# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread -- January 2019 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2018, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964 "2018-12-31T05:06:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 5, 2019, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/21 "2019-01-05T01:37:53Z")
About 4/5 through _The Brothers Karamazov_, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and enjoying it. ---
**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 7, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/22 "2019-01-07T20:28:16Z")
The first new book of the new year is a self-help book, Dale Carnegie’s [How to Stop Worrying and Start Living](https://www.amazon.com/How-Stop-Worrying-Start-Living/dp/0671035975/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1546892528&sr=8-3&keywords=dale+carnegie+how+to+stop+worrying+and+start+living). My assignments for today are to “shut the iron doors on the past and the future. Live in day-tight compartments” and also “Keep busy. The worried person must lose himself in action, lest he wither in despair. Don’t forget to reward yourself by fucking off on the internet.” Okay, I added that last part myself, but I think it’s good. Probably it’ll be in the next revision. ---
**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 8, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/23 "2019-01-08T15:34:20Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > …Since this the the thread for bookworms, I’m going to go off on a tangent and ask a question that’s been bugging me. Several years ago I came across a book in Powell’s that looked interesting. It was about a girl / young woman who disappears on a family vacation. She had gone for a walk or something and simply never returned. I don’t remember the name of the author or the title… _The Shack_ by William P. Young, a novel with strong Christian themes of grief, acceptance and forgiveness, starts like that, but I suspect it’s not the book you’re thinking of. ---
**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 8, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/24 "2019-01-08T15:53:56Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > My assignments for today are to “shut the iron doors on the past and the future. Live in day-tight compartments” and also “Keep busy. The worried person must lose himself in action, lest he wither in despair. Don’t forget to reward yourself by fucking off on the internet.” > > Okay, I added that last part myself, but I think it’s good. Probably it’ll be in the next revision. LOL I like your version better. ---
**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 8, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/25 "2019-01-08T16:28:34Z")
I’m rewarding myself right now! Today’s lessons were something about cooperating with the inevitable, not sweating the small stuff, not trying to get revenge on people…I’ve got that nailed already, so I skipped right to dessert. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/26 "2019-01-08T17:53:21Z")
Once again attempting [**Daughter of Smoke and Bone**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QX076Y/). I just kinda lost interest the first time, I think because the narrative shifted to characters I wasn’t as interested in. It’s the first in a trilogy. ---
**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 8, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/27 "2019-01-08T21:48:51Z")
Finished _Toucan Keep a Secret_, a cozy mystery by Donna Andrews, which I enjoyed. Now I’m reading _The Daleth Effect_, by Harry Harrison. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/28 "2019-01-08T21:58:30Z")
Found it: _[Descent](https://www.amazon.com/Descent-Novel-Tim-Johnston/dp/161620477X)_ by Tim Johnston. It sounds a bit darker than I remember, but I’m adding to to my Amazon wish list, so I’ll get to it eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/29 "2019-01-09T02:34:45Z")
I was on a long trip south, so I read a Southern book: **All the King’s Men**. Absolutely beautiful language, marred principally by the protagonist’s casual, and historically accurate, racism, that comes across as just assumed by the author. I know you gotta read people within context, but the amount of n-words crapped around the book were more than a little distracting. But if you can set that aside, what a gorgeous bit of prose, with some really compelling characters. Then I read [Trail of Lightning](https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/26/17474566/trail-of-lightning-rebecca-roanhorse-native-american-urban-fantasy-book-review), a postapocalyptic book set on the Dineh (Navajo) reservation. Once the author described the wall built by the Dineh to protect their land, I knew I was in for a treat. It follows pretty standard fantasy plotting, but was a fun read. Then it was off to the children’s chapter book [Unbeatable Squirrel Girl](https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2017/02/book-review-unbeatable-squirrel-girl-squirrel-meets-world-shannon-hale-dean-hale.html). OmiGOD, y’all. I was gigglesnorting on the plane all the way back north. If there’s the tiniest chance that you’ll enjoy a children’s chapter book about an optimistic girl with a full set of squirrel superpowers, you gotta read this. I’ve read a single issue of the comic before and thoroughly enjoyed it; this was even more up my alley. I’ve started Miles Morales, but don’t know when I’ll get to finish it. ---
**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 9, 2019, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/30 "2019-01-09T03:34:22Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Then it was off to the children’s chapter book [Unbeatable Squirrel Girl](https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2017/02/book-review-unbeatable-squirrel-girl-squirrel-meets-world-shannon-hale-dean-hale.html). OmiGOD, y’all. I was gigglesnorting on the plane all the way back north. If there’s the tiniest chance that you’ll enjoy a children’s chapter book about an optimistic girl with a full set of squirrel superpowers, you gotta read this. I’ve read a single issue of the comic before and thoroughly enjoyed it; this was even more up my alley. > > I’ve started Miles Morales, but don’t know when I’ll get to finish it. Squirrelgirl ROCKS! She beat Thanos too, ya know? ---
**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 9, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/31 "2019-01-09T04:00:50Z")
Finished _The Brothers Karamazov_, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, his final novel. In fact, I have read he meant for it to be three times longer, and if so I can see where he could have continued at least a couple of story lines had he lived longer. In 19th-century Russia, ethical debates of God, free will and morality are pursued amid a backdrop of the murder of the patriarch of the Karamazov family. Very good. This is my second Dostoevsky, having read _Crime and Punishment_ about 35 years ago, and I think I liked that one a little better. But this one is good. I do have a liking for 19th-century writers including the Russians, having read the major works of Tolstoy already. I hope to explore more of Dostoevsky in the near future. Next up is _Land Sharks_, a first novel by local writer Katharine M. Nohr. A female triathlete who is also a lawyer teams up with another lawyer who is also a Hawaiian TV star to solve a high-profile case involving a man who claims he was paralyzed during the Honolulu Olympic triathlon trials. Supposed to be the first of a series. I obtained this book in a novel (heh) way. On Christmas Eve last month, the wife and I attended our neighbor’s Christmas party, where there was a gift exchange. You know the kind – you bring a gift, put it with the others, everyone draws a number etc. I ended up with this book, which on the front had a note stuck on saying the author was here to sign it. “You mean here in Hawaii?” I asked. No, she was there at the party. And she did sign it and included a nice note. So this is one book I can’t sell or give away. Hope it’s good! The author is herself a lawyer, an insurance defense attorney. The jacket blurb also describes her as – and maybe **Elendil’s Heir** can shed some light on exactly what this is – “a former District Court (per diem) Judge.” Not sure what the “per diem” refers to. Temporary? Fill in? The book also seems to be a first edition, published in May 2016, hardback, but already there are three pages of blurbs praising the book in front. I thought those appeared in subsequent printings or the paperback version? And oddly, almost all of them are from officers of insurance professionals’ organizations, insurance company executives, physical therapists and athletes, even an “HR Professional.” I’m guessing she may have handed out copies to friends and colleagues beforehand for feedback. One of the blurbs suggests Nohr may be the next John Grisham. Well, we’ll see. She seems like a very nice lady, and I hope I enjoy the read. ---
**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 9, 2019, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/32 "2019-01-09T05:19:46Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I was on a long trip south, so I read a Southern book: **All the King’s Men**. Absolutely beautiful language, marred principally by the protagonist’s casual, and historically accurate, racism, that comes across as just assumed by the author. I know you gotta read people within context, but the amount of n-words crapped around the book were more than a little distracting. But if you can set that aside, what a gorgeous bit of prose, with some really compelling characters… I listened to an audiobook of that a few years back, and really enjoyed it, too. Now I understand why it’s such a classic. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > …The author is herself a [Hawaii] lawyer, an insurance defense attorney. The jacket blurb also describes her as – and maybe **Elendil’s Heir** can shed some light on exactly what this is – “a former District Court (per diem) Judge.” Not sure what the “per diem” refers to. Temporary? Fill in?.. Looks like it. I hadn’t heard the phrase before: [http://www.courts.state.hi.us/courts/district/perdiem/per\_diem](http://www.courts.state.hi.us/courts/district/perdiem/per_diem) ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/33 "2019-01-09T06:07:20Z")
About two thirds of the way through Tolstoy’s _Anna Karenina_ on my phone. Almost finished Christian Cameron’s _The Great King_ from the library. Started reading _The Hobbit_ to my four year old. It’s taken us a week to get through chapter one. He tends to fall asleep after a couple of pages. Which is great cause then I can get back to Tolstoy. ---
**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 9, 2019, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/34 "2019-01-09T06:16:59Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > About two thirds of the way through > Tolstoy’s _Anna Karenina_ on my phone. I liked that one. Also good is the several instances in the _Peanuts_ comic strips where Snoopy keeps thinking, “There’s no way in the world that Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky could ever have been happy.” ---
**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 9, 2019, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/35 "2019-01-09T06:22:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Looks like it. I hadn’t heard the phrase before: [http://www.courts.state.hi.us/courts/district/perdiem/per\_diem](http://www.courts.state.hi.us/courts/district/perdiem/per_diem) Thanks. I have almost five years total in encountered that before.Hawaii under my belt, counting my previous time here too, but I’ve not encountered that term before. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/36 "2019-01-09T09:13:12Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I liked that one. Also good is the several instances in the _Peanuts_ comic strips where Snoopy keeps thinking, “There’s no way in the world that Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky could ever have been happy.” Dude spoilers 🙂 ---
**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:** [January 9, 2019, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/37 "2019-01-09T12:59:52Z")
I’m finally tossing in the towel on Hobbes’ **Leviathan**. It was interesting in the beginning, especially when he’s trying to define human behavior and talking about religion, but when he gets into politics, it loses its savor. I picked up a copy of **Exploring Newcastle**. we went to visit Newcastle many years ago, and this Irish book giving the history of the site came out since. I found it in a used book store (there are still a few about), and it’s fascinating. Apparently they put up a Visitor Center (or Visitor Centre) since we visited, and now I want to go back. A very quick read. While cleaning up I stumbled across a copy of William Goldman’s **The Princess Bride** , which I’ve been meaning to read since long before the Rob Reiner movie (the original paperback cover called it “A HOT Fairy tale”, which made it sound like a porn take on Sleeping Beauty\*. That might be one reason I hadn’t gotten around to reading it.) I didn’t recall picking it up, but we’ve decided it was probably one of Pepper Mill’s purchases from before our meeting. It’s a quick read, too but I’m not yet finished with it. I also read an old issue of _The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction_ from the 1960s. A lot of the stories in the old pulps have never been reprinted, or are just beginning to be reprinted now as e-books. An interesting slice of SF history. Not sure what to read next. I’ve got a Jack Chalker book in my bag that I want to read, or re-read. I have a stack of books on my bedside tabl;e, some that Pepper Mill put there. But nothing really grabs me. Arisia is coming up very soon, and I’ll probably get some more stuff there. \*Before you write in – yes, I know about Anne Rice’s SB trilogy. Read 'em, too. ---
**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 9, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/38 "2019-01-09T23:32:00Z")
I finished **Murder on the Menu** by Nancy Skopin. It was pretty obviously her first book, but it wasn’t a bad read, I enjoyed the characters and the set up quite well. My only critique is that the time frame was difficult to settle into, the book was printed in 2015 but the technology was more like 2001, except for the presence of the software company. Nikki used a Nokia cellphone (!) and had to call her office to get messages off of her machine there. There was no texting mentioned and one character handed out a pager number. It would have been less jarring had the set the date when she set the scene at the beginning of the book. I DNFed **Murder and Magic** by Randal Garrett. I just can’t suspend my disbelief hard enough to accept the premise of the Plantagenets and 12th century Europe lasting into the 1960s. The forensic magic was interesting, I wish the practioners of that magic had been less oily and more likeable. Lord Darcy, himself, was something of a medieval James Bond, which sadly made him the only character of any depth in the book. ---
**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 10, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/39 "2019-01-10T13:37:20Z")
Ugh, I quit on Dale Carnegie today. I haven’t been looking forward to my reading time this week, and my anxiety habit of shredding the inside of my mouth has been out of control. This morning I hit the chapter where he goes full Jesus, and I’m out. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964/40 "2019-01-10T15:02:29Z")
Definitely not worth continuing, **Dung Beetle**! I have to admit, though, “he goes full Jesus” made me laugh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-january-2019-edition/826964.md?page=3)