# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' Thread - February 2015 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245 "2015-01-29T17:42:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [January 29, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/1 "2015-01-29T17:42:39Z")
One down and frankly most of us in the US canNOT wait until spring. So crawl back into your blanket forts for another month and READ! It is looking like I will be reading **The Lincoln Lawyer** through at least Saturday, but it’s an enjoyable ride! **Khadaji** was one of the earlier members of the SDMB, and he was well known as a kindly person who always had something encouraging to say, particularly in the self-improvement threads. He was also a voracious, omnivorous reader; and he started these monthly book threads. Sadly, he passed away in January 2013, and we decided to rename these monthly threads in his honour. January Thread: [I’m freezing, it’s January!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744795) ---
**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:** [January 29, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/2 "2015-01-29T19:43:23Z")
Started this morning on [The Haunting of Maddy Clare](http://www.amazon.com/Haunting-Maddy-Clare-Simone-James/dp/0451235681/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422560214&sr=1-1&keywords=haunting+of+maddy+clare) by Simone St. James. It’s a great ghost story so far, though I know there will be a romance element as well. I really enjoyed the last book I read by this author and am planning to find them all. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/3 "2015-01-30T03:21:14Z")
Rapidly closing in on the end of _The Stand_, by Stephen King. I have another 112 pages to go in my 1325-page expanded 1990 edition. I am enjoying it thoroughly and will hate to see it end. But I’m seeing what people mean about King’s sloppy factual errors. (Note to King: Jim Morrison of The Doors, his father was in the Navy, not the Air Force. In fact, IIRC his father was at one time the youngest admiral in US naval history.) ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/4 "2015-01-30T04:37:59Z")
I just finished The Year of the Woman by Jonathan Gash, which I liked but was bit of a slog for me to read. I guess it’s because the locale seems so very foreign to me. (Hong Kong just before the handover from the UK to China.) I really loved the heroine though–my heart just broke for that tired girl just trying to do the right thing. Now I’m reading The Lonely Polygamist by Bradley Udall. (Both were books I picked up from a Goodwill in Florida when we were vacationing.) I’m 85 pages in and I like it very much, but I have NO idea where it’s going. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/5 "2015-01-30T05:01:12Z")
I started a Book Club on that other (long neck) board and we’ll be reading Rebecca in February. I still consider myself new to the reading world (it’s been a few years now though), but I finished The Bell Jar a few days ago and it still feels weird to not read for a half an hour or an hour every night…but it is kind of a nice break. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/6 "2015-02-02T13:48:17Z")
Finished The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James, and picked up another book by the same author, [An Inquiry Into Love and Death](http://www.amazon.com/Inquiry-Into-Love-Death/dp/0451239253/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422884636&sr=1-1&keywords=an+inquiry+into+love+and+death). This lady seems to write the same book over and over again (1920’s England, independent young female, handsome and well-built man, and last but not least ghosts). Fortunately it’s a book I quite like, although I could do without the romance and sex scenes. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/7 "2015-02-02T19:54:43Z")
Working on two speeches for April (for two different audiences) on Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, and on Tolkien and Christianity. Big piles of books around the house at the moment on both topics; no standouts, as such. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/8 "2015-02-02T20:02:50Z")
I am reading and greatly enjoying [Everything is Obvious: Once You Know the Answer](http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Obvious-Once-Know-Answer-ebook/dp/B004DEPHGQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422906760&sr=8-1&keywords=everything+is+obvious) by Duncan Watts. It addresses the fallacies of common sense and the ubiquity of circular reasoning. Everything is clearly explained, easy to understand, and fascinating because it rather transforms my world view. But after reading a chunk of that book, I was in the mood to take a break and read something that wasn’t at all intellectual, so I started [Confessions of a Hater](http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Hater-Caprice-Crane-ebook/dp/B009E7GKUY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422907219&sr=8-1&keywords=confessions+of+a+hater) by Caprice Crane. It’s basically Mean Girls in book form. One of my favorite lines from the book: “Every time you lie to your kid and tell her that some dumb thing she did is ‘great,’ you’re potentially creating the next Ke$ha.” (Apologies to Ke$ha fans, but as someone who can’t stand her music, this line made me laugh.) ---
**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:** [February 3, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/9 "2015-02-03T01:03:24Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Rapidly closing in on the end of _The Stand_, by Stephen King. I have another 112 pages to go in my 1325-page expanded 1990 edition. I am enjoying it thoroughly and will hate to see it end. But I’m seeing what people mean about King’s sloppy factual errors. (Note to King: Jim Morrison of The Doors, his father was in the Navy, not the Air Force. In fact, IIRC his father was at one time the youngest admiral in US naval history.) Finished _The Stand_, by Stephen King. An excellent read, and King can be forgiven his little factual slips. I wonder if he’s ever considered a sequel. I’d always thought of King as just a writer of popular ghost stories, but after _11/23/64_ and now _The Stand_, I see that’s unfair. Definitely plan to read more King. But first, next up is _Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc_, by Mark Twain. I’m pretty sure I read this a long time ago, but my friend upcountry is a huge Twain fan and loaned me his copy. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/10 "2015-02-03T01:48:33Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Finished _The Stand_, by Stephen King. An excellent read, and King can be forgiven his little factual slips. I wonder if he’s ever considered a sequel. > > I’d always thought of King as just a writer of popular ghost stories, but after _11/23/64_ and now _The Stand_, I see that’s unfair. Definitely plan to read more King… _Misery_ and _'Salem’s Lot_ should definitely be on your list. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/11 "2015-02-03T01:55:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _Misery_ and _'Salem’s Lot_ should definitely be on your list. Firestarter too, it’s really the only one other than The Stand that I liked. _though Salem’s Lot was good too_ ---
**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:** [February 3, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/12 "2015-02-03T03:02:56Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _Misery_ and _'Salem’s Lot_ should definitely be on your list. > [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Firestarter too, it’s really the only one other than The Stand that I liked. _though Salem’s Lot was good too_ I saw the film version of _Misery_ way back then and liked that. I think our library has quite a lot of King, so I’ll dig through there. Meanwhile, I tried to find the latest Michael Connelly, _The Burning Room_, this past weekend, but the bookstores here don’t have it yet. (That’s a main reason we went to Siam Paragon Saturday morning, the shopping center that got bombed Sunday night.) ---
**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:** [February 3, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/13 "2015-02-03T03:36:03Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Firestarter too, it’s really the only one other than The Stand that I liked. _though Salem’s Lot was good too_ I’ve always remembered one little bit from Firestarter. Someone is watching the girl from behind. She stands with one foot resting on the backs of its toes. I don’t remember King’s words (25 years later), but you could see her foot. You knew exactly how it looked. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/14 "2015-02-03T18:31:36Z")
I don’t remember that passage, but \*Firestarter \*is pretty good. I re-read it maybe three, four years ago. The movie is meh IMHO. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/15 "2015-02-04T00:02:19Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I don’t remember that passage, but \*Firestarter \*is pretty good. I re-read it maybe three, four years ago. The movie is meh IMHO. the movie is HORRIBLE though Drew Barrymore was good and the guy who played her Dad, but the rest? Ugh. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/16 "2015-02-05T00:01:54Z")
I finished **The Lady Chapel** by Candace Robb and didn’t enjoy it as much as the first one. For one thing, this cozy murder has a pretty high body count: at least 9 people dead, 6 murdered, 1 in child birth, 1 suicide, 1 executed 3 hands cut off 2 people beaten nearly to death, one of them twice… ---
**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:** [February 5, 2015, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/17 "2015-02-05T04:42:13Z")
Just finished **Revival** , by Stephen King. :eek: Jesus Christ, Mr. K! Take a sweat bath or a month by the sea, play with a litter of Corgi puppies, read a Mary Oliver book, buy yourself a bunch of daffodils. You can afford them. This was the bleakest of all the novels of his I’ve read and it would have been devastating had it not been for the goofy malevolent ant creatures on the other side of eternity. I’m going to need something light and optimistic next. I’m thinking _Jeeves_. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/18 "2015-02-07T02:29:02Z")
on tuesday one of my favourite writers new book arrived. i waited 'til today to start it as i have trouble stopping once i start. once again mr reilly did not disappoint. his “the great zoo of china” is brilliant! fast action, the pages just fly by; as do the hours. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/19 "2015-02-07T03:09:26Z")
Started **New York to Dallas** by J D Robb, the mystery is good, well plotted and the Mary Sueness of the characters so fabulous. Seriously, I swear she’s parodying the mystery and romance genres. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2015, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245/20 "2015-02-07T04:46:13Z")
I just finished Savage Harvest, about the killing of Michael Rockefeller by cannibals in New Guinea. it was fascinating! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-february-2015-edition/711245.md?page=2)