# 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:** 3
**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 8, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/41 "2014-12-08T16:23:28Z")
Do you mean “brogue,” \*\* Dung Beetle\*\*?: [brogue - Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brogue) **CalMeacham** , as a Lovecraft fan, had you seen Neil Gaiman’s Sherlock Holmes/Lovecraft mashup “A Study in Emerald”? Great stuff: [http://neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf](http://neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf) ---
**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, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/42 "2014-12-08T16:41:31Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Do you mean “brogue,” \*\* Dung Beetle\*\*?: [brogue - Wiktionary, the free dictionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brogue) > > **CalMeacham** , as a Lovecraft fan, had you seen Neil Gaiman’s Sherlock Holmes/Lovecraft mashup “A Study in Emerald”? Great stuff: [http://neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf](http://neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf) Yep. It’s in a lot of collections, including _Shadows over Baker Street_, which is all Holmes/Lovecraft crossovers. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/43 "2014-12-08T18:23:51Z")
Just finished Lucifer’s Hammer, starting on Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us. I guess I have a thing for disasters ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/44 "2014-12-08T18:33:07Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > 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. Dropped The Secret History – just too dense for me. I’ll give her \*\*The Little Friend \*\*a few days. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/45 "2014-12-08T18:38:08Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > \*What’s the word I want here? Accent, tone, dialogue… bollocks! [Idiom, sir?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwrgPZltnjo) ---
**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 8, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/46 "2014-12-08T18:48:35Z")
Resting the braincells right now by reading manga. I finished **One Piece** volume 3 by Eiichiro Oda on Friday and **Wolf Magic** Natsuki Zippo today. One Piece is a favorite anime of mine, it’s SO over the top but the Zippo book was almost bland and boring, sadly par for the course for June Publishing these days. ---
**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 8, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/47 "2014-12-08T19:29:50Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Just finished Lucifer’s Hammer, starting on Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us. I guess I have a thing for disasters I read the first in high school, and the second just a few years ago. Both good, although very different from one another. ---
**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 9, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/48 "2014-12-09T01:34:22Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _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). My research shows there’s a “Complete & Uncut Edition” that was revised to include previously cut text, plus the time was moved up to 1990 and pop references were updated. Would you recommend that version? > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > 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_. I forgot to give a short synopsis of _11/22/63_ for the non-American posters here. That is the date of the JFK assassination in Dallas, Texas. A high-school English teacher in Maine in 2011 discovers a time portal that takes him back to 1958. He embarks on a mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination. As for _The Summons_, it’s an edition that was printed in London, but thankfully after a quarter of the way through, I’ve seen no Britishisms yet. ---
**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 9, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/49 "2014-12-09T01:44:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > My research shows there’s a “Complete & Uncut Edition” that was revised to include previously cut text, plus the time was moved up to 1990 and pop references were updated. Would you recommend that version? Personally I wouldn’t worry about it, that book is freaking LONG as it is and I don’t think updating the references would add anything to it. I admit it’s been 20 years since I read it tho so others may disagree. ---
**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 9, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/50 "2014-12-09T01:55:15Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Personally I wouldn’t worry about it, that book is freaking LONG as it is and I don’t think updating the references would add anything to it. I admit it’s been 20 years since I read it tho so others may disagree. I see it’s 823 pages. _11/22/63_ was slightly longer, but I breezed through that. ---
**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 9, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/51 "2014-12-09T02:25:55Z")
Well I did get through that godawful long Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell so… I don’t remember how long my copy is, I’d have to go climb the shelves to get it down ---
**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 9, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/52 "2014-12-09T02:36:44Z")
I don’t mind lengthy novels. I read _War and Peace_ largely on Bangkok buses. ---
**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 9, 2014, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/53 "2014-12-09T08:11:01Z")
BTW, **DZedNConfused** : I just learned Michael Connelly’s new Harry Bosch novel has come out. [The Burning Room](http://www.michaelconnelly.com/novels/burning-room/). It’s getting good reviews. Some are calling it his best yet, and it sounds like Connelly has left out a lot of the Bosch angst. I may actually buy the hardcover if I see it here. ---
**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 9, 2014, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/54 "2014-12-09T08:41:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > BTW, **DZedNConfused** : I just learned Michael Connelly’s new Harry Bosch novel has come out. [The Burning Room](http://www.michaelconnelly.com/novels/burning-room/). It’s getting good reviews. Some are calling it his best yet, and it sounds like Connelly has left out a lot of the Bosch angst. I may actually buy the hardcover if I see it here. I knew it was out, but I haven’t seen any reviews yet. It would be nice to have a lot less angst. I am slowly working my way there, on **The Closers** , I believe, but I took a break from reality, as such, to read some of the manga I have piled up around here 😃 ---
**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 9, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/55 "2014-12-09T15:45:05Z")
As it happens, I loved _Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell_, and was just thinking the other day of re-reading it. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > My research shows there’s a “Complete & Uncut Edition” that was revised to include previously cut text, plus the time was moved up to 1990 and pop references were updated. Would you recommend that version?.. I presume you’re speaking of _The Stand_ (there’s a later collectors’ edition of _'Salem’s Lot_ that includes some different stuff from the first edition, too). I’ve read both editions of _The Stand_ and would recommend you read the original work. Then, if you love it, go for the “complete and uncut edition.” What was added for that would, I think, be of interest only to a hardcore _Stand_ fan and King completist. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/56 "2014-12-09T21:02:05Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Well I did get through that godawful long Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell so… I don’t remember how long my copy is, I’d have to go climb the shelves to get it down I remember writing in one of these threads how much I disliked that book. I don’t know why I kept reading it. I’m currently reading at the world’s slowest pace through \*Snow Crash \*by Neal Stephenson. It’s not bad, I’m just too busy for reading, which sucks. ---
**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 10, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/57 "2014-12-10T14:44:25Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > As it happens, I loved _Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell_, and was just thinking the other day of re-reading it. > I presume you’re speaking of _The Stand_ (there’s a later collectors’ edition of _'Salem’s Lot_ that includes some different stuff from the first edition, too). I’ve read both editions of _The Stand_ and would recommend you read the original work. Then, if you love it, go for the “complete and uncut edition.” What was added for that would, I think, be of interest only to a hardcore _Stand_ fan and King completist. Thanks. Yes, I meant _The Stand_. I’ll see if our library has that. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/58 "2014-12-10T16:00:06Z")
Let’s see. Currently reading **[The Salmon of Doubt](http://www.amazon.com/Salmon-Doubt-Hitchhiking-Galaxy-Last/dp/0345455290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418226504&sr=8-1&keywords=salmon+of+doubt)** by Douglas Adams on the passionate recommendation of my daughter’s friend. I don’t know how I missed this collection of short Adams non-fiction compiled after his death. It’s slight but mostly quite humorous, and Adams does an astonishingly good job of foresight on where tech was going. An interesting man gone too soon. Current fiction beside the bed is **[The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry](http://www.amazon.com/Storied-Life-J-Fikry-Novel/dp/1616204516/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418226591&sr=8-1&keywords=storied+life+of+aj+fikry)**. I had my eyes narrowed here against possible twee - I do hate a book that is self-consciously precious - but thus far the sweetness has been balanced by humor and snark to within acceptable limits. I appreciate that the eponymous Fikry can be a jerk at times, though foundling daughter Maya can thus far be a little too precocious for my taste. Love the way both of them adore books though and see the world through literary lenses. I read that this is a bibliophile’s book, and I agree completely. Also just started **[A Storm of Swords](http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Swords-Song-Fire-Book/dp/055357342X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418226802&sr=8-1&keywords=storm+of+swords)** by George RR Martin. Many times reviewed so I won’t bother, other than to say it’s gripped me thus far like the two preceding. Mr. Martin does revel in his unlikable characters, doesn’t he? I fancy that in an author. Nice try making Jaime Lannister more likable. I was startled to read the anecdote of “the war for Cersei’s …” that is depicted in the first season of Game of Thrones. Clearly the TV series pulls whatever it needs from wherever in the series whilst maintaining chronological order. In my view, probably the way to do it. Favorite thing I’ve read recently: **[How to Be a Victorian](http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Victorian-Dawn---Dusk/dp/0871404850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418226994&sr=8-1&keywords=ruth+goodman)** by Ruth Goodman. Long and carefully written details of a typical Victorian’s day, from babies to the aged, throughout Victorian’s reign. It includes everything from typical underwear to what was on the table (or not) for dinner. Best of all, the author (who has been part of long-term Victorian re-enactments of various stripes) has lived or tried out many of these things herself and can report back on things like the pluses and minuses of corsets, doing laundry the Victorian way, etc. I loved it - and what a treasury for the aspiring historical fiction writer. ---
**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 10, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/59 "2014-12-10T22:12:30Z")
> [@Grrlbrarian](#): > > Let’s see. Currently reading **[The Salmon of Doubt](http://www.amazon.com/Salmon-Doubt-Hitchhiking-Galaxy-Last/dp/0345455290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418226504&sr=8-1&keywords=salmon+of+doubt)** by Douglas Adams on the passionate recommendation of my daughter’s friend. I don’t know how I missed this collection of short Adams non-fiction compiled after his death. It’s slight but mostly quite humorous, and **Adams does an astonishingly good job of foresight on where tech was going**. An interesting man gone too soon. When I got my first text-able phone, I thought of the part where Adams sat in his bathtub and typed with his thumbs. And yes, he was taken from us entirely too soon. I realized that when I read _Last Chance to See._ ☹ ---
**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 11, 2014, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032/60 "2014-12-11T05:31:46Z")
I loved _Last Chance to See_. Bittersweet, given the topic (severely-endangered species), but also witty and very funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-december-2014-edition/706032.md?page=4)