# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread - April 2016 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028 "2016-04-03T03:56:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/61 "2016-04-23T00:12:48Z")
As for recent reads, I just finished _The Devil Drives_, a biography of Sir Richard Burton (no, the other one), and _Liberty! The American Revolution_, a revisiting of the history of said war. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/62 "2016-04-25T10:36:28Z")
I 4th/5th/whateverth _The Golem and the Jinni_. A marvelous book. Right now, I’m about 2/3 through Kent Haruf’s last book, _Our Souls at Night_. Simple but beautiful storytelling; I’m sorry he won’t be writing any more. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2016, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/63 "2016-04-26T10:44:19Z")
Finished _Song of Susannah_, by Stephen King, Volume 6 in his Dark Tower series. Very good. The author even cleverly includes himself as a character in the story. I’m glad I’m reading these all close together though and not having to wait years between volumes, as this one, similar to _Volume 3: The Waste Lands_, features a cliffhanger ending. Next up is _Volume VII: The Dark Tower_. This will mark the end of the actual series, although I understand a new book featuring the characters, entitled _The Wind Through the Keyhole_, came out four years ago. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2016, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/64 "2016-04-26T11:46:19Z")
I am currently reading **Fallen Man** by Tony Hillerman… in between reading a pile of manga and playing on my tablet 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/65 "2016-04-26T13:48:56Z")
I finished [Arcadia](http://www.amazon.com/Arcadia-novel-Iain-Pears/dp/1101946822/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461678476&sr=8-1&keywords=arcadia)by Iain Pears over the weekend. I know other people on here have mentioned it, so I’ll just add that this time travel/fantasy/spy novel is shaping up to be one of my favorite of the year. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/66 "2016-04-26T15:38:24Z")
Finished Jonathan L. Howard’s _Carter & Lovecraft_. Pretty good (though I prefer his Johannes Cabal series), and definitely poised for a sequel. Yay! Today I started on Peter Cline’s [The Fold](http://www.amazon.com/Fold-Novel-Peter-Clines/dp/0553447475/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1461684650&sr=8-4&keywords=peter+clines), a novel about teleportation. Mr. Cline’s writing comes off a bit amateurish to me, but so far the story is good, so I shall press on. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/67 "2016-04-26T19:11:26Z")
Almost Finished with Robert Irwin’s **The Arabian Nights: A Companion**. It’s interesting and useful, but he frequently makes references to things I am unfamiliar with NOT related to the Nights, such as British television shows. And some of his opinions are definitely only his own. Still, it’s interesting to learn that the Nights are not highly esteemed in Arab culture (they’re looked down on, and they’d much rather we paid more attention to Arab poetry), or that the story of Aladdin can be viewed as a story about tomb-robbing (I’d never considered it that way, although I have myself made the same suggestion about the pots of gold of leprechauns). It turns out that it can be plausibly be argued many of the stories were likely originated in Cairo, including Aladdin. I’m halfway through Cussler’s _Piranha_ on audio. THe same place I found the Cussler novel also has a good collection of DVDs, and I’m delifhted to find they have James Burke’s _Connections_, which I haven’t seen in ages. I’m devouring the series right now. They also have _Connerctions[sup]2[/sup]_ and _Connections[sup]3[/sup]_ , which I will get to next (I already have the full set of _The Day the Universe Changed_, a gift from a friend). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/68 "2016-04-26T20:14:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > THe same place I found the Cussler novel also has a good collection of DVDs, and I’m delifhted to find they have James Burke’s _Connections_, which I haven’t seen in ages. I’m devouring the series right now. I loved that series. Looms to computers… ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/69 "2016-04-26T20:17:00Z")
I read _A Tangle of Gold_, the third and final book in Jaclyn Moriarty’s YA fantasy series. Overall, the entire series was very fun and readable, and this book wrapped things up nicely. Teenagers in parallel worlds accidentally find a way to communicate with each other, magic and conspiracies ensue. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/70 "2016-04-26T20:19:55Z")
Double post. ^^ ---
**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:** [April 26, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/71 "2016-04-26T22:42:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > THe same place I found the Cussler novel also has a good collection of DVDs, and I’m delifhted to find they have James Burke’s _Connections_, which I haven’t seen in ages. I’m devouring the series right now. They also have _Connerctions[sup]2[/sup]_ and _Connections[sup]3[/sup]_ , which I will get to next (I already have the full set of _The Day the Universe Changed_, a gift from a friend). I have been rewatching them myself for the last two weeks. I love how Burke’s opinion on computers changes over 20 years. ---
**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:** [April 26, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/72 "2016-04-26T23:27:14Z")
I finished reading **A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man** by James Joyce. I thought the autobiographical elements were interesting, but I have to admit I skimmed the section where Stephen Dedalus goes through his theory of aesthetics at length. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/73 "2016-04-27T04:42:41Z")
I’m taking a break from Randall Munroe’s _What If?_, a collection of XKCD columns, for the moment. Not long ago I finished the audiobook of David McCullough’s _The Wright Brothers_, which was quite good - informative and inspiring. I’m now enjoying the audiobook of Frederick Forsyth’s 1972 thriller _The ODESSA File_, about a young German reporter in the early Sixties tracking down an ex-Nazi who’s in hiding. I first read it many years ago, and it’s just as good as I remember. On the other hand, I’m plodding through Michael McGerr’s _A Fierce Discontent_, a well-reviewed book about the Progressive movement in the U.S. which just isn’t grabbing me. It’s for one of my book clubs, though, so I really think I ought to finish it. After 58 pages I gave up on S.S. Van Dine’s 1926 detective novel _The Benson Murder Case_, having found the hero, Philo Vance, to be (in the words of a Wiki profile) “supercilious, obnoxiously affected, and highly irritating.” > [@Tithonus](#): > > Just finished _‘Fevre Dream’_ by George R.R. Martin. I thought it was excellent. It’s a fresh, lightning paced take on the vampire genre. I’d recommend it to any horror or fantasy fan. 5 stars… I quite agree! Along with Stoker’s _Dracula_ and King’s _'Salem’s Lot_, it’s one of my favorite vampire books. > [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > As for recent reads, I just finished… _Liberty! The American Revolution_, a revisiting of the history of said war. I thought that was a pretty good illustrated overview of the Revolution. If you want something more in-depth, try _1776_ by McCullough or _Washington’s Crossing_ by Fischer. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/74 "2016-04-27T05:39:32Z")
Am thoroughly enjoying **[The Glass Sentence](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142423661?sa-no-redirect=1&pldnSite=1)**, first of an almost-complete YA fantasy trilogy, book 3 will be published in July. Really interesting alt-histories with disjointed timelines caused by The Great Disruption. I’m trying to catch up on the awesome YA that’s been appearing the last few years, I’ve read most of the “crossover” bestsellers (Hunger Games, Divergent, Fault in our Stars) but maybe have missed the genre hits. If anyone has a resource for these, or recommendations, I’m all ears. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/75 "2016-04-27T06:12:15Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I thought that was a pretty good illustrated overview of the Revolution. If you want something more in-depth, try _1776_ by McCullough or _Washington’s Crossing_ by Fischer. Eh for some reason about the period historical fiction doesn’t really impress me. I already know most of the down-and-dirty details anyway. _Washington’s Crossing_ looks interesting, though. What I most liked about _Liberty!_ was the maps of engagements. I might have enjoyed living back then…cider morning, noon, and night! 😃 ---
**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:** [April 27, 2016, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/76 "2016-04-27T10:29:01Z")
> [@Tithonus](#): > > Just finished _‘Fevre Dream’_ by George R.R. Martin. I thought it was excellent. It’s a fresh, lightning paced take on the vampire genre. I’d recommend it to any horror or fantasy fan. 5 stars. I only read the graphic novel adaptation of “Fevre Dream” so maybe I missed something, but I was slightly annoyed by one part: If I remember correctly, one character tries to kill another one, gets captured and then gets released with a warning. Uh…not a great idea, dude. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2016, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/77 "2016-04-27T11:18:40Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I have been rewatching them myself for the last two weeks. I love how Burke’s opinion on computers changes over 20 years. As we were watching last night, Pepper Mill remarked at how dated it all looked. That’s a little surprising, considering that the basic ideas and stories are pretty much timeless. But the modern trappings and a few attitudes (like the ones about computers you note) still remain. In particular: 1.) Burke’s fashion sense _Connections_ was 1977, and his hair and clothes show it. 2.) It’s weird to see the World Trade Center still up, and a pre-fix-up Ellis Island 3.) One episode ends with that symbol of modern travel, the Concorde, now long gone. 4.) The first episode of _The Day the Universe Changes_ rhapsodizes about Bell Labs, including a lot of footage from the big facility at Holmdel, N.J. “WE build these centers to instigate change”, Burke says. What does it say about us that not only that Bell Labs, but a great many other industrial research labs from the same period are now gone? (Research labs have opened up elsewhere in the world, largely because it’s cheaper. Research labs in this country are different and don’t do the same kind of research, much of which is nowadays done at universities) Still these were four great series\*, but watching them again reminds us that Time Marches On. \*Besides the companion volumes to _Connections_ and _The Day the Universe Changed_ (which are what Burke reads from for the audio versions of Connections and TDTUC), Burke has published several similar books – _The Pinball Effect_, _The Knowledge Web_[, _Circles_ (which seems to be his collected Connections-like essays from _Scientific American_), _American Connections_, and others. ---
**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:** [April 27, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/78 "2016-04-27T15:49:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Eh for some reason about the period historical fiction doesn’t really impress me. I already know most of the down-and-dirty details anyway. _Washington’s Crossing_ looks interesting, though… Neither of the books I suggested are fiction. > [@hogarth](#): > > I only read the graphic novel adaptation of “Fevre Dream” so maybe I missed something, but I was slightly annoyed by one part: > > If I remember correctly, one character tries to kill another one, gets captured and then gets released with a warning. Uh…not a great idea, dude. Haven’t read the graphic novel, but in the original novel, a vampire lord can use his force of personality and air of command to compel obedience by a subordinate vampire. The top bad-guy vampire originally did that to the hero/protagonist vampire, but the latter was eventually able to break free. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/79 "2016-04-28T00:20:32Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Haven’t read the graphic novel, but in the original novel, > > a vampire lord can use his force of personality and air of command to compel obedience by a subordinate vampire. The top bad-guy vampire originally did that to the hero/protagonist vampire, but the latter was eventually able to break free. Thanks, I forgot some of the details. I still thought it seemed like a pretty dumb idea. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028/80 "2016-04-28T13:56:58Z")
Finished [The Fold](http://www.amazon.com/Fold-Novel-Peter-Clines/dp/0553447475/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461850984&sr=1-1&keywords=the+fold) this morning. The plot was pretty good, and the events of the story had me :eek:ing more than once. Whenever I had to lay the book aside, I was itching to pick it back up again. However. The clunkiness of the writing never ceased to annoy me, and the characters were all cereal-box cardboard. I don’t plan to read any more by this author. This morning I found out that one of my library holds had been cancelled. Then I found out it was [Stiletto](http://www.amazon.com/Stiletto-Novel-Files-Daniel-OMalley/dp/0316228044/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461851455&sr=1-1&keywords=stiletto), and the hold was cancelled because it’s over a year old. Yes, that’s right, I have been waiting for this bloody book for over a year! I was first in line! I immediately reinstated my hold and called the library. They said they will move me back into position, so I’m going to take a deep breath and hold it… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-april-2016-edition/751028.md?page=5)