# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/81 "2014-06-16T06:50:12Z")
I just finished **What If?** (possibly not the most original title) subtitled Strategic Alternatives of WWII. Lots of interesting possibilities there, (The US fleet setting an ambush for the Japanese fleet at Pearl Harbor and fighting them to a draw; an allied invasion into Yugoslavia east of Venice with the goal of driving on to Vienna through the Ljubliana Pass to name a couple) and some chilling ones: Nuking Berlin or Munich. Recommended for WW Deuce buffs. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/82 "2014-06-16T17:38:18Z")
I’m about halfway through **The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making** , by Catherynne M. Valente, and I think it’s excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/83 "2014-06-16T18:02:00Z")
Re-reading _The Master and Margarita_, after seeing a TV series based on Bulgakov’s short stories (_A Young Doctor’s Notebook_). Bulgakov is in my opinion at least the greatest Russian writer of the Soviet era. ---
**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 16, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/84 "2014-06-16T18:45:08Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Re-reading _The Master and Margarita_, after seeing a TV series based on Bulgakov’s short stories (_A Young Doctor’s Notebook_). > > Bulgakov is in my opinion at least the greatest Russian writer of the Soviet era. I should reread it, it kind of went in one ear and out the other, which may just be a reflection of my maturity/life experience at the time… ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/85 "2014-06-16T19:58:07Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I should reread it, it kind of went in one ear and out the other, which may just be a reflection of my maturity/life experience at the time… It is awesome. Get an annotated translation, or you will miss half the content … essentially, the devil himself shows up in Stalin’s Moscow, in the guise of a visiting performer of magic, and proceeds to wreak havoc - mostly on people who deserve it. This is all by way of black, black comedy based on the Stalin era - for example, Satan makes several people “dissapear” by means of Black Magic, which totally confuses the locals (the subtext is of course that the dissapearance of Muscovites under Stalin did not exactly require “black magic” as an explaination). ---
**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 18, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/86 "2014-06-18T12:48:37Z")
Wow! Just finished Michael Koryta’s new suspense novel [Those Who Wish Me Dead](http://www.amazon.com/Those-Who-Wish-Me-Dead/dp/0316122556/ref=la_B001IOFBB0_1_1/179-0191520-4518279?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403094696&sr=1-1), and it was his best yet. I want to run around looking for bored people, put a copy in their hands, and say, “Read this, you’ll like it!” Onward now to another book I’ve been looking forward to, Jeff Vandermeer’s [Authority](http://www.amazon.com/Authority-Novel-Southern-Reach-Trilogy/dp/0374104107/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403095205&sr=1-3&keywords=jeff+vandermeer). It’s the second book of a trilogy. Maybe it’s just suffering by proximity to the Koryta book, but I’m on page 119 and I’ve already fallen asleep twice while reading it. I want to know more about Area X, but this book is doling out the crumbs so slowly! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/87 "2014-06-18T14:15:27Z")
Right now, I’m reading James Dickey’s \*\*\*Deliverance, \*\*\*which I’m quite liking. Which is strange because I HATED the movie. The movie was 95% boring and 5% unintentionally hilarious. ---
**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 18, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/88 "2014-06-18T20:24:33Z")
I finished **Night Watch** by Sergei Lukyanenko… I think the philosophy and soul searching were interesting but probably more powerful in the native language. I did NOT like the end, it felt flat and horribly anti climatic to me. I also didn’t like his female characters, the only one of interest was stuck in a stuffed owl for the first story. After that she was wallpaper… ---
**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 19, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/89 "2014-06-19T02:14:10Z")
I just loved _The Curse of Chalion._ I enjoyed the pacing–_steady, steady, steady, st–WHAT!!!_ Loved the character development. Loved all the plot points clicking together. Great fun. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/90 "2014-06-19T02:32:55Z")
Finished _Get Shorty_, by Elmore Leonard. In which a movie-loving mafia collector travels to LA to collect a debt and discovers the movie business is a lot like his own business. It’s just about exactly like I remember the film version 19 years ago, with one exception. The character of Michael Weir had his name changed to Martin Weir for the movie. That was the Danny DeVito character, the Shorty of the title. All the other names remained the same. I wonder why they would change just the one name. Was there a Michael Weir somewhere out there waiting to sue? But the book is good. Typical Leonard, he never disappoints. Next up: _The Comedians_, by Graham Greene. Centered on Papa Doc’s Haiti. ---
**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 19, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/91 "2014-06-19T04:49:51Z")
Made some progress on Solomon’s _Far from the Tree_ over the weekend, learning quite a bit more about autism and strife within the so-called autism community, but it’s very dense and I know I’ll never finish it all. ---
**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 19, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/92 "2014-06-19T05:51:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Made some progress on Solomon’s _Far from the Tree_ over the weekend, learning quite a bit more about autism and strife within the so-called autism community, but it’s very dense and I know I’ll never finish it all. I’m up to his prodigy/gifted chapter, where again the focus is on how everybody’s depressed, damaged, and lonely. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/93 "2014-06-19T13:38:37Z")
**Marguerite Yourcenar** ’s _Mémoires d’Hadrien_ (_Memoirs of Hadrian_) It’s a fictional autobiography of the great Roman Emperor in which he meditates at the end of his life on love, art, war, philosophy and politics. I’d read Yourcenar’s _L’Œuvre au Noir_ (_The Abyss_) when I was in secondary school. It was actually one of the few books I was assigned that really liked: a fascinating central character in a fascinating place at a fascinating time (Flanders in the 16th century - the dawn of the Modern Era, a booming economy and major discoveries on a background of religious turmoil). I reread it 10 years ago and it held up very well. For some reason however, I wasn’t interested in reading _Mémoires d’Hadrien_ although I knew it was considered her magnum opus. Probably because of the time period - I’ve never been very interested in Roman history. Then late last year I thought about again and decided that I had to read it. I liked it a lot but I still give _L’Oeuvre au Noir_ the edge. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/94 "2014-06-19T15:11:43Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I just started\*\*\* A Judgement in Stone \*\*\*by Ruth Rendell. You will not be sorry. I was on a Western kick for a while, and did Zane Gray’s _The Lone Star Ranger_, which was fun but unevenly paced. Then came _The Lone Ranger Rides_ by Fran Stryker, the book that won the West. Tonto, Trigger, silver bullets - the whole shebang. Great fun. Then a slew of Asimov - _The Caves of Steel_ and _The Naked Sun_, and I am currently about three-quarters thru _The Return of the Black Widowers_. TRotBW is uneven - Asimov was better at designing puzzles than drawing characters. Especially female characters - Asimov is not as bad as John Campbell in his misogyny/indifference to half the human race, but still jarring to a modern sensibility. And the characters in the Black Widowers are arrested adolescents like a lot of sci-fi characters. Still not a bad collection of stories, and Asimov hit on a formula that worked for a series. Next, I am thinking of tackling _Ivanhoe_. I am hoping for another classic adventure. I read _The Prisoner of Zenda_ a while back, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Hope Scott is as entertaining. Regards, Shodan ---
**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 19, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/95 "2014-06-19T15:41:04Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Next, I am thinking of tackling _Ivanhoe_. I am hoping for another classic adventure. I read _The Prisoner of Zenda_ a while back, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Hope Scott is as entertaining. > > Regards, > Shodan I liked it, especially the fact that one of the heroines was a Jewish woman. Rebecca was a strong woman- not modern by any stretch, but strong for her time and Scott’s- and was far from being a doormat. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/96 "2014-06-19T16:03:58Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > I liked it, especially the fact that one of the heroines was a Jewish woman. Rebecca was a strong woman- not modern by any stretch, but strong for her time and Scott’s- and was far from being a doormat. I’m a big fan of _Ivanhoe_. Rebecca was indeed the heroine (and a lot more so than Rowena). Allegedly, Scott based his character on famous Jewish woman, Rebecca Gratz, whom he did not personally know but with whom he shared a mutual friend - Washington Irving. > **[Washington Irving and the model for Rebecca in Ivanhoe](https://blog.loa.org/2010/07/washington-irving-and-model-for-rebecca.html)** > > Born in Philadelphia in 1781, Rebecca Gratz began her philanthropic career at twenty when she helped establish the first of many organizatio... The ironic thing is that Scott was seemingly aiming at addressing anti-Semitic prejudice by making Rebecca the possessor of every virtue - she is gorgeous, clever, courageous and generous - but, on the other hand, her father Issac of York is a living, walking stereotype - a miser and somewhat of a coward (though redeemed somewhat by his love for his daughter). ---
**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 19, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/97 "2014-06-19T16:13:25Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I > > The ironic thing is that Scott was seemingly aiming at addressing anti-Semitic prejudice by making Rebecca the possessor of every virtue - she is gorgeous, clever, courageous and generous - but, on the other hand, her father Issac of York is a living, walking stereotype - a miser and somewhat of a coward (though redeemed somewhat by his love for his daughter). I wonder if that too is a product of the times? People would take a virtuous Jewish woman but would boo out a virtuous man? Still it was a step forward. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/98 "2014-06-19T16:47:08Z")
Finished _The Imperfectionists_, by Tom Rachman, which is really more of a collection of short stories about the various people connected with an American-owned, English language international newspaper based in Rome. I enjoyed this a lot, I thought it captured the expat experience (in Italy) nicely, and I liked that some of the stories had “blink and you miss it” twists and reveals. I had to stop reading _Next Life Might Be Kinder,_ by Howard Norman. It’s very well written, about the emotional aftermath of a man who loses his wife to a terrible murder … BUT there was a character that was so annoying, I just couldn’t take it. If anyone reads this, I will ask for spoilers because if it turns out that Annoying Character dies in a fire or has some other satisfying comeuppance, I will happily return to the book. It’s been getting strong reviews, so I realize this is a personal issue I have with it. I’m now reading _Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World_, by Mark Miodownik, pop science non-fiction that gives the background, some basic science, and some cultural impact notes on common materials, like paper, steel, and concrete. I like the book so far, I think Miodownick is solid on the background and science facts part, and I get that when we talk about “cultural impact” we’re making sweeping statements about a culture in general … BUT … he really has a habit of making observations about “all people,” like all people in the present day, and he seems oblivious that these pronouncements are really tied to his own preferences and they’re not nearly as universal as he assumes. It’s a little annoying, but overall the book is fine. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/99 "2014-06-19T18:32:30Z")
I finished\*\*\* Deliverance\*\*\*, and just started on the Swedish murder mystery _ **The** _ _ **Laughing Policeman** _ by Sjöwall and Wahlöö. I seem to recall there was a not very successful movie version, re-located in America and starring Walter Matthau as detective Martin Beck. ---
**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 19, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776/100 "2014-06-19T19:39:18Z")
Just popped in to give my recommendation for two books I finished in the last 48 hours. First: [The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons](http://www.amazon.com/The-Tale-Dueling-Neurosurgeons-Revealed/dp/0316182346/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403206104&sr=8-1&keywords=tale+of+the+dueling+neurosurgeons) by Sam Kean. It’s organized by brain system: cerebellum, limbic system, etc. - and illustrated with anecdotes of history-making injuries that illuminated the workings of the brain system under discussion. I was hooked from the first with the opening description of the ‘dueling neurosurgeons’ who treated Henry II’s jousting accident. If you have any interest in laypersons’ neuroscience, you won’t be able to put down this book. Second: [Corvus, A Life with Birds](http://www.amazon.com/Corvus-Life-Birds-Esther-Woolfson/dp/1582434778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403206542&sr=8-1&keywords=corvid+esther+woolfson) by Esther Woolfson. No plain memoir this. Woolfson has cared for many members of the corvid family, including crows and magpies, and gone to admire many more. She recounts their fascinating behavior but also muses on their relationship to each other, the ethical burden of ‘owning’ or ‘taming’ a bird, and much more. This is a sipping, not a bingeing book, that leaves lots of thoughtful questions behind. If you’ve ever wished to have a raven for a pet (or to be the pet of a raven), you’ll be entranced. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-june-2014/689776.md?page=6)