# 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:** 7
**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, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/121 "2014-08-22T14:55:13Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > 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 ended up liking this a lot, too. It _was_ cozy and twee … but it was genuine. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/122 "2014-08-22T16:59:11Z")
**Enterprise,** you need this: [H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu for Beginning Readers](http://drfaustusau.deviantart.com/gallery/32992770/The-Call-of-Cthulhu). ---
**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 22, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/123 "2014-08-22T20:20:33Z")
> [@susan](#): > > **Enterprise,** you need this: [H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu for Beginning Readers](http://drfaustusau.deviantart.com/gallery/32992770/The-Call-of-Cthulhu). Love it! And have you seen: [http://goodnightdune.com/](http://goodnightdune.com/) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/124 "2014-08-22T20:53:29Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Love it! And have you seen: [http://goodnightdune.com/](http://goodnightdune.com/) Oh, very nice! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/125 "2014-08-22T21:00:49Z")
For what it’s worth, my favorite post-Lovecraft Lovecraftian novel is _Resume with Monsters_. It’s a blast. Horrifying and hilarious at the same time! > **[Resume with Monsters: William Browning Spencer: 9781565049130: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Resume-Monsters-William-Browning-Spencer/dp/1565049136)** > > Resume with Monsters \[William Browning Spencer\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Resume with Monsters ---
**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 22, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/126 "2014-08-22T21:22:27Z")
That looks like fun, too! ---
**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:** [August 22, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/127 "2014-08-22T21:41:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Love it! And have you seen: [http://goodnightdune.com/](http://goodnightdune.com/) That is wonderful. I’m going to share it with all my Dune-loving friends. ---
**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 22, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/128 "2014-08-22T22:08:28Z")
> [@susan](#): > > **Enterprise,** you need this: [H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu for Beginning Readers](http://drfaustusau.deviantart.com/gallery/32992770/The-Call-of-Cthulhu). Sweet Baby Jesus! This needs to be a THING! NOW! ---
**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 23, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/129 "2014-08-23T04:08:54Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Sweet Baby Jesus! This needs to be a THING! NOW! You could start a separate thread, highlighting it, here in Cafe Society if you like. ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/130 "2014-08-23T11:38:12Z")
> [@susan](#): > > **Enterprise,** you need this: [H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu for Beginning Readers](http://drfaustusau.deviantart.com/gallery/32992770/The-Call-of-Cthulhu). I know I’ve seen this before, but I forgot all about it! Thanks much, I put that on folks’ supplementary reading list straight away. Outstanding idea and execution, this. I also rather enjoy Lovecraft is Missing. And thanks for the suggestion of _Resume with Monsters_–I’ll give that a whirl. It’s a fantastic lit course, and I think I’ll move on from Lovecraft to Bradbury’s _Something Wicked This Way Comes_ and then John Crowley’s _Little, Big_, if I can manage to get through it myself. I’ve been reading that latter for a while now, and while it’s lovely, it’s not yet quite gripped me. ---
**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:** [August 24, 2014, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/131 "2014-08-24T04:09:02Z")
Finished _The Wars of the Roses: Peace and Conflict in Fifteenth-Century England_, by John Gillingham. Very good and informative. The author, a historian, argues that Shakespeare’s portrayal of the period in many of his historical tragedies as one of massive devastation of the land was wide of the mark, that the series of three wars barely affected the Average Joe in England at all. The handful of actual battles were spread over 32 years and each one very brief, lasting less than a day. The absence of walled towns in England like were found on the continent meant siege warfare was virtually nonexistent, certainly not on a large scale. He argues the widespread political crises largely affected only the upper crust and that this was for most Englishmen a period of prosperity and technological advance, much more deserving of the Golden Age tag than the Elizabethan era of 100 years later. But it is easy to think you’re reading the machinations of George RR Martin. I kept envisioning Henry VI’s queen, Margaret of Anjou, looking like Cersei. Now I’ve checked some more John Grisham out of the library. First up is _The Pelican Brief_. I never did see the Julia Roberts film version. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/132 "2014-08-25T17:23:48Z")
Just started _The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There_, by Catherynne Valente. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/133 "2014-08-25T18:03:32Z")
Just finished "A Room With a View, " which was great. Thanks to all who recommended it. Now I’ve just started Dorothy Sayers’ “Murder Must Advertise.” ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/134 "2014-08-25T18:36:15Z")
I just finished _The Goldfinch_, which I loved despite the fact that it’s an overly wordy literary novel (I had to read it for a class, and kind of expected to hate it). I’m halfway through _Beloved_ (same class), and not at all looking forward to the second half. What a dull, annoying book. I expected to like it because I was told it was a horror story, but the language is so pretentious and poetic and full of itself that it buries a perfectly good horror story in word soup. Doesn’t help that it’s a total “chick” book, and, despite being female, I don’t like chick lit. Especially chick lit that focuses on babies and pregnancy and children. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/135 "2014-08-26T17:14:54Z")
I came across a copy of **I Am A Strange Loop** and I am absolutely fascinated by it although I am pretty sure I understand a tenth, at best, of what he’s trying to say. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/136 "2014-08-26T17:19:29Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I came across a copy of **I Am A Strange Loop** and I am absolutely fascinated by it although I am pretty sure I understand a tenth, at best, of what he’s trying to say. I came across a copy of **I Am A Strange Loop** and I am absolutely fascinated by it although I am pretty sure I understand a tenth, at best, of what he’s trying to say. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/137 "2014-08-26T21:08:54Z")
> [@](#): > > I came across a copy of I Am A Strange Loop and I am absolutely fascinated by it although I am pretty sure I understand a tenth, at best, of what he’s trying to say. > > > [@](#): > > > > I came across a copy of I Am A Strange Loop and I am absolutely fascinated by it although I am pretty sure I understand a tenth, at best, of what he’s trying to say. I came across a copy of I Am A Strange Loop and I am absolutely fascinated by it although I am pretty sure I understand a tenth, at best, of what he’s trying to say. ---
**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 27, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/138 "2014-08-27T01:20:38Z")
Ned? Ned _Ryerson?_ ---
**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 27, 2014, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/139 "2014-08-27T12:24:26Z")
I finished [Blind](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18667798-blind?from_search=true) this morning. It was interesting at the beginning, with the main character learning how to cope with her blindness, but then turned into a long, dull, and implausible novel about teenagers. I’m starting now on [The Hundred-Year House](http://www.amazon.com/The-Hundred-Year-House-Rebecca-Makkai/dp/052542668X/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409142047&sr=8-1&keywords=rebecca+makkai). I had looked forward to this one, but at approximately 30 pages in, it’s not grabbing me yet. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253/140 "2014-08-27T13:34:24Z")
I read and disliked **The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie** about a billion years ago. An acquaintance who loves the book prompted me to give it another shot. I’m about a quarter into the thing and already commisserating with my 19 year old self cause, boy howdy, a little bit of Miss Jean goes an awfully long way! ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-august-2014/694253.md?page=8)