# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread - July 2014 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215 "2014-07-02T19:57:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/101 "2014-07-16T16:08:52Z")
No, but I’ve read one on my netbook and found it less enjoyable and more difficult to read than a physical graphic novel. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/102 "2014-07-16T18:50:38Z")
That’s what I suspected, **susan**. I’m really surprised that they even bother having a Kindle edition of it! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/103 "2014-07-16T19:42:33Z")
OK, I finished _Ivanhoe_ at last. I am setttled on “Scott was pointing out anti-Semitism but did not realize how deep it went because it showed up in practically every character”. And the character who Scott used to point out the injustice was like Sidney Poitier in _Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner_ - so perfect and wonderful that it verges on parody and kinds of messes up the “tolerance and acceptance” point. Was interesting nonetheless. As of now I am attempting _The Brothers Karamazov_, also on audiobook. I have read no Russian literature besides _Crime and Punishment_, which I read back in college (and enjoyed more than I expected). _The Brothers Karamazov_ - not so much. Lots and lots - _lots_ - of preachy talk, and not a heck of a lot more than that. I think I am going to finish it, just to say I had the whole experience, but I will leave _The Idiot_ for another day. Before that, I read _World War One: Stories from the Somme_, which is a British propaganda piece published in 1916 during the Great Push. Ironic, almost parody in its stiff upper lip portrayal of how enthusiastic and hopeful all the soldiers were about being slaughtered in tens of thousands, and how there was little doubt that the Boche were on the run and all would be over shortly. My dead-tree reading is _Sexplosion_, a gossip book about various taboo-violating works (_Midnight Cowboy, The Boys in the Band, Deep Throat, Last Tango in Paris_) back in the 70s. Pretty thin stuff. Also _How to Make a Zombie_, a science book about voodoo drugs and artificial rescusitation masquerading as zombie lit - not bad, nothing special - and a very good SF collection named _The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination_. It was a collection of short stories about mad scientists and their issues and problems - some average and two or three very outstanding. Fun stuff, and with the common theme to connect and focus them. Not sure what’s next on audio, but I gotta get something to listen to while walking the dog. Maybe some sci-fi, but nothing modern. I went thru a good deal of Murray Leinster a while back - any suggestions for other sci-fi authors? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/104 "2014-07-16T20:00:20Z")
I just finished two books that I HIGHLY recommend: [The Free](http://www.amazon.com/The-Free-A-Novel-P-S/dp/0062276743) by Willy Vlautin [Shotgun Lovesongs](http://www.amazon.com/Shotgun-Lovesongs-Novel-Nickolas-Butler/dp/1250039819/) by Nickolas Butler ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/105 "2014-07-16T21:45:00Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > That’s what I suspected, **susan**. I’m really surprised that they even bother having a Kindle edition of it! These sorts of books work well on the Kindle iPad app. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/106 "2014-07-16T22:37:05Z")
\*\*Shodan, \*\* I’ve been filling in the older Hugo and Nebula winners on audiobook. You might want to check the lists on Wikipedia. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/107 "2014-07-17T00:23:39Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > As of now I am attempting _The Brothers Karamazov_, also on audiobook. I have read no Russian literature besides _Crime and Punishment_, which I read back in college (and enjoyed more than I expected). _The Brothers Karamazov_ - not so much. Lots and lots - _lots_ - of preachy talk, and not a heck of a lot more than that. I read The Brothers Karamazov a few months ago. What stuck with me was that everyone was either turning white, or bursting into laughter, or roaring with rage, or turning purple, or bursting into tears, etc., etc. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/108 "2014-07-17T01:53:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > …Before that, I read _World War One: Stories from the Somme_, which is a British propaganda piece published in 1916 during the Great Push. Ironic, almost parody in its stiff upper lip portrayal of how enthusiastic and hopeful all the soldiers were about being slaughtered in tens of thousands, and how there was little doubt that the Boche were on the run and all would be over shortly… What’s two years of carnage between friends? > [@Shodan](#): > > Not sure what’s next on audio, but I gotta get something to listen to while walking the dog. Maybe some sci-fi, but nothing modern. I went thru a good deal of Murray Leinster a while back - any suggestions for other sci-fi authors?.. Sure! _The Forever War_ by Joe Haldeman - great military sf _Old Man’s War_ by John Scalzi - ditto _Tuf Voyaging_ by George R.R. Martin - funny, wry environmental sf satire _The Fountains of Paradise_ - Arthur C. Clarke at his best, about building an orbital elevator _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ by Robert A. Heinlein - A rebellion breaks out on the Moon - a loose retelling of the early days of the American Revolution ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/109 "2014-07-17T13:08:29Z")
> [@susan](#): > > \*\*Shodan, \*\* I’ve been filling in the older Hugo and Nebula winners on audiobook. You might want to check the lists on Wikipedia. Thanks! I will have a look. > [@hogarth](#): > > I read The Brothers Karamazov a few months ago. What stuck with me was that everyone was either turning white, or bursting into laughter, or roaring with rage, or turning purple, or bursting into tears, etc., etc. What has struck me so far is that Doestoevsky is an unreliable narrator - everything is doubtful, “I heard”, different explanations, etc. Which ties in (I think) to the theme that one can only have faith if one loves, and that love removes all doubt. I will finish the work and see if that is significant. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > What’s two years of carnage between friends? It reminds me of _Goodbye to All That_ and _All Quiet on the Western Front_, except without even a hint of insight. > [@](#): > > Sure! > > _The Forever War_ by Joe Haldeman - great military sf > _Old Man’s War_ by John Scalzi - ditto > _Tuf Voyaging_ by George R.R. Martin - funny, wry environmental sf satire > _The Fountains of Paradise_ - Arthur C. Clarke at his best, about building an orbital elevator > _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ by Robert A. Heinlein - A rebellion breaks out on the Moon - a loose retelling of the early days of the American Revolution I’ve already read _The Forever War_, _The Fountains of Paradise_, and _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_. George R.R. Martin is _Game of Thrones_, is he not? I have attempted GoT twice, but I can’t keep the characters and story arcs straight. But I like military sci-fi as Heinlein did so well - maybe I will tackle _Old Man’s War_. Thanks! Regards, Shoda ---
**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:** [July 17, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/110 "2014-07-17T14:23:21Z")
Finished [Skin Game](http://www.amazon.com/Skin-Game-Dresden-Files-Butcher/dp/0451464397/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405606177&sr=8-1&keywords=skin+game+jim+butcher). It’s been a long, long time since I read any of the Dresden books and I’d forgotten who some of the characters were, but it was still easy enough to follow the thread of the story. I think this was one of the better ones. Next up, some non-fiction, [Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight](http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Sociopath-Spent-Hiding-Plain/dp/0307956652/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405606621&sr=1-1&keywords=m.e.+Thomas), by M.E. Thomas. The author is not a criminal and so far there hasn’t been anything too icky for me to cope with. I don’t feel inclined to check out her website, though. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/111 "2014-07-17T19:10:56Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Not sure what’s next on audio, but I gotta get something to listen to while walking the dog. Maybe some sci-fi, but nothing modern. I went thru a good deal of Murray Leinster a while back - any suggestions for other sci-fi authors? I finally got around to _**[The Caves of Steel](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41811.The_Caves_of_Steel)**_ (dunno how I’ve overlooked it all these years, as I’m an Asimov fan!) and really enjoyed it - especially since I’m coming off of reading a few Raymond Chandler novels - the noir feel really carried over for me. CoS is available in audiobook form (my local library has it). It’s more modern, but I also really enjoyed Alan Cumming’s narration of _**[Leviathan](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11399222-leviathan)**_ by Scott Westerfeld. The contrast between the Scottish and Austrian protagonists was a lot of fun. I’m currently captivated by the audiobook of Jeff Vandermeer’s _**[Annihilation](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17934530-annihilation)**_. Carolyn McCormick (who also narrated _The Hunger Games_ trilogy) is striking just the right tone with the protagonist, a rather unreliable narrator herself. I’m loving the whole un-real feel of the story so far … The protagonist is part of the 12th expedition into Area X, a no-mans-land abandoned some 30 years previously for an unknown reason; previous expeditions weren’t always successful. She and her compatriots (no names, just roles- she is the Biologist) have discovered a feature not on their maps… a tunnel (no, a Tower) that leads underground. We learn the story, as well as the Biologist’s background bit by bit… and the tension is building nicely. I’m glad I didn’t know/remember a lot about the story before I started - most everything has been a surprise so far. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/112 "2014-07-18T12:14:50Z")
Dear Lord have mercy on us, is _The Brothers Karamazov_ ever a slog. I have gotten to the potboiling plot point where the idiot girl is raped, and I still don’t care. Somebody reassure me - does it get better? My usual rule of thumb is that, if nothing has happened in the first hundred pages, nothing is going to happen. Is something going to happen? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/113 "2014-07-18T14:03:48Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Currently reading _A Country Doctor’s Notebook_ by Bulgakov, after seeing the English TV series based on it staring Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm. The series was excellent, and the book, naturally, even better. So far, I’ve found you can’t go wrong with Bulgakov - I wonder why, all those years ago, I never read anything other than _The Master and Margarita_ by him. I’m going to read _Heart of a Dog_ next. Thanks for mentioning this. I just watched the first season, and it was disturbing and hilarious, particularly the amputation scene. (“Are you \*sure \*she’s not dead?”) I will seek out some Bulgakov to read. Except I’m going to be reading _The Count of Monte Cristo_ for the rest of my life, I think. The first few hundred pages were good - wrongful imprisonment, escape, unearthing the treasure, rescuing his loyal former employer - but these post-escape shenanigans in Rome have been tedious. I know it’s a setup for an elaborate revenge scheme, and I hope the plot picks up soon. I’m beginning to see why there are abridged versions of this. I read Barbara Pym’s novel _Excellent Women_, which is about the everyday life of a single woman living in London in the 1950’s, whose friends and acquaintances freely impose on her, assuming she has nothing much to do with her time, and suppose that she’s desperate to get married. It’s described as “Austenesque”, and as Pym’s wittiest novel, but while it is amusing, it’s far from the comedy of manners I was expecting. I also didn’t find it to be a paean to the life of a single unattached woman, as the introduction implied; while Mildred is pleased to avoid some of the unpleasant aspects of cohabiting, she doesn’t take much pleasure in her independence. I liked the book, though, and Mildred’s insecurities are vividly portrayed. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/114 "2014-07-18T14:25:14Z")
I’ve read a lot that I haven’t posted. I just finished \*\*A Winter in the Ice[/BN] by Jules Verne, a rare Verne book that I had neither read or even seen before. I stumbled on the 1877 book (!) in a used book store, in almost perfect condition, except that some idiot had razored out one of the illustrations. The title story is from 1855, and there are others in the collection, all but one of which I’ve already read. I find that the book is in its entirety available online (except for the illustrations), but I like having the physical book. I try to read one new Verne every summer. I’m finishing up the Nero Wolfe novel **If Death Ever Slept** , and I’ve already started Philostratus’ **Life of Apollonius** , which I’ve wanted to read for a long time. Used book store purchases all. I, too, finished **Skin Game** recently – it was a gift. I haven’t read a lot of the Dresden Files books, and fortunately I have read one that allows me to make sense of the plot of this one – the book assumes a pretty fair knowledge of the Dresdenverse. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/115 "2014-07-18T14:30:38Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Dear Lord have mercy on us, is _The Brothers Karamazov_ ever a slog. I have gotten to the potboiling plot point where the idiot girl is raped, and I still don’t care. > > Somebody reassure me - does it get better? My usual rule of thumb is that, if nothing has happened in the first hundred pages, nothing is going to happen. Is something going to happen? > > Regards, > Shodan I consider _ **The Brothers Karamazov** _ a masterpiece AND, believe it or not, a gripping page turner. But I absolve you of reading any further. Put it down, congratulate yourself on making a good faith effort, and go read something else. If it hasn’t grabbed you yet, nothing around the bend is likely to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/116 "2014-07-18T15:22:19Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > He wasn’t all that old when he wrote that, but he certainly was a sea dog. Pretty much anything by Alan Villiers is worth reading. Thanks for pointing out his age; it hadn’t sunk in how young he was when he wrote it. As far as **Mikail Bulgakov** is concerned, I read _The White Guard_ back in April and [commented on it in the thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17297368&postcount=82) then… More recently, I just finished the latest **James P. Blaylock** novel, _The Adventure of the Ring of Stones_. It’s a sequel to the equally brief The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs. Great steampunk fun as Langdon St.Ives and his companions go seeking sunken treasure (of a sort) and battle criminals, giant cephalopods and more! ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/117 "2014-07-18T15:49:08Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > Thanks for pointing out his age; it hadn’t sunk in how young he was when he wrote it. > > As far as **Mikail Bulgakov** is concerned, I read _The White Guard_ back in April and [commented on it in the thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17297368&postcount=82) then… Now I’ll have to read that as well. I’m on a real Bulgakov kick. I am simply amazed reading his stuff that he was not “disappeared”. I read somewhere that Stalin personally intervened to protect him, because he saw a play by Bulgakov and thought it was funny. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/118 "2014-07-18T21:37:51Z")
John Scalzi once again underwhelms me. I read\* Zoe’s Tale\*, the fourth of the Old Man’s War novels. I want to go on the record as saying John Scalzi cannot write a believable teenage girl. I \*wish \*my sarcasm had made me as popular as Zoe’s did when I was sixteen/seventeen. Most real teens don’t really have the rapier wit that the ones in this book had. I ended up wanting to slap them all. Also, this was mainly a retelling of _The Last Colony_ from another perspective. There were a few new parts of the tale revealed, but the first twenty or so chapters were already sitting on my bookshelf under a different title. Then Zoe goes off with the Obin and the book finally gets good for about six chapters, then it ends. I cannot help but feel this should have been in the previous novel. Heck, the only reason I wanted to read this book is because I wanted to know what Zoe was up to after she disappeared in _TLC_! At least Scalzi admitted in the Author’s Note that he can’t write teenage girls and he should have spent more time writing the story and less time hand-waving important details away in TLC. Next up on the Scalzi list is _The God Engines_. At least this one is short, so if it pisses me off like the last two I’ve read I won’t be out much time. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/119 "2014-07-18T23:00:40Z")
I finally finished Greg Isles’s _Natchez Burning_ last night. I really enjoyed it for the most part - well-written, great character development and history and a worthy topic. But the denouement was utterly unbelievable to the point of stupidity and sloppily-written (several plot holes and typos) - as if both the author and his editors had given up after page 700, thrown up their hands and decided to just publish the damn thing already. Also I hadn’t realised when I started reading it that this was the first book in a trilogy, many ends were left untied at the end and the second book isn’t even slated for publication until April 2015. What the fuck. I wouldn’t have bothered reading it had I known that; I would have waited until the author had finished and released the whole damn story - I feel scammed. So from now on I am boycotting books that are not properly started and finished in one telling. I started re-reading [Nickle and Dimed.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_and_Dimed) What an enlightening and interesting book. I’m enjoying it all over again. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215/120 "2014-07-19T00:03:38Z")
I just finished the meretricious _Mr. Mercedes_ by Stephen King. The thing that made it the most vexatious was those Scooby Doo moments. You know, the kind where Fred and Velma announce that they have a plan then the audience is treated to a huddle of whispers. That’s a fine trope to use once, but when it is indecently repeated chapter after chapter, well, I kept my eye on the “minutes left in this book” part of my Kindle Fire more than on the plot. Speaking of, yes it wasn’t “predictable” but neither was it fresh. Speaking of Kindles…Kindle Unlimited is now out and I just signed up for the free 30 day trial. It’s hit and miss about what books are available and what aren’t though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2014/692215.md?page=7)