# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread -- July 2017 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241 "2017-06-30T23:51:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [July 17, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/61 "2017-07-17T23:17:31Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Another literary best friend for her would be Molly, from **Castle Hangnail** by Ursula Vernon. Molly’s also interested in botany. I really loved Castle Hangnail. It was a fun book, with a fairly serious message for kids. ---
**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, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/62 "2017-07-18T18:10:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Went to Readercon over the weekend picked up a STACK of cheap, free, and other books. > > I’m reading Murray Leinster’s **The Wailing Asteroid** now (the basis for the awful movie _The Terrornauts_ and **The Columbus of Space** by Gerritt P. Serviss, the guy who wrote the unauthorized sequel to H.G. Wells’ _War of the Worlds_ (while Wells was still alive). This book, according to the modern editor, was the first to use nuclear power for space travel – in 1894. Interesting, so far. This has been bugging me since I wrote it, so I checked – Becquerel’s discovery of radioactivity was in 1896, so this book couldn’t have been written in 1894. That’s what I get for simply copying from the back cover. The book actually appeared in 1909, which is more believable. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2017, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/63 "2017-07-19T03:36:18Z")
I finished Gail Carriger’s newest book **The Sumage Solution** today…actually it was released today as well. 😃 It’s a very well done male/male, smutty urban fantasy. Definitely one of my favorite books of hers. ---
**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 19, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/64 "2017-07-19T12:39:56Z")
Today I finished [Nothing Left to Lose](https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Left-Lose-John-Cleaver/dp/0765380714/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500467461&sr=1-2&keywords=nothing+left+to+lose) by Dan Wells, the last book in his John Cleaver series (about a sociopath who hunts demons). I’ve enjoyed the whole series and think it wrapped up nicely. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/65 "2017-07-19T17:06:48Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Today I finished [Nothing Left to Lose](https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Left-Lose-John-Cleaver/dp/0765380714/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500467461&sr=1-2&keywords=nothing+left+to+lose) by Dan Wells, the last book in his John Cleaver series (about a sociopath who hunts demons). I’ve enjoyed the whole series and think it wrapped up nicely. I think that series is on “to read” list…with some 2k other books 😃 ---
**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 20, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/66 "2017-07-20T18:07:24Z")
Started this morning on [The Keep](https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Novel-Adversary-Cycle-Repairman/dp/0765327392/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500573546&sr=1-3&keywords=the+keep) by F. Paul Wilson. Vampire vs. Nazis, pretty good so far. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll be right in the middle of it when the weekend strikes. So much to do then that I don’t get a chance to read. I’m probably one of the few people who dreads Fridays. ---
**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 20, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/67 "2017-07-20T18:52:26Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Started this morning on [The Keep](https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Novel-Adversary-Cycle-Repairman/dp/0765327392/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500573546&sr=1-3&keywords=the+keep) by F. Paul Wilson. Vampire vs. Nazis, pretty good so far… Great book! I reread it a year or so ago. Skip the Michael Mann movie - it’s ponderous and cheesy, despite the Tangerine Dream score. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/68 "2017-07-20T19:34:22Z")
I’m slowly working Iain Pear’s “The Dream of Scipio”. I read “An Instance of the Fingerpost” years ago and liked it. “Dream” is a book about the (I think) story of a manuscript/philosophy as it influences the lives of three men in very separate eras (The decline of the Roman Empire, early Middle Ages, and WWII). Unfortunately, the book is very slow moving and didactic, mostly telling and not showing and taking long enough to get to the point that I’m still not sure where he’s going or why. The Amazon reviews more or less said “This book is good, but not for everyone”, and I may be one of those everyones. I guess I’ll try sticking it out and see where he takes this, but so far, in style, if not in subject matter, this is one bloodless book. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/69 "2017-07-21T02:10:09Z")
Okay, this will be ridiculously long, because I have been ridiculously bad about updates and have read/dnfed/started approximately ONE MEELION books lately. Recent reads: _The Element of Fire (Ile-Rien, #1)_, by Martha Wells. She’s really really good. If you like Lois McMaster Bujold (and you should), I think you’ll like Martha Wells. High fantasy. _Denton Little’s Deathdate_ (Denton Little #1), by Lance Rubin. Imagine a world where everyone knows exactly what date they will die on. Now imagine snarky teens, a weird conspiracy, and people turning hilariously purple. That’s this book! _Fallen_, by Celeste Bradley. Really terrible romance temporarily enlivened by graphic random sex scene of two minor characters. _Missing May_, by Cynthia Rylant. Part of the Newbery reads. Very poignant and sad but strangely not depressing. _Goose in the Pond_ (Benni Harper, #4), by Earlene Fowler. Cozy mystery with super arrogant macho dickhead cop and his irritating wife. And yet I enjoyed it! _Hearse and Buggy_ (An Amish Mystery, #1), by Laura Bradford. I should have hated this cozy, but it was competently written and I swear those are hard to come by. _Even Money_, by Dick Francis. Not one of my favorite of the Francis thrillers, but so readable. _Doggie Day Care Murder_ (Melanie Travis, #15), by Laurien Berenson. One of my favorite cozy series. It’s like fast food for your brain. _It Happened One Midnight_ (Pennyroyal Green #8), by Julie Anne Long. Romance with some solid moments and a lame-ass ending. _Gluten for Punishment_ (A Baker’s Treat, #1), by Nancy J Parra. DNF cozy mystery where characters explained things in dialogue. “As you know, you drive a van…” _Wicked Game_ (WVMP Radio, #1), by Jeri Smith-Ready. Imagine an urban fantasy with vampires that I found readable and even good! I’m shocked. I hate vampires. This is a different treatment of them, which I appreciated. _Death by Darjeeling_ (A Tea Shop Mystery, #1), by Laura Childs. No. Just no. Cozy. _Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter_ (A Dixie Hemingway Mystery, #1), by Blaize Clement. DNF. Author has a weird fixation on cat anuses. Cozy. _The Midwife’s Apprentice_, by Karen Cushman. Newbery read. Good, but could stand to be longer. _The Probability of Murder_ (Sophie Knowles, #2), by Ada Madison. Cozy DNF, sleuth too stupid to live. Currently reading: _The Whispering Skull_ (Lockwood & Co., #2), by Jonathan Stroud. Barely started. YA fantasy. _The Last One_, by Alexandra Oliva. Barely started. SF. _Shame on You_ (Fool Me Once, #1), by Tara Sivec. Barely started. WTF. Almost certainly a DNF. _The Spirit Lens_ (Collegia Magica, #1), by Carol Berg. Barely started. Fantasy. _Beauty and the Spy_ (Holt Sisters Trilogy #1), by Julie Anne Long. Barely started. Romance. Almost certainly a DNF. _The Slave Dancer_, by Paula Fox. Barely started. Newbery. _A Geek Girl’s Guide to Murder_ (Geek Girl Mysteries #1), by Julie Anne Lindsey. Barely started. Cozy. _The Darkest Part of the Forest_, by Holly Black. Barely started. YA fantasy. _Death at Breakfast_, by Beth Gutcheon. Barely started. Cozy. _The Crossword Murder_ (Crossword Mysteries, #1), by Nero Blanc. Barely started (sense a theme?) Cozy. Now we actually get to the books I’ve read more than 10 pages of! _The Lie Tree_, by Frances Hardinge. Good fantasy. Just got distracted. _Crimson Bound_, by Rosamund Hodge. Fantasy. Probably a DNF. Isn’t holding my attention. _Range of Ghosts (Eternal Sky, #1)_, by Elizabeth Bear. Fantasy. My library check out expired and I have been waiting to check it out again. I’m not in love. _The Bronze Bow_, by Elizabeth George Speare. Newbery. When Jesus entered the plot, I grew wary. _Julie of the Wolves (Julie of the Wolves, #1)_, by Jean Craighead George. I’m a bit baffled by this book. _Killer in Crinolines_ (Consignment Shop Mystery #2), by Duffy Brown. Funny cozy but not clicking. _Freckles_ (Limberlost #1), by Gene Stratton-Porter. Oddly overwrought. I’ll finish someday. _The Sayers Swindle_ (Book Collector Mystery #2), Victoria Abbott. Funny cozy but not clicking. _Dark Currents_ (The Emperor’s Edge, #2), by Lindsay Buroker. Good fantasy! I got distracted! _The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet_, Neil deGrasse Tyson. Non-fiction I will finish. _Skeptic: Viewing the World with a Rational Eye_, by Michael Shermer. Non-fiction I will finish. _The Essential Ellen Willis_, by Ellen Willis. Non-fiction, I am bored. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/70 "2017-07-21T02:25:32Z")
**jsgoddess,** _The Whispering Skull_ is a fantastic book, the whole series is crazy awesome. The latest one is out in September, I believe. Oh and **Emperor’s Edge** series is a blast. I took a small break this month because 1. I had 4 preorders arrive this month and 2. I’m almost done with the series and I don’t want to say bye to the characters. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/71 "2017-07-21T02:28:36Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Just finished **The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate**. Very good book. Another literary best friend for her would be Molly, from **Castle Hangnail** by Ursula Vernon. Molly’s also interested in botany. I’ll have to check that out! ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/72 "2017-07-21T02:34:29Z")
I recommend **Castle Hangnail** as well. Ursula Vernon’s writing is a lot of fun, and she delivers a well written lesson about responsibility with bludgeoning her audience. I am WELL past the target age group and still enjoyed it. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/73 "2017-07-21T12:17:51Z")
Just finished Nathalia Holt’s **Rise of the Rocket Girls**. Good and worth reading, but not as interesting as **Hidden Figures** , which covered a similar topic. Also, the author’s habit of periodically stopping to put in a page or two about things like the history of pantyhose and what women’s wedding gowns looked like, etc., was something I found distracting. Just started reading **Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now** , by Mark Steyn. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/74 "2017-07-21T14:12:51Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I recommend **Castle Hangnail** as well. Ursula Vernon’s writing is a lot of fun, and she delivers a well written lesson about responsibility with bludgeoning her audience. I am WELL past the target age group and still enjoyed it. Jeez, that’s supposed to be withOUT bludgeoning her audience. :smack: ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/75 "2017-07-21T14:21:01Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Jeez, that’s supposed to be withOUT bludgeoning her audience. :smack: What if we want to be bludgeoned, huh? ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/76 "2017-07-21T14:32:57Z")
Come out to Utah, I have big books and I know how to use them! 😉 ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/77 "2017-07-21T15:36:32Z")
Eep! ---
**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:** [July 21, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/78 "2017-07-21T15:43:16Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Eep! 😃 I also have a wall of mystery books, many of them cozies… here kitty kitty ---
**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 21, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/79 "2017-07-21T16:42:55Z")
Is that purring I hear…? ---
**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 21, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241/80 "2017-07-21T20:52:18Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Just started reading **Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now** , by Mark Steyn. Oooh, I’ll be interested to know what you think of this one… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-july-2017-edition/790241.md?page=5)