# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread -- January 2018 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597 "2017-12-30T22:02:14Z")\ **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:** [January 10, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/21 "2018-01-10T04:55:14Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Just started reading \*\*\*The Reckoning: The Memoirs of Anthony Eden \*\*\*… Eden features prominently in the first two seasons of Netflix’s excellent series _The Crown_, if you’re interested. > [@terentii](#): > > Is “The Sick Tree” part of the collection? I think it’s my favorite _ **Little Lulu** _ story ever. :o No, it isn’t, and I don’t remember it. Remind me? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/22 "2018-01-10T05:06:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Eden features prominently in the first two seasons of Netflix’s excellent series _The Crown_, if you’re interested. I don’t get Netflix, so I’ll have to look for it on line or wait until it comes on FX or A&E. ☹ > [@](#): > > No, it isn’t, and I don’t remember it. Remind me? One day, Lulu was walking past the fellers’ clubhouse and … > **[More LLL (Later Little Lulu): three from #95](https://stanleystories.blogspot.com/2009/02/more-lll-later-little-lulu-three-from.html)** > > Here's another trifecta of super Little Lulu stories from 1956. Just one issue after delivering the devastating "Two Foots Is Feet," John S... It’s the second story down. Enjoy! 🙂 ---
**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 10, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/23 "2018-01-10T15:09:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I don’t get Netflix, so I’ll have to look for it on line or wait until it comes on FX or A&E. ☹ > > One day, Lulu was walking past the fellers’ clubhouse and … > > [STANLEY STORIES: More LLL (Later Little Lulu): three from #95](http://stanleystories.blogspot.ca/2009/02/more-lll-later-little-lulu-three-from.html) > > It’s the second story down. Enjoy! 🙂 I enjoyed it. I’ve never read Little Lulu before. “I’ll have to change the sheet.” “Why?” :smack: Just started _Siddhartha_, by Hermann Hesse. ---
**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 10, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/24 "2018-01-10T15:31:53Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I don’t get Netflix, so I’ll have to look for it on line or wait until it comes on FX or A&E. ☹ … Or get the DVD - well worth a look: [https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Season-01-Vanessa-Kirby/dp/B075569ZX6/ref=sr\_1\_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1515597974&sr=1-1&keywords=crown+netflix](https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Season-01-Vanessa-Kirby/dp/B075569ZX6/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1515597974&sr=1-1&keywords=crown+netflix) Thanks for the Lulu link. No, I’d never seen that strip before. Good stuff. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/25 "2018-01-10T16:14:10Z")
I finished reading Volume IV of the collected “Tales and Novels” of Maria Edgeworth (although I didn’t bother re-reading “Castle Rackrent”). Specifically, I wanted to read the short novel “Ennui” which is in The Guardian’s [1000 Novels Everyone Must Read](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction). “AN ESSAY ON IRISH BULLS”: This is a satirical essay written in a mock-scholarly tone on the subject of humour based on self-contradiction which is supposedly unique to the Irish. She gathers a bunch of examples from other cultures and shows that it isn’t particularly restricted to the Irish, but the Irish do have a love for colourful language. It’s interesting to see some of what passed for humour 200 years ago; most of the jokes were pretty dull, but a few got a chuckle out of me. “AN ESSAY ON THE NOBLE SCIENCE OF SELF-JUSTIFICATION”: Another essay in the same mock-scholarly tone advising women on how to win any argument with a man, extolling the virtues of crying, changing the subject, provoking violence, etc. It probably wouldn’t win any feminist awards nowadays, but it was fairly amusing. “ENNUI”: This is the story of a dissipated young nobleman who is bored with life until he visits his estates in Ireland and meets various picturesque Irish characters. There’s a plot twist and then a happy ending. I quite enjoyed it. “THE DUN”: A parable about a fashionable young man who refuses to pay his debts and the knock-on effects that has on a poor family. It had some interesting points, but the moralism was a little heavy-handed. ---
**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 10, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/26 "2018-01-10T16:28:05Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Just started _Siddhartha_, by Hermann Hesse. Ah I read that _cough_ 30+ years ago in high school. I remember enjoying it, even though it wasn’t an action sort of book. I finished **Area 51** by Bob Mayers this morning. Not bad, not great but the premise was interesting and the action kept my attention. The writing was pretty amateur in places and he was aiming for more “classic” SF were the emphasis was on the tech not the characters, but it was an enjoyable potato chip read. (However as a native Utahn, I’m underwhelmed at your air force cred if you think a base 30 miles from Salt Lake City “is just outside” SLC. :dubious: ) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/27 "2018-01-10T23:58:59Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I enjoyed it. I’ve never read Little Lulu before. “I’ll have to change the sheet.” “Why?” :smack:] I especially liked Willy saying “Be careful! If you step on his head, don’t give your right name!” 🆒 ---
**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 11, 2018, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/28 "2018-01-11T05:46:00Z")
Heh. Yes, that was a good line. Which reminds me of another Little Lulu story I read a loooong time ago. It was a kind of ghost story, I think, in which Lulu and Tubby find a spooky house out in the woods and explore it. Just a little scary, as I recall. Does that ring a bell, **terentii**? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/29 "2018-01-11T06:16:46Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Heh. Yes, that was a good line. > > Which reminds me of another Little Lulu story I read a loooong time ago. It was a kind of ghost story, I think, in which Lulu and Tubby find a spooky house out in the woods and explore it. Just a little scary, as I recall. Does that ring a bell, **terentii**? Unfortunately, no. I remember a lot of stories, but not that one. There was another one that creeped me out, though. (I must have been five or six at the time.) Somehow or other (this may have been part of a story she was telling to Alvin; I don’t remember), Lulu found herself on a flying schoolbus filled with hideous monsters. She couldn’t see them because it was a dark night, but when the Moon finally shone through the clouds, a loud **YOW!** came from inside the bus. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/30 "2018-01-11T06:29:23Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I enjoyed it. I’ve never read Little Lulu before. :eek: > [@](#): > > “I’ll have to change the sheet.” “Why?” :smack: I had forgotten that line. I laughed out loud when I read it! 😃 ---
**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 11, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/31 "2018-01-11T14:26:05Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Unfortunately, no. I remember a lot of stories, but not that one… OK, thanks anyway. I may not even have it right. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/32 "2018-01-11T23:39:31Z")
Midway though Denis Johnson’s _The laughing monsters_ and honestly it’s average. The great man [RIP] cleaning out his desk, as someone put it on goodreads. That being said, I have his posthumous collection of short stories _The largesse of the sea maiden_ on order, comes out in the UK in a week or two, and am expecting it to slay. Not too many writers in Johnson’s league in the shorter form. ---
**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 13, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/33 "2018-01-13T16:32:21Z")
Finished _Siddhartha_ by Hermann Hesse. Interesting. Started _Robert B. Parker’s Little White Lies: A Spenser Novel_, by Ace Atkins. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/34 "2018-01-13T17:39:21Z")
Last week I finished Ian Leslie’s _ **Born Liars: Why We Can’t Live without Deceit** _. Further proof you shouldn’t believe anything people tell you, especially in the news. ---
**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 13, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/35 "2018-01-13T17:46:12Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Started _Robert B. Parker’s Little White Lies: A Spenser Novel_, by Ace Atkins. I tried two or three Spenser novels a few years ago and found them dreadful. It may have been that I picked ones from early on the 1970s, as they were horribly dated – for example, frequent non-ironic flattering descriptions of leisure suits the characters were wearing. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/36 "2018-01-13T17:54:52Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Re Friend Request > I think you’ll like this one. I did. I thought about it a lot when I wasn’t reading it, still failed to solve the mystery. > > Next up: [Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and what the Internet can tell us about who we really are](https://www.amazon.com/Everybody-Lies-Internet-About-Really/dp/0062390856/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515417214&sr=1-1&keywords=everybody+lies). And it’s only $2.99. I went ahead and bought it straight up without downloading the sample- the “woman in peril - woman with a dangerous secret” type books are my guilty pleasure despite their sometimes cheesiness. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/37 "2018-01-13T18:18:25Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > And it’s only $2.99. I went ahead and bought it straight up without downloading the sample- the “woman in peril - woman with a dangerous secret” type books are my guilty pleasure despite their sometimes cheesiness. I’m a sucker for a suspense novel. I just started reading Mary Stewart novels and am captivated. **Recent reads** (I think I haven’t participated for months, but I’m too lazy to fill it all in. I “read” a total of 220 books in 2017, which is insanity and doesn’t even count books I bailed on early or forgot to put into Goodreads. There was SO MUCH comfort reading going on!) _Rapture Practice: A True Story About Growing Up Gay in an Evangelical Family_, by Aaron Hartzler. Enjoyable memoir about… well the title says what it’s about. It’s a quick read and I enjoyed the glimpse into some pretty hardcore evangelism that maintains a pretty tolerant tone despite the insanity. _Nine Coaches Waiting_, by Mary Stewart. An orphan is hired to be a governess for a Count in a remote mountaintop estate with strange goings on. So much fun. If you like old-fashioned suspense, this is pretty damned perfect. _Sloppy Firsts_, by Megan McCafferty. The first in a series from the start of the 2000s. Lots of snarky highschool angst from the POV of a snarky angsty highschooler. _Second Helpings_, by Megan McCafferty. Sequel to the previous and more of the same. _The Companion_, by Ann Granger. Strong historical mystery. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/38 "2018-01-15T04:21:14Z")
I am trying to read _Dandelion Wine_ by Ray Bradbury. It gets great reviews. I like lyricism and imagery and whatnot. _I am bored stiff._ This is just not remotely interesting to me. From the blurb, it should be in my wheelhouse, but damn. ---
**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 15, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/39 "2018-01-15T17:30:19Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > I am trying to read _Dandelion Wine_ by Ray Bradbury. It gets great reviews. I like lyricism and imagery and whatnot. _I am bored stiff._ This is just not remotely interesting to me. From the blurb, it should be in my wheelhouse, but damn. :eek: That’s what I’m reading right now! This is the first time someone’s ever posted about the book I’m reading as I’m reading it, and for it to be a book written 61 years ago is very impressive. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597/40 "2018-01-15T17:38:23Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > :eek: That’s what I’m reading right now! This is the first time someone’s ever posted about the book I’m reading as I’m reading it, and for it to be a book written 61 years ago is very impressive. This post is coming from INSIDE YOUR KINDLE! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2018-edition/805597.md?page=3)