# Khadaji's What'cha Readin' thread - June 2014 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776 "2014-06-01T16:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [June 8, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/41 "2014-06-08T18:09:26Z")
I started **Sunstroke** by Jesse Kellerman Friday. It’s enjoyable and I’m pleased to see he’s not trying to be either of his well known parents. So far his characters are interesting and while the book is a little slow, it’s not a slog and I had to make myself put it down so I could get to my meeting on time 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/42 "2014-06-08T18:41:58Z")
I’m wrapping up the second Harry Potter book: …And The Chamber Of Secrets. Another installment from my stepdaughter’s bookshelf. The first book was last month. Looks like I’m going to read all of these, they’re not bad at all for kid’s stuff. (My stepdaughter asks me stuff like: Who’s your favorite character; what house would you be in…) :)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/43 "2014-06-08T18:50:09Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I started **Sunstroke** by Jesse Kellerman Friday. It’s enjoyable and I’m pleased to see he’s not trying to be either of his well known parents. So far his characters are interesting and while the book is a little slow, it’s not a slog and I had to make myself put it down so I could get to my meeting on time 😃 Huh, another writing dynasty, like Stephen/Tabitha King and their author son Joe Hill? I enjoy Johnathan Kellerman’s books, although not his wife’s so much. Will look for JK Jr. I read NOS4A2 by [Joe Hill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hill_%28writer%29) a while back, without knowing he was Stephen King’s son until after I finished it. Good, enjoyable and well-done book but I kept muttering to myself how the author was trying to write just like Stephen King. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/44 "2014-06-08T22:58:30Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Huh, another writing dynasty, like Stephen/Tabitha King and their author son Joe Hill? I enjoy Johnathan Kellerman’s books, although not his wife’s so much. Will look for JK Jr. I, too, do not like Faye much, I can’t like any of her characters except Decker’s oldest daughter and I feel like she’s more interested in cramming being Jewish down my throat than in writing a mystery. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/45 "2014-06-09T00:53:03Z")
Just reread the last several chapters of Stephen King’s _11/22/63_ again, and liked it even better. I was racing too fast (“What happens next?!?!?!?”) when I first read it. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/46 "2014-06-09T01:42:58Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I, too, do not like Faye much, I can’t like any of her characters except Decker’s oldest daughter and I feel like she’s more interested in cramming being Jewish down my throat than in writing a mystery. It’s been years since I’ve tried reading her but as I recall the aggressive Jewish Thing in her books was distracting and besides the point, and put me off. ---
**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:** [June 9, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/47 "2014-06-09T19:40:48Z")
Recent reads: Joe Hill’s short story [By The Silver Water of Lake Champlain](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IRCZIBY/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Joe still on his winning streak! This small gem reminded me of Bradbury’s story _The Foghorn_, as I’m sure it was meant to do. Michael Koryta’s [The Apex Predator](http://www.amazon.com/Apex-Predator-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B00GOGAHIE/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1402328821&sr=1-4&keywords=apex+predator). Another short tale. This one hints at violence against animals, but it’s not graphic. A well-written story by a writer I’m liking more all the time. Nick Cutter’s [The Troop](http://www.amazon.com/The-Troop-Nick-Cutter/dp/1476717710/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1402328964&sr=1-1). I picked this up because Stephen King recommended it. It wasn’t terrible. I was reminded of Scott Smith’s _The Ruins_ (Group of people in a bad situation, what order will they croak in?) However, there was a whole lot of grodiness and animals getting hurt in this one. If I hadn’t been stuck with it on a plane, I doubt I’d have finished it. Sarah Lotz’s [The Three](http://www.amazon.com/Three-Sarah-Lotz-ebook/dp/B00EXTQSE6/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402329027&sr=1-1&keywords=sarah+lotz+the+three). I read this on a plane as well, though it was about strange circumstances surrounding several plane crashes. 🙂 It had a pretty interesting premise, but bogged down in the middle. I fell asleep and had a hard time finding my place again when I woke up (these same people still dithering about the same issues?!) but it was okay. If several planes crashed on the same day and a single child survived each time, I bet this really is how the world would react. Terry Pratchett’s [Mort](http://www.amazon.com/Mort-Discworld-Novel-Novels-ebook/dp/B000W967UQ/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402329075&sr=1-1&keywords=mort+terry+pratchett). Dependably fun and clever. Currently I’m reading Stephen King’s [Mr. Mercedes](http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Mercedes-Novel-Stephen-King/dp/1476754454/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1402329126&sr=1-1). I generally take a day off work and gobble up a new King like Annie Wilkes gobbles up the new Misery installment, but since I just returned from vacation I guess I won’t do that. So far so good. A couple of tiny quibbles: Was “GUARENTEED” supposed to be misspelled on the job fair banner, or is there a typo in my book? I also see Mr. King trying to coin some new words (“deathcar, just like that, deathcar” and “widder-titter”). Nothing too egregious yet, but keep a smucking lid on it, okay Steve? Love ya! I also recently read a free preview of Michael Koryta’s [Those Who Wish Me Dead](http://www.amazon.com/Those-Wish-Preview-First-Chapters-ebook/dp/B00JJ86XZK/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1402328878&sr=1-2&keywords=those+who+wish+me+dead) and it was smashing. I’m looking forward to that one almost as much as King’s. It’s next! And then I have some other stuff that looks promising. Life as measured by the state of the TBR pile is groovy. **Elendil’s Heir** , thanks for taking on the thread! ---
**Author:** ![Grrlbrarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrlbrarian/32/4048_2.png) [@Grrlbrarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrlbrarian)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/48 "2014-06-10T21:43:53Z")
> [@Politzania](#): > > Am working on _**[Games Creatures Play](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18114043-games-creatures-play)**_, a collection of short stories edited by Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner. According to GoodReads, it’s part of the InCryptid series, but I don’t think it matters much. Spotted it on the New Books shelf at the local library & both the title and list of authors on the cover caught my attention. The hook (as you might guess from the title) is supernatural-type fiction with a game or sport as an element of the story. > > I’ve only gotten thru 4 stories so far - but thought I’d share: > “In the Blue Hereafter” - Charlaine Harris. My first encounter with Sookie Stackhouse, tho she’s not the main character - Manfred Bernardo is. Set at a softball game, so there’s the game/sport connection. Felt a bit like filler between novels, but still enjoyable enough. Wondering if it’s worth pursuing Harris/Sookie further… > \ I enjoyed the earlier Stackhouse books, but the latest ones were, well, really disappointing, IMHO. Jumped the shark around **Dead and Gone** if I remember correctly. I figure you may already have heard this, but this is the same series HBO’s True Blood is based on (somewhat loosely). ---
**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:** [June 10, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/49 "2014-06-10T23:03:43Z")
Taking another crack at **Night Watch** by Sergei Lukyanenko. I think I’m really reading this in the wrong language, but sadly I don’t read Russian. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/50 "2014-06-11T03:29:26Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > … **Elendil’s Heir** , thanks for taking on the thread! Glad to. I know I should be getting back to _Far from the Tree_, but George R.R. Martin’s short-story-and-essay collection _Dreamsongs, Vol. II_ jumped off the library shelf and into my hands, so of course I had to start reading it. Best part so far: the complete series-premiere screenplay for an unproduced 1991 sf TV show, _Doorways_. It’s pretty damn good. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/51 "2014-06-11T03:34:56Z")
^ Still slogging through _Far from the Tree._ Interesting but often overgeneralized, and sometimes simply incorrect. It doesn’t help that he narrates the audiobook himself and keeps sounding like he’s about to cry. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/52 "2014-06-11T15:50:24Z")
He obviously poured his heart and soul into the book. Could you tell me, say, three errors you’ve noticed? ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/53 "2014-06-11T17:55:08Z")
I’m nearly finished with Kent Haruf’s _Eventide_. I’m enjoying it quite a lot; even moreso, I think, than _Plainsong_. Perhaps it’s because a few of the characters were already established in _Plainsong_, but, having grown up in a very small town much like the fictional Holt, I can tell you that Haruf absolutely nails the conversations, mannerisms, and actions of rural Western Americans in _Eventide_. ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/54 "2014-06-11T18:39:18Z")
I recently was invited to join a book group, and our first book, which we meet to discuss in a couple of weeks, is Donna Tartt’s _The Goldfinch_. I got halfway through it (and had to really push myself to get that far) but now have given up. I apologize in advance to those of you who may have love it, but OMG, what drivel. This is Pulitzer prize worthy writing? If so, then the state of American literature is in dumpster. Tartt has a few beautiful, eloquent passages (just a few single sentences, really) but desperately needs an editor with a very sharp red pencil to cut back on her push-it-down-their-throats-then-repeat style. I’m looking forward to hearing what others in the book group think. I have moved on (with the giddy enthusiasm of a newly released prisoner) to Eric Larson’s _Thunderstorm_. I am completely absorbed in his description of, of all things, Marconi’s experiments that lead to the development of radio. I’ve always wondered how scientists figured out those mysteries and Larson offers a very readable account of the subject. I also think Larson’s style has improved since _White City_. Also on the Kindle, _Quiet, the Power of Introverts in a World That Won’t Stop Talking_. I think I read about it here. Will start that after Thunderstorm. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/55 "2014-06-11T18:46:03Z")
I am reading _Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid’s Memoir That Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey_ by the deceased Margaret Powell. I am really enjoying it. She’s a sharp writer with an eye for detail and well deserved contempt for the people she writes about. I finished reading _Snobs_ by Julian Fellowes. It sucked. He images himself Wharton when he’s really Danielle Fucking Steele. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/56 "2014-06-11T18:51:00Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > I’m halfway through [“Orange is the New Black”](http://www.amazon.com/Orange-New-Black-Womens-Prison-ebook/dp/B0036S4B6M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401847170&sr=8-1&keywords=orange+is+the+new+black) by Piper Kerman, which the Netflix series by the same name is (loosely) based upon. It’s decent but not nearly as dramatic or racy as the series. However, it is holding my interest and I’ll finish it, and these days that alone says something positive about a book. I don’t force myself to finish boring books anymore. I hated that book. She’s such a fucking sanctimonious pig. I happen to think our drug laws are sort of insane and punish people far too harshly for minor crimes. But she’s so full of herself and how wonderful she and did she mention she’s blond and has a Smith diploma cause I’d forgotten for two pages that she blond and has a Smith diploma. She utterly lost me with that sort of self back patting. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/57 "2014-06-11T19:02:42Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I am reading _Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid’s Memoir That Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey_ by the deceased Margaret Powell. I am really enjoying it. She’s a sharp writer with an eye for detail and well deserved contempt for the people she writes about… The aristos, the servants, or both? ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/58 "2014-06-11T19:15:13Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > The aristos, the servants, or both? The aristos largely. She has no ridiculous Julian Fellowes delusions about the glory and wonder of most of the English upper classes. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/59 "2014-06-11T19:51:10Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I hated that book. She’s such a fucking sanctimonious pig. I happen to think our drug laws are sort of insane and punish people far too harshly for minor crimes. But she’s so full of herself and how wonderful she and did she mention she’s blond and has a Smith diploma cause I’d forgotten for two pages that she blond and has a Smith diploma. She utterly lost me with that sort of self back patting. Oh c’mon, don’t hold back. Tell us how you REALLY feel 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/60 "2014-06-11T20:30:40Z")
“and how wonderful she is . . . that she’s blond . . .” What I really feel is that I should do a better job reading my own damned posts before submitting them. Damn it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776.md?page=4)