# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread - January 2017 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2017, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029 "2017-01-01T04:46:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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 20, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/81 "2017-01-20T14:01:12Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Finished **Carter & LOvecraft** by Jonathon L. Howard and ummmm MEH > > I suspect if I were a Lovecraft fan, I would have enjoyed it more but most of it made no sense and after harping on it the whole damn book, we still never found out why Charlie shot himself… Ha, I liked it and will continue the series, but when I read your spoiler, I realized that I don’t remember very much about it! I think that’s more my fault than the book’s though. This morning I finished _The Nix_, which I enjoyed very much. > [@](#): > > …if a new beginning is really new, it will feel like a crisis. Any real change should make you feel, at first, afraid. If you’re not afraid of it, then it’s not real change. Well, that seemed appropriate on this particular inauguration day morning, though it makes me feel no less afraid. Started on [The Ballad of Black Tom](https://www.amazon.com/Ballad-Black-Tom-Victor-LaValle/dp/0765387867/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484920543&sr=1-1&keywords=the+ballad+of+black+tom), a novella by Victor LaValle. Again with the Lovecraftiness. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/82 "2017-01-20T16:14:29Z")
Halfway through Ann Patchett’s “Bel Canto” and really loving it. It’s not going, in the end, to go on my short list of greatest books, but it is a lovely, thoughtful, well-crafted, sensitive story by a writer with a comforting grasp of human nature. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/83 "2017-01-20T19:49:39Z")
I finished [Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart](Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart) by James Doty. It was good, but not great. I was wary of it from the synopsis: a woman teaching him a series of mental exercises to ease his suffering and get him what he wanted. It sounded awfully close to the “spiritual but not religious” school of thought, which has never been up my alley, but the author revealed towards the end of the book that he was an atheist, and believed in kindness and compassion not because of some eternal promise in heaven, but because it’s the best way to live. It’s about meditation and doing the right thing, and it’s pretty good but certainly not ground-breaking. I’m in the middle of [Autobiography of a Face](Autobiography of a Face) by Lucy Grealy, a memoir written by a woman who survived jaw cancer as a child. Like the previous book, I’m finding this good but not great. It’s a compelling story, and the woman is a good writer, but I’m not finding her particularly likeable. Finally, I’m in the middle of [Waistcoats and Weaponry](https://www.amazon.com/Waistcoats-Weaponry-Finishing-School-Book-ebook/dp/B00IRIR8E8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484941640&sr=8-1&keywords=waistcoats+and+weaponry) by Gail Carriger, the third in a steampunk series for young adults. The basic premise is a girl goes to finishing school, where she takes classes on how to be a proper lady, but also classes on espionage. I’m relieved, because I fell in love with the first book in the series, but found the second book to be a weak offering. So far, I’m enjoying the third book more than I enjoyed the second, and I can promise you that barring some unforeseen accident resulting in a premature death, I’m going to go on to read the last book in the series. ---
**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 20, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/84 "2017-01-20T23:44:49Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Finally, I’m in the middle of [Waistcoats and Weaponry](https://www.amazon.com/Waistcoats-Weaponry-Finishing-School-Book-ebook/dp/B00IRIR8E8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484941640&sr=8-1&keywords=waistcoats+and+weaponry) by Gail Carriger, the third in a steampunk series for young adults. The basic premise is a girl goes to finishing school, where she takes classes on how to be a proper lady, but also classes on espionage. I’m relieved, because I fell in love with the first book in the series, but found the second book to be a weak offering. So far, I’m enjoying the third book more than I enjoyed the second, and I can promise you that barring some unforeseen accident resulting in a premature death, I’m going to go on to read the last book in the series. I find that to be the way Gail Carriger goes, I loved the first, third and fifth books of The Parasol Protectorate. The 2nd and fourth don’t exist in my world. 😃 ---
**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:** [January 21, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/85 "2017-01-21T01:10:44Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I find that to be the way Gail Carriger goes, I loved the first, third and fifth books of The Parasol Protectorate. The 2nd and fourth don’t exist in my world. 😃 Oh no, I hope that doesn’t mean the fourth book in this series sucks! ---
**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:** [January 21, 2017, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/86 "2017-01-21T05:40:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > On the home stretch of Faust’s _This Republic of Suffering_… Finished this. A generally interesting but relentlessly grim overview of Civil War-era views of death, mourning, funeral practices and memorialization, and how the nation grappled with its terrible losses. On a lighter note, just read the kid’s book _Abe Lincoln Crosses A Creek_ by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by John Hendrix, about when a young Lincoln nearly drowned in a Kentucky creek but was saved by a friend. Homespun and charming. Next up: an audiobook of _All the King’s Men_ by Robert Penn Warren. Never read it, and I’ve been meaning to for a long time. ---
**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 22, 2017, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/87 "2017-01-22T02:57:58Z")
I finished **The Spirit Glass Charade** by Colleen Gleason, the second Holmes & Stoker book. It was not quite as “pulpy” as the first but nevertheless a fun light read. I don’t know if I want to start the third one yet, I’m training next week and won’t have as much time to read… and I have huge pile of manga I need to read and get off the floor by the bed before I kill myself some night on the way to the potty. 😃 ---
**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 23, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/88 "2017-01-23T02:56:34Z")
Finished _Cannery Row_, by John Steinbeck. Very good. I barely remember the Nick Nolte/Debra Winger film version from 1982, but they must have taken liberties, because there’s no romantic interest in the book. No Debra Winger character at all. The brothel I recall she worked in is in there, but that’s about it. I still recall it was an entertaining film, it just was not this story. Published in 1945, it relates the adventures of a marine biologist and seeveral colorful town residents in the Cannery Row section of Monterey, California. Next up will be _Palace of Treason_, by retired CIA agent Jason Matthews. A sequel to his _Red Sparrow_. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/89 "2017-01-23T03:06:28Z")
I’ve not seen the 1982 movie, but it sounds like they merged _Cannery Row_ with its sequel, _Sweet Thursday_, which does have a love interest for Doc. > **[Sweet Thursday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Thursday)** > > Sweet Thursday is a 1954 novel by John Steinbeck. It is a sequel to Cannery Row and set in the years after the end of World War II. According to Steinbeck, "Sweet Thursday" is the day between Lousy Wednesday and Waiting Friday. > Doc returns to a failed Western Biological Laboratories and a changed Cannery Row after serving in the army during World War II. Mack and the Boys are still living in the Palace Flophouse, but Lee Chong has sold his general store to Joseph and Mary Rivas. Since the death ... ---
**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 23, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/90 "2017-01-23T03:28:08Z")
Thanks. That’s probably it, because Debra Winger’s character’s name is Suzy. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/91 "2017-01-23T16:26:30Z")
I took a plunge on a new author and read **The Cabinet of Curiosities** , by Douglas Preston. It was okay, but the whole idea of a super sleuth is a bit tiresome. I’m moving on to **The Devil in the White City** , by Erik Larson ---
**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:** [January 23, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/92 "2017-01-23T18:46:54Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Next up is **Frontier Grit: The Unlikely True Stories of Daring Pioneer Women** , by Marianne Monson. Just finished this. These women made it through incredibly tough times. Donaldina Cameron went around rescuing Chinese girls from human trafficking. Clara Brown lost one child to drowning and had the others sold away from her, and managed, decades later, to find her surviving daughter. Mother Jones had four children and her husband die of cholera within a week. And those are just few to come to mind. Could’ve lived without the mini-lecture after each bio telling me what lessons I should take away from their lives. This is a book for adults. Next up: Killing Floor, by Lee Child. I’ve never read a Jack Reacher novel before. ---
**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 24, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/93 "2017-01-24T15:29:22Z")
Over the weekend, I read [The Hike](https://www.amazon.com/Hike-Novel-Drew-Magary/dp/0399563857/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485271117&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hike+drew+magary) by Drew Magary, as recommended by **DCnDC** in the Best Books of 2016 thread. It’s about a guy who goes on a very long and phantasmagoric walk in the woods. I liked it, but I think in part that’s because I could read it straight through. If I had done my usual \<100 pages a day, it probably would have shaken me off because it was just so damn weird. It reminded me a lot of Joe R. Lansdale’s Drive-In books, which similarly detail a trip that gets stranger and stranger and winds up in an unimaginable place. Nice gut-punch on the last page too. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/94 "2017-01-25T06:31:15Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > … > > Finally, I’m in the middle of [Waistcoats and Weaponry](https://www.amazon.com/Waistcoats-Weaponry-Finishing-School-Book-ebook/dp/B00IRIR8E8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484941640&sr=8-1&keywords=waistcoats+and+weaponry) by Gail Carriger, the third in a steampunk series for young adults. The basic premise is a girl goes to finishing school, where she takes classes on how to be a proper lady, but also classes on espionage. I’m relieved, because I fell in love with the first book in the series, but found the second book to be a weak offering. So far, I’m enjoying the third book more than I enjoyed the second, and I can promise you that barring some unforeseen accident resulting in a premature death, I’m going to go on to read the last book in the series. The same author wrote a separate series, beginning with Soulless, which is not young-adult but is in the same universe (roughly a generation later). All are great fun. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/95 "2017-01-25T13:27:33Z")
I’ve misplaced my copy of **Killing Floor** , by Lee Child, so I’m reading **Every Heart a Doorway** , by Seanan McGuire, a fantasy which is absolutely brilliant so far. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/96 "2017-01-25T14:25:49Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The same author wrote a separate series, beginning with Soulless, which is not young-adult but is in the same universe (roughly a generation later). All are great fun. I read that one (and thoroughly agree, it was great fun)! But I haven’t yet read the second book in the series yet, and after **DZedNConfused** ’s less-than-stellar review, I’m a little apprehensive to read it. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/97 "2017-01-25T15:14:32Z")
Working on “Digging for Richard III”. Very odd book, physically. Pages are stiff like index cards. Photos incorporated like in a magazine article. Copyright information is on the last page, instead of near the front. Author’s name is not on the cover of the dust jacket (nor anywhere that I can find inside the book), only the spine. My library copy ($29.95) says it was printed in China. I do not find the author to be a scintillating wordsmith (it reads a bit like a self-published book – turns out his name is Mike Pitt), but the story has promise. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/98 "2017-01-26T00:59:33Z")
Just finished Seanan McGuire’s **Every Heart a Doorway**. Outstanding work of fantasy. Still can’t find the Jack Reacher book. I’ll see what’s in my library stack. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/99 "2017-01-26T02:10:16Z")
Just started [\*Mitwa \*by Kate McLeod](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N7SXRVX/), for a book branded as a YA sci-fi read, it’s enjoyably layers so far. Also on the Kindle is \*\*[That’s Not How You Wash a Squirrel](https://www.amazon.com/Thats-Not-How-Wash-Squirrel-ebook/dp/B018JDFEG4)\*\*by David Thorne. It’s another collection of “essays”/trolls the author has done as well as some comedic bits. His website [27bslash6.com](http://27bslash6.com) has a bunch of good bits that if you like, I’d recommend the book too. [Check out what he did when he was sold crappy snow gloves.](http://www.27bslash6.com/function4sports.html) ---
**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:** [January 26, 2017, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029/100 "2017-01-26T05:39:48Z")
I’m really enjoying my audiobook of Robert Penn Warren’s _All the King’s Men_. It’s read by a talented actor and the depiction of Southern politics in the Thirties is engrossing. I’m about halfway through the graphic novel _Before Watchmen: Minutemen / Silk Spectre_ by Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner, which is also pretty good. I’ve also begun Ted Chiang’s _Arrival_, a short story collection, which includes “Story of Your Life,” the inspiration for the recent sf alien-first-contact movie _Arrival_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2017-edition/776029.md?page=6)