# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread - August 2014 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253 "2014-07-28T16:29:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/101 "2014-08-18T16:56:38Z")
I would love to read _Our Dumb World: The Onion’s Atlas of the Planet Earth_ but I can’t. I ordered it from Owlsbooks on Amazon on July 31st and it has not yet arrived. Owlsbooks is ignoring my request to refund my money on the grounds that I need to wait a little longer. They can go fuck themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/102 "2014-08-18T17:33:58Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Just zipped through F. Paul Wilson’s Nazis vs. demon novel _The Keep_, which I’d read thirty-some years ago. Not as good as I remembered, but still a good gruesome read. Oooh- I just read this for the first time last month and really enjoyed it! I’d read the first 2 Repairman Jack novels previously & discovered _The Keep_ ties in to them, kinda-sorta. Finished up what may have been a re-read of Stephen King’s _**[Different Seasons](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39662.Different_Seasons)**_, tho I think maybe I’d just read “Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption” and perhaps “The Body” before… tho I may be recalling the movies instead. I definitely don’t remember reading “The Breathing Method” (some good shudders in that one!) & “Apt Pupil” was a bit fuzzy as well. I enjoyed the Afterword where Uncle Stevie talks about being typecast & convincing his editor to publish these 4 mostly-non-genre novellas. I also finished up the second in Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy: _**[Behemoth](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7826116-behemoth)**_. Once again, Alan Cumming is doing an amazing job as the narrator - tho his American reporter Eddie Malone sounds a bit 1930’s film noir vs the actual timeline of the book (late 1914). The setting of Istanbul adds some intriguing elements to the story; both the real-life events (the theft/non-delivery of the _Osman_, for example) and the more fantastic, like the iron golems and mechanical war elephants. The Perspicacious Loris is a wonderful addition to the cast - can’t wait till Alek and Deryn discover its potential! ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/103 "2014-08-18T19:18:30Z")
Just about to dive headfirst into Murakami’s “1Q84”. Anybody have anything to say about that? ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/104 "2014-08-18T19:35:55Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Just about to dive headfirst into Murakami’s “1Q84”. Anybody have anything to say about that? Pack a lunch. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2014, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/105 "2014-08-19T04:19:34Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Next up: Pat Conroy’s _The Lords of Discipline_, about the desegregation of a Southern military institute during the Vietnam War. This is another re-read for me; I think I last read it in high school. I’d forgotten how florid the prose of his introduction is, but will soon get past it. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > That’s my favorite of Conroy’s… I’d have to agree with you, although _The Great Santini_ and _My Losing Season_ are both awfully good. I liked TLOD just about as much the second time around. Knowing about Tradd’s betrayal all along made for a more interesting perspective. And the final confrontation with Gen. Durrell was just as viscerally satisfying as I remember. **Politzania** , I haven’t read any Repairman Jack novels, but had recently heard there’s a connection to _The Keep_. Maybe I’ll have to check those books out now. George R.R. Martin’s _Dreamsongs, Vol. I_ is next on my stack for the moment, and _The Jack Vance Treasury_, a short story collection, 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:** [August 19, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/106 "2014-08-19T15:40:58Z")
Got a reading / lack of sleep hangover today from Tana French’s **[In the Woods](http://www.amazon.com/In-Woods-Tana-French/dp/0143113496/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408462004&sr=8-1&keywords=tana+french+in+the+woods)**. 😃 I thought it was intriguing and fairly well-written. The central set of mysteries (what happened to the central protagonist’s two friends, as well as the young girl whose murder he investigates) held my attention no problem. I did work out who was culpable in the newer mystery, although there were some twists that took me a little later to twig. The characters were mostly interesting though one was a bit Mary Sue, and the bit players more stereotyped than I would have preferred. Interesting to contemplate that this is a first mystery - I’ll be back for more. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/107 "2014-08-19T18:49:53Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Just about to dive headfirst into Murakami’s “1Q84”. Anybody have anything to say about that? Enjoy the ride! 😃 I felt it started as straight fiction, then got a bit otherworldly/bizarre (but logical within the world of the book). I don’t know if I’ll read it again, but it was worth the read, IMHO. I’m not quite sure I can say the same of Asimov’s _**[Foundation](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29579.Foundation?ac=1)**_ - yes, I realize I may have to turn in my Sci-Fi fan card, but interstellar politics & the long game aren’t really my thing; at least not without more memorable characters (something Asimov usually does well, IMHO). If the Traders feature more in the sequels, I may give them a try - otherwise, I’ll finish up the Robots trilogy (which I’m enjoying quite a bit more) with _The Robots of Dawn_. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/108 "2014-08-19T18:53:38Z")
I’m re-reading Van Gulik’s Judge Dee mysteries, starting with the _Chinese Gold Murders_. They are awesome - how could one not love a Confucian magestrate who solves crimes, and hardly ever just tortures a confession out of someone? 😃 ---
**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:** [August 19, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/109 "2014-08-19T19:54:59Z")
I adore _Caves of Steel_ and _The Naked Sun_ but _Robots of Dawn_ felt too much like Asimov was responding to a bet that he couldn’t write about sex. I LOVE Van Gulik’s books! Judge Dee is a fabulous character. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/110 "2014-08-20T01:57:33Z")
Inspired by my own thread, I’m going through all of Wodehouse, in chronological order. In just two or three books, his use of language to inspire amusement becomes much better, although his marshalling of plots and characters is still picking up steam. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/111 "2014-08-20T18:17:59Z")
I just started _Ancillary Justice_, by Ann Leckie, which just won the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Novel. I finished the final book in the _The Last Policeman_ trilogy, by Ben H. Winters, which is about a rookie police detective in New Hampshire who is still trying to solve murder mysteries even though the world is about to be destroyed by an asteroid impact. When the trilogy begins the impact is six months away; this last book opens about a week before doomsday. These are quick, interesting reads, especially if you’re a fan of apocalyptic fiction. They focus tightly on the detective’s personal experiences, though, with only a few references to the larger world picture. I finally read _The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society_, which I’ve been avoiding for a while because of the twee title, and sure enough the story is cozy and contrived. I liked it pretty well anyway, particularly the historical aspects. It’s an epistolary novel: just after WWII, a London author begins corresponding with the members of a book club on the Channel Island of Guernsey, which is still recovering from the long German occupation. I’m up to book four of C.J. Cherryh’s Foreigner series - after a frustrating start, these have gotten better with each book. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/112 "2014-08-21T00:36:51Z")
I finally finished **The Golem and the Jinni** by Helene Wecker. I love that the characters are from parts of New York most people don’t think about but over the most, I am pretty meh about the book. My full review here:[https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/923826593](https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/923826593) _I had help typing by an upset kitten still groggy from surgery and wearing a cone.I apologize for typos._ ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/113 "2014-08-21T12:25:07Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I finished the final book in the _The Last Policeman_ trilogy, by Ben H. Winters, which is about a rookie police detective in New Hampshire who is still trying to solve murder mysteries even though the world is about to be destroyed by an asteroid impact. When the trilogy begins the impact is six months away; this last book opens about a week before doomsday. These are quick, interesting reads, especially if you’re a fan of apocalyptic fiction. They focus tightly on the detective’s personal experiences, though, with only a few references to the larger world picture. Me too! _**[World of Trouble](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18691070-world-of-trouble)**_ - while as well-written as the first two, it just didn’t quite grab me. Maybe there was too much going on & too many threads to wrap up from the first two novels. Not surprisingly, it was pretty bleak (duh - worldwide annihilation in about a week!) - I prefer at least a glimpse of hope in my apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fiction. I did like the scenes set in the Amish community (if not how Hank got there in the first place). I can see re-reading _The Last Policeman_, but am not sure I’ll return to the other two novels - tho they were worth reading once. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/114 "2014-08-21T12:48:43Z")
I finished up _The Elementals_, by Michael McDowell. Parts of this horror novel succeeded in making my skin crawl. The idea of a deserted Victorian house being taken by a sand dune…love it! Early on, as things remained vague, this was really frightening, but as more was revealed toward the end, it was just too over the top for me. Also, the characters behaved in completely unbelievable ways. I sort of loved them for it, because as a horror reader I naturally wanted them to go _towards_ the evil, but at the same time another part of me was saying, “Ain’t no fuckin’ way _that_ would’ve happened.” Anyway, if you like haunted houses you may want to check it out. Now I’m on to [Blind](http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Rachel-DeWoskin/dp/0670785229/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408625027&sr=1-1&keywords=blind+rachel+dewoskin), a young adult novel by Rachel DeWoskin. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/115 "2014-08-21T14:44:56Z")
I finished \*\*\*The Ipcerss File \*\*\*a week ago. Now, at the urging of a 6tth grade girl in my Sunday School class, I’m finishing Lois Lowry’s _ **The Giver** _. At my suggestion, she’s reading Willa Cather’s _ **Death Comes for the Archbishop.** _ As soon as I finish _**The Giver (which is quite short), I’ll be due for another veddy serious novel. I promised to read A Room With a View**_, so that’s probably 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:** [August 21, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/116 "2014-08-21T23:21:50Z")
I just started [Outlaws of the Atlantic: Sailors, Pirates, and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17262464-outlaws-of-the-atlantic) by Marcus Rediker. I’m not very far but it’s interesting and pleasant to read. I was pleased to win it on a Goodreads giveaway. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/117 "2014-08-21T23:42:17Z")
I recently read The Giver, thought it was surprisingly good for a YA novel. I would like to see the movie, because, Meryl Streep. Am currently reading Gone Girl and loving it. I wish l didn’t already know about the plot twists but it is still a great read. ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/118 "2014-08-22T12:45:22Z")
Because I’ll teach a bit of Lovecraft in the fall, I cracked open Paula Guran’s _[New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird](http://www.amazon.com/New-Cthulhu-The-Recent-Weird/dp/1607012898/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408711091&sr=8-1&keywords=new+cthulhu)_. It’s…not bad. At times. As with most collections, it’s fairly hit and miss; the stories are sometimes mythos-inspired, sometimes mythos, sometimes merely “Lovecraftian” in diction and style. Some are quite scary, others are…not. One of the things which Lovecraft does well frequently is ending a story without resolving it, and yet having clearly come to an end. This seems difficult to do: many of the stories in this don’t manage it. They just end, without leaving that sense of anxiety; or they actually resolve, which is quite as bad. But still a worthwhile read overall. On the commute, I read Neil Faulkner’s _[Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals](http://www.amazon.com/Marxist-History-World-Neanderthals-Neoliberals/dp/0745332145/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408711376&sr=8-1&keywords=marxist+history+of+the+world)_, which gets credit for great subtitle and a very interesting view of world history. It’s a fairly modern and moderate Marxist view (it does not insist, for example, on the class struggle being the only engine of history), and makes some very good points about European ascendancy in the wake of capitalism. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/119 "2014-08-22T14:11:27Z")
I finished _ **The Giver and am 30% of the way through A Room With a View.** _ \*\*\*The Giver \*\*\*was pretty good, but I never read much “young adult” fiction when I WAS a young adult, and read it even more rarely now. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/120 "2014-08-22T14:52:06Z")
I finished _The Quick_, by Lauren Owen. It’s a debut novel about Victorian vampires. The plot was a fairly classic take on vampires, and I think it was well-written, but there’s not a lot to it OTHER THAN the vampire story. So, recommended to people who like Victorian vampires. _Under the Egg_ by Laura Marx Fitzgerald, is a recent children’s lit novel about a girl in NYC who discovers a mysterious painting and then has to solve the mystery about its origins. I would say this is in the same general vein as _From the Mixed Up Files …_ and about the same age/reading level appeal. I would recommend as especially good for kids maybe 9 - 11. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253.md?page=7)