date with a Book” challenge - they wrapped books in brown paper and wrote a 2-3 sentence blurb on each. The one I picked said “Ghosts, London, New York in the 1920’s” - turned out to be Sophie Kinsella’s _**[Twenties Girl](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6063187-twenties-girl)**_ - I am SO not a chick-lit reader, but am about 40 pages in and it’s… OK … so far. The ghost character has me intrigued, much more so than the actual protagonist. I’ll give it another 50 pages or so before I decide. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/62 "2013-03-07T21:30:08Z")
> [@Politzania](#): > > I took the local library’s “Blind Date with a Book” challenge - they wrapped books in brown paper and wrote a 2-3 sentence blurb on each. That is an amazingly cool idea. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/63 "2013-03-07T22:59:15Z")
Just finished [_Divergent_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divergent_%28novel%29), by Veronica Roth. My daughter recommended it, and she (and I) liked _The Hunger Games_ series, and this one was very much like it. Overall, not too bad, and I am tackling _Insurgent_ tonight. Mostly it is something to talk about with my daughter. I finally finished _The Twelve Caesars_, by Suetonius, which satisfied my low-class taste for gossip books. I may tackle J.K.Rowling’s latest non-Potter book next, if I can get it from the library. See if she is any good apart from school stories about wizardry. Anyone read it? Is it worth the effort? Regards, Shodan ---
**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 7, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/64 "2013-03-07T23:32:00Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I finally finished _The Twelve Caesars_, by Suetonius, which satisfied my low-class taste for gossip books. That made me snort… good thing I wasn’t drinking.😉 ---
**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 7, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/65 "2013-03-07T23:37:31Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I finally finished _The Twelve Caesars_, by Suetonius, which satisfied my low-class taste for gossip books. Ain’t no gossip like old gossip. ---
**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 8, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/66 "2013-03-08T00:42:34Z")
I finished An Unholy Alliance by Susanna Gregory today. It is the second in her Matthew Bartholomew medieval mystery series and while nothing to cheer about from the rooftops, it is engaging and after the first 50 or 60 pages of scene setting moves along quite well. I think the book could have been about 20 pages shorter without hurting it and the mystry was a tad convoluted but her real forte is in characterizations. I think, for me, this will be one of those “Sit down with and old friend and catch up” series. ---
**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 8, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/67 "2013-03-08T01:26:51Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > …I may tackle J.K.Rowling’s latest non-Potter book next, if I can get it from the library. See if she is any good apart from school stories about wizardry. Anyone read it? Is it worth the effort? > > Regards, > Shodan Previous threads about Rowling’s _The Casual Vacancy_: > **[The Casual Vacancy (no spoilers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=674949)** > > I’m about 187 pages into J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, and I have to ask: does it get any better? Does there ever come more of a reason to care about any of these characters than has come along so far? Does it get any easier to keep the throng... > **[Will you buy the new J.K. Rowling novel?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=667094)** > > J.K. Rowling’s new novel The Casual Vacancy is out – are you interested? I don’t know if I’m allowed to post the book description here, so I will post a link from Amazon and note only that it is described as “blackly comic, thought-provoking and... > **[Will you read The Casual Vacancy? (JK Rowling's new book)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=648276)** > > I will and I’ll be able to read it not thinking about Harry Potter, so I can judge it on its own merits. It comes out September 27. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/68 "2013-03-08T01:50:41Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Just finished [_Divergent_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divergent_%28novel%29), by Veronica Roth. My daughter recommended it, and she (and I) liked _The Hunger Games_ series, and this one was very much like it. Overall, not too bad, and I am tackling _Insurgent_ tonight. Mostly it is something to talk about with my daughter. \ I’ve read those, too, and I did enjoy them. They’re not super-fantastic or anything, but a good, solid read. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/69 "2013-03-08T03:55:04Z")
Polished off _ **Redshirts** _ this evening. Good read; not as funny as I had been expecting, but satisfying. The codas were sort of meh–I would’ve rather had another fifty pages of meta-meta exploring the notion that the entire thing wasn’t actually about the tv series, but was rather about a novel about the tv series. Next up is _ **The Rook** _, which I’ve decided to try based on the mention of it on The Incomparable podcast. I can’t actually listen to the podcast, because they have no concept of the idea of spoilers, but I heard enough of it to pique my interest, so that’s what I’m reading now. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/70 "2013-03-08T06:36:58Z")
My husband **MaxTheVool** and I both enjoyed The Rook, which is a good sign, I think, as we have very divergent tastes. I’m reading **Sarum** by Rutherfurd for some history lite. Meh. Lots of boring sex. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/71 "2013-03-08T07:42:34Z")
I just finished a very satisfying WWII novel; **Warning of War** , by James Brady. Weeks before Pearl Harbor the 4th Marine regiment is hurriedly shifted from its bases in China to the Philippines, but a small group is left behind to try to round up Marines in back-country bases and get them out of China before the inevitable beginning of war with Japan. An excellent military adventure tale. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/72 "2013-03-08T08:24:48Z")
My last post in the February thread was a lie. I ended up returning all those books to the library unread. What I’m actually reading will be Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett, The Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, and Ulysses by James Joyce. I always love returning to Discworld. I’ve read and enjoyed Snow Crash, and Crypto is supposed to be even better except for the ending. I’ve read the Odyssey twice, a prose translation back in HS and Robert Fagles’ as a grown-up. I hope they help me with difficult Ulysses. None of these are library books. Since I won’t have to return them, I’m confident I’ll actually read these. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/73 "2013-03-08T14:41:51Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > …Crypto is supposed to be even better except for the ending. Be aware that there’s at least one person on this earth who did not much care for _ **Cryptonomicon** _. (Technically two, as my friend also disliked it, but he’s not in this thread, so never mind him.) I had also read and loved _ **Snow Crash** _, and thought, “Yay! The last novel I read by this guy was awesome, so this one will be awesome too!” And then I slogged through nine-fucking-hundred pages, waiting for the awesome to happen, and it never did. And then it ended. And I was like, “Where the fuck was my awesome?” And I’ve never read another goddamn Neal Stephenson book again, because fuck that. My theory has always been that you have to be a huge computer and/or encryption geek to like the book, and since that’s most of Neal Stephenson’s audience, all you hear is praise. Long story short: That’s a whole lotta book you got there, and if you don’t like it, you’re going to be mighty pissed that you just wasted all that time on it. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/74 "2013-03-08T14:47:20Z")
I’m about a third of the way through [1493](http://www.amazon.com/1493-Uncovering-World-Columbus-Created/dp/0307278247/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362753764&sr=1-1&keywords=1493) by Charles Mann, about the rise in global exchange of information and goods after Columbus’s trips to the New World. Not quite as captivating as his previous book, 1491, but still pretty interesting. I’m also reading [At the Mountains of Madness](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_the_mountains_of_madness) from an H.P. Lovecraft collection. I’ve never read it before, and it’s pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/75 "2013-03-08T15:01:50Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Be aware that there’s at least one person on this earth who did not much care for _ **Cryptonomicon** _. (Technically two, as my friend also disliked it, but he’s not in this thread, so never mind him.) I had also read and loved _ **Snow Crash** _, and thought, “Yay! The last novel I read by this guy was awesome, so this one will be awesome too!” And then I slogged through nine-fucking-hundred pages, waiting for the awesome to happen, and it never did. And then it ended. And I was like, “Where the fuck was my awesome?” And I’ve never read another goddamn Neal Stephenson book again, because fuck that. My theory has always been that you have to be a huge computer and/or encryption geek to like the book, and since that’s most of Neal Stephenson’s audience, all you hear is praise. > > Long story short: That’s a whole lotta book you got there, and if you don’t like it, you’re going to be mighty pissed that you just wasted all that time on it. Naw, you can also be a history geek and like it. Same as with the Baroque Cycle, which is IMO even better (and of course three times as long! 😃 ). I know next to nothing about crypto or computers. The simple fact is that Snow Crash and The Diamond Age are science fiction, and Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle are historical fiction - and damn good historical fiction. If you want science fiction, obviously, they are not the books to read, because they are a whole different genre. However, I highly dispute that they are any less awesome. They are different, granted. Some things in Cryptonomicon are hysterically funny if you have had the right experiences (the “darfting of the business plan” part is one of the funniest things I’ve read - having had to do that task myself more than once :D). Others are quite thought provoking. What he excells at is giving the feeling of the times and places he is depicting, even when the action is outrageous. Want to know why the Axis lost WW2? Want to know why the West rose relative to the rest of the world in the 17th century? These books provide thought-provoking answers, even if you don’t fully agree - while at the same time being funny and entertaining. What’s more to want? ---
**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 8, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/76 "2013-03-08T16:37:00Z")
> [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](#): > > …I’m also reading [At the Mountains of Madness](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_the_mountains_of_madness) from an H.P. Lovecraft collection. I’ve never read it before, and it’s pretty good. You’ll see in the Wiki article that Guillermo del Toro has been trying for years to make a movie adaptation. It’s too bad he hasn’t been making much headway. I think it could make an awesome film - a horror-tinged Indiana Jones-style arctic adventure. Brrrr. I read this ATMM graphic novel not long ago - it’s pretty good: [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/At-Mountains-Madness-Illustrated-Classics/dp/1402780427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362760535&sr=8-1&keywords=mountains+madness+graphic+novel) ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/77 "2013-03-08T17:25:39Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You’ll see in the Wiki article that Guillermo del Toro has been trying for years to make a movie adaptation. It’s too bad he hasn’t been making much headway. I think it could make an awesome film - a horror-tinged Indiana Jones-style arctic adventure. Brrrr. > > I read this ATMM graphic novel not long ago - it’s pretty good: [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/At-Mountains-Madness-Illustrated-Classics/dp/1402780427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362760535&sr=8-1&keywords=mountains+madness+graphic+novel) Fair play to Guillermo for trying. But while it’s been years since I’ve read ATMoM, Lovecraft tends not to adapt well to the screen. His work relies too much on the reader–he sketches the outlines and then lets your brain do the heavy lifting. Movies have to show you something–though as I recall, the best Lovecraftian film I’ve seen–_ **In the Mouth of Madness** _–tended to keep stuff out of the corner of the eye, so to speak. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/78 "2013-03-08T17:50:46Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You’ll see in the Wiki article that Guillermo del Toro has been trying for years to make a movie adaptation. It’s too bad he hasn’t been making much headway. I think it could make an awesome film - a horror-tinged Indiana Jones-style arctic adventure. Brrrr. > > I read this ATMM graphic novel not long ago - it’s pretty good: [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/At-Mountains-Madness-Illustrated-Classics/dp/1402780427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362760535&sr=8-1&keywords=mountains+madness+graphic+novel) I previewed that graphic novel through the link–it looks good. Going on the list, thanks. And I did see that del Toro was trying to get a film made, but now thinks it unlikely due to the similarities with Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. As if I needed another reason to dislike that movie. ---
**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 8, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/79 "2013-03-08T18:07:23Z")
The Thirties Antarctic setting alone would be enough to distinguish it from _Prometheus_, I think. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578/80 "2013-03-08T18:13:35Z")
I agree (and think the story’s closer is style to The Thing, anyway). Hopefully, GdT can get it done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-march-2013-edition/651578.md?page=5)