# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread - December 2014 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032 "2014-12-01T15:00:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/21 "2014-12-02T05:56:03Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > I am reading Kate Atkinson’s _Life After Life_, which I am enjoying; it’s a long but quick read. It reminds me of one of my all-time favorites, _The Time Traveler’s Wife_, in that it’s a science fictiony premise, but focuses more on emotions and relationships than on adventurous plot developments (although the very first chapter foreshadows some change in that)… Agreed. I read both, and liked both, although they’re _very_ different books. PM me if you’d like some more time-travel book suggestions. > [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I am reading the Pulitzer prize winning novel **Olive Kitteridge** by Elizabeth Stout. It’s a series of interconnected stories. I am not always one for modern fiction as I find it often leaves me cold but this is quite good: warm, humane, insightful and slyly amusing. This might interest you, too: [Olive Kitteridge (miniseries) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Kitteridge_(TV_miniseries)) ---
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/22 "2014-12-02T09:17:46Z")
I just finished David Mitchell’s _The Bone Clocks_, which I liked, but didn’t love. _Cloud Atlas_ was one of my favorite books, ever–genius–and I have read a lot of David Mitchell since then, hoping to recapture what I loved about _CA_, but not succeeding. Oh well. I also finally figured out that all of his books take place in the same universe, with the same unfolding timeline (and characters from some books popping up in other books, where the timelines overlap). And now, for something completely different, I just started on Charles Stross’s _The Atrocity Archives_ (which was recommended by someone here on the SD). Also have a new Michael Koryta which I’m excited about loaded on the Kindle, along with Donna Tartt’s _The Goldfinch_. And _The Martian_, which is supposed to be good. Got my X-mas vacation reading all lined up. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/23 "2014-12-02T17:02:04Z")
> [@Hopeful\_Crow](#): > > I’m excited that my e-copy of **The Life We Bury** by Allen Eskins came in today. I’d gotten about two thirds of the way through a few weeks ago when it had to go back to the library. Here, at least, you can’t extend your time with e-books. I guess because they only have a limited amount of them. So I had to get on the waiting list to get it back. > > It’s about a college student who has to do a story about someone’s life for one of his classes. He winds up at a nursing home interviewing a man who had been convicted of the rape and murder of a young girl 30 years before. He was only let out of prison to go to the nursing home because he was dying of cancer. The student, with the help of his neighbor, puts the pieces together and concludes that the man didn’t do it and he sets off on finding who did. This is while he has to deal with his alcoholic mother and autistic brother. Eskins has a thoughtful and touching way of writing. I’m going to put this on my Must Read Again list. Whoa, sounds good. Added to the list! ---
**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:** [December 3, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/24 "2014-12-03T00:40:10Z")
I finished reading Dickens’s **Little Dorritt**. I thought it was one of his better books; I liked the story (sort of “Dickens does Trollope”) and the inevitable eructation of plot near the end didn’t offend me too badly. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/25 "2014-12-03T04:22:30Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I finished reading Dickens’s **Little Dorritt**. I thought it was one of his better books; I liked the story (sort of “Dickens does Trollope”) and the inevitable eructation of plot near the end didn’t offend me too badly. In my experience the world is divided between “Early Dickens” people and “Late Dickens” people. Which are you? ---
**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:** [December 3, 2014, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/26 "2014-12-03T04:39:08Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > In my experience the world is divided between “Early Dickens” people and “Late Dickens” people. Which are you? Out of the Dickens novels I’ve read, my two favourites are probably The Pickwick Papers (early) and David Copperfield (middle?) and my two least favourites are probably Oliver Twist (early) and Our Mutual Friend (late). I think I see what you’re getting at, though; Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities have a different feel from Nicholas Nickleby and The Old Curiosity Shop. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/27 "2014-12-03T05:09:07Z")
Well into “Iceland’s Bell”, by the Nobel Laureate Halldor Laxness, written in 1943. A wonderfully fresh romp through ancient Iceland. Kudos to Philip Roughton for his 2003 translation, which turns the novel into beautiful English. Of course, I cannot comment on how true it is to theh original Icelandic. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2014, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/28 "2014-12-03T11:23:45Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > In my experience the world is divided between “Early Dickens” people and “Late Dickens” people. Which are you? I’m Late Dickens. His stories improved once he started outlining them. The only early Dickens I really liked was Pickwick–picaresque novels work well when they’re written episodically. I hated Little Dorrit, though. The character that is. Simpering little twit. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/29 "2014-12-03T13:31:22Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Out of the Dickens novels I’ve read, my two favourites are probably The Pickwick Papers (early) and David Copperfield (middle?) and my two least favourites are probably Oliver Twist (early) and Our Mutual Friend (late). > > I think I see what you’re getting at, though; Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities have a different feel from Nicholas Nickleby and The Old Curiosity Shop. Yeah. And Our Mutual Friend is my favorite Dickens of all time. I’m late; you’re obviously early 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/30 "2014-12-03T15:43:53Z")
> [@Hopeful\_Crow](#): > > **LavenderBlue,** Since you like **Olive Kitteridge** I’m betting you’d like **Juliet in August** by Diane Warren as well. In fact, I liked it better. It also consists of the stories of several people in a small town. The author does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life. Thank you for the suggestion. That looks good. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Agreed. I read both, and liked both, although they’re _very_ different books. PM me if you’d like some more time-travel book suggestions. > This might interest you, too: [Olive Kitteridge (miniseries) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Kitteridge_(TV_miniseries)) That was why I was reading the book. I had it in the house and I wanted to see if the series was worth watching. If the book is good, any movie based on it is usually halfway decent. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2014, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/31 "2014-12-05T03:20:34Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > I hated Little Dorrit, though. The character that is. Simpering little twit. I liked her more than Little Nell or Little Em’ly. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/32 "2014-12-05T03:41:38Z")
Most recently: _Parenting with Love and Logic_, by Foster Cline and Jim Fray. I haven’t read a lot of parenting books, but now that my kid is almost 4, I thought maybe I should have a plan, and a lot of people rave about this one. It turned out that in many ways, the authors’ recommendations are very similar to my own parenting style, so that was okay … but I was surprised how condescending the tone of the book is. If this wasn’t a parenting style that came naturally to you, I wonder how it convincing it would be. The finger-wagging style seems like a turn off. _Bad Feminist: Essays_ by Roxanne Gay. I like this writer a lot, and had been looking forward to this book, and it met expectations. _Mermaids in Paradise_ by Lydia Millet. This was hard for me to get into at first, but it picked up by the middle, and I ended up very impressed with it. A couple on their honeymoon at a resort discover actual mermaids living in a coral reef. Wacky antics ensue. For my taste, it could have been a little less wacky, but overall, I liked it, and the ending was a home run. ---
**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:** [December 5, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/33 "2014-12-05T14:30:30Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I liked her more than Little Nell or Little Em’ly. I rejoiced at the death of Emily. Speaking of death, I finished [The Nibelungenlied](http://store.doverpublications.com/0486414140.html) yesterday which ends with everyone getting stabbed to death, in the finest tragic tradition. It is now my new favorite epic, mainly because of the [Tale of Gunther’s Wedding Night](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibelungenlied#Siegfried_and_Kriemhild) (look at the second picture on the wiki link). 😃 ---
**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:** [December 5, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/34 "2014-12-05T16:50:29Z")
I finished **Immortality in Death** the third Eve Dallas book by JD Robb. Nothing overly exciting, it was interesting and kept my attention and probably hit all the “buttons” of the demographic she was aiming for. I knew the killer instantly, I took a Godsawful hate to him instantly! 😃 ---
**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:** [December 7, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/35 "2014-12-07T05:05:57Z")
Just finished the graphic novel _Serenity: Leaves on the Wind_ by Zack Whedon et al. It picks up not long after the movie _Serenity_ ended, taking the main characters in some very interesting new directions, and bringing back some previous “guest stars” from the series _Firefly_ for another look. I liked it a lot. I took a break from _Colonel Roosevelt_ and am now beginning _The West Point History of the Civil War_, a big coffee-table type book with lots of text, graphics and maps. So far I’m impressed. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/36 "2014-12-07T05:14:45Z")
I finally finished \*\*We Are Not Ourselves \*\*and am starting **The Secret History** by Donna Tartt of **The Goldfinch**. My father promises it will move along better than \*\*The Goldfinch \*\*did. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2014, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/37 "2014-12-07T06:53:46Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I’ve heard of this happening quite a bit, but in reverse. Americanizing popular British books by taking out all the “pavements” “lifts” and “car parks.” The first two Harry Potters were quite heavily edited, presumably to aid younger readers, up to and including the title of the first one. Yes, the Brits were quick to ridicule, but I’m not sure they even realize it’s done in a lot of books for their benefit. (Note to Brits: Americans never say “shite.” And I mean never. If you see that, you should just read it as “shit.” And no Texan would call anyone a “bugger” – best just to read that as “bastard.”) Meanwhile, I have finished _11/22/63_, by Stephen King. A fantastic book. Like I said, the only other King I’d read was _Dolores Claiborne_ 20 years ago and was underwhelmed by it. I hear _The Stand_ has a big following. If it’s even half as good as _11/22/63_, then I’ll have to take a look. It’s a big too, isn’t it? May be just the thing to take with us later this month, as the wife and I will be taking an extended New Year’s holiday upcountry. (One place we’ll be staying is a stone’s throw from the Bridge on the River Kwai, speaking of blasts from the past.) In the meantime, some more John Grisham, this time _The Summons_. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/38 "2014-12-07T18:05:17Z")
_The Stand_ is indeed very big, **Siam Sam** , and much more sweeping in scope and with a lot more characters than _11/22/63_. Definitely worth a read. My other favorite King books are _'Salem’s Lot_ (vampires take over a small Maine town in the mid-Seventies) and _Misery_ (an author is held captive by a deranged fan). ---
**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:** [December 8, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/39 "2014-12-08T14:18:11Z")
I’m reading three books simultaneously. **The Man-Kzin Wars XIII** – finishing this up. I’m very impressed by the series, which has been going for over twenty years now. It’s probably a record for a shared-universe series. Larry Niven has been “loaning” the kzinti out ever since he let them adapt “The Soft Weapon” as an episode of \*Star Trek: The Animated Series" back in 1973. Other wrioters have been doing variations on his theme without betraying his original conception and without repeating themselves for quite a while. **The New Annotated Lovecraft** – I love Lovecraft, and I love Annotated Books. I’ve already read S.T. Joshi’s _Annotated Lovecraft_, _More Annotated Lovecraft_ and _Annotated Shadow Over Innsmouth_. Leslie S. Klinger is the King of Re-Annotated Books, have given us new annotated versions of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula. His newest volume has the blessings of S.T. Joshi, and tries to emphasize different aspects of the stories. There’s a lot here I’ve never encountered before, including early literary opinion of Lovecraft’s work. This is a BIG book (coffee Table Sized, and I’d like to know the people who would put this out on their coffee tables), and over 800 pages long. On audio, during my morning commutes I’ve taken a break from the endless stream of Clive Cussler novels to read David McCulloch’s **The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris**. It’s up to his usual high standards. I knew that Samuel F.B. Morse had been a painter before his work on the telegraph, but I never realized that he was a _major_ painter, world famous for his work long before his telegraph work. Nor that he had a long history of inventions. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/40 "2014-12-08T14:30:09Z")
I finished \*The Brothers Cabal \*the other day, very happy that it isn’t the end of the series. I’ve really liked these, and while reading this one I found something on nearly every page that made me laugh or just pause to appreciate its cleverness. Starting this morning on [The Gamal](http://www.amazon.com/Gamal-Novel-Ciar%C3%A1n-Collins/dp/1608198758/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418046479&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gamal), by Cieran Collins. A “gamal” is the village idiot, and this particular gamal is the narrator of the story. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Flowers for Algernon in that the narrator is a person with mental problems, named Charlie, writing this account for his doctor. However, he’s brighter than that Charlie and none too sweet. The story’s not quite grabbed me yet, but the Irish \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\* is interesting. \*What’s the word I want here? Accent, tone, dialogue… bollocks! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032.md?page=3)