# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread -- March 2017 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 27, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974 "2017-02-27T19:55:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/81 "2017-03-24T12:44:26Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > Am reading at present, a novel which I’ve lately been surprised to find new to me. By M.M. Kaye, “British child of the British Raj in India”, and long-respected author of works “bridging the gap” concerned – also of murder mysteries set in sundry parts of the world… > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You probably knew there was a 1984 movie based on it: [The Far Pavilions (TV Mini Series 1984) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086711/?ref_=nv_sr_1) A further thought on _The Far Pavilions_ as I continue with it (still enjoyable, but I’ve slowed down a bit). I find that M.M. Kaye has a particular besetting vice, for a writer: she is over-given to musing to the reader along the lines of “if [whichever character] had known / realised… [whatever], they would / would not have done [whatever]: following the course of action which they did, ended up having bad consequences for them.” I understand that the general view on this practice, is that it’s bad and lazy writing: the author should write skilfully so as to allow the reader – if said reader has the necessary wit – to infer this stuff for themself; _not_ to beat the reader over the head with it, club-fashion. This isn’t a very big deal for me as regards overall pleasure in the book; but it’s become a mild annoyance. > [@hogarth](#): > > I finished reading “Soldiers Three”, another collection of Kipling short stories. On average they seemed even more racist than usual (and that’s saying something) – painful dialect, depictions of cunning/lazy/ignorant natives, etc. The stories were entertaining enough, I suppose. If Kipling is racist, I personally find his racism less offensive than in some who display that trait: it appears to me that he essentially likes his main characters, even if he portrays them condescendingly, as “lesser” specimens of humanity – his soldier trio are, after all, lowly privates in the army, without the advantages of education / polished upbringing. I’m with you on the “painful dialect”, though. Am not in the main fond of writing with “funny spellings” to indicate non-standard English modes of speech – find it distracting. With two of the “Soldiers Three”, it’s not a huge annoyance for me – one of them is, anyway, a man of few words – just doesn’t say much _to_ annoy. The speech of Mulvaney, the Irish guy, drives me round the bend, though – almost to throw-book-violently-across-room point – and he’s a garrulous individual, so there’s a lot of it ! ---
**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:** [March 24, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/82 "2017-03-24T15:42:26Z")
Finally finished **American Gods**. It took a while, mostly because I would read a couple chapters and then take a week or two off. I liked it, but the, I guess, first ending? felt a little anti-climactic somehow. Not sure what I’ll read next. Something lighter and easy to breeze through. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/83 "2017-03-24T16:01:17Z")
Just finished reading **Genrenauts** , which I found to be fun (despite some drastic editing errors in the first few chapters). Nice little romp in which an organization on sort-of an ‘Earth Prime’ travels to different dimensions that are run by the tropes and expectations of various fiction types (they do a western world, a romance-novel world, a police procedural world, a sci-fi world, and a fantasy world) in order to make sure ‘problems’ that go against trope or theme get fixed. It’s a fun little read. Currently I’m reading **Hawkmoon** , as I got it for ‘just one penny’! It’s a nice bit of sword-and-sorcery-and-tech in a post apocalyptic world. Not the best writing, but a fun little adventure in Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention **Necropolis**. Just read it again. Hard-boiled detective work in 1940’s Chicago where the undead have their own little ghetto. (note: I will mention that I wrote the thing, so I’m a little biased about it. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/84 "2017-03-24T16:19:58Z")
> [@ArrMatey](#): > > Currently I’m reading **Hawkmoon** , as I got it for ‘just one penny’! It’s a nice bit of sword-and-sorcery-and-tech in a post apocalyptic world. Not the best writing, but a fun little adventure in Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series. Try the **Prince of Thorns** series. Same type of vibe with an antihero you love to hate. Right now, I’m halfway through the last book of the **Atlantis Gene** trilogy. Suppose human evolution was enhanced by advanced human aliens, because reasons, until General Human Alien shows up and decides to create a global army to fight bad thing that destroyed Alien Homeworld…but there’s no explanation of what EXACTLY bad thing is. There’s an interesting mix of sci-fi, history, and batshit insane characters. It hasn’t quite connected for me, but it’s got enough of a hook that I just want to finish the damn thing. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/85 "2017-03-24T16:34:09Z")
> [@ArrMatey](#): > > And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention **Necropolis**. Just read it again. Hard-boiled detective work in 1940’s Chicago where the undead have their own little ghetto. (note: I will mention that I wrote the thing, so I’m a little biased about it. 😉 ) This one [Necropolis](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21898627-necropolis?from_search=true)? I should add it to my tablet, it looks up my alley… Or [Necropolis](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11515955-necropolis?from_search=true)… Who knew the title was that popular? ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/86 "2017-03-24T16:51:56Z")
Heh. Sorry, my mistake. This one: > **[Necropolis (Case Files of the Undead): Silverstein, James: 9781537368474:...](https://www.amazon.com/Necropolis-Case-Files-Undead-1/dp/1537368478)** > > Necropolis (Case Files of the Undead) \[Silverstein, James\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Necropolis (Case Files of the Undead) ---
**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:** [March 24, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/87 "2017-03-24T18:04:38Z")
> [@ArrMatey](#): > > Heh. Sorry, my mistake. This one: > [https://www.amazon.com/Necropolis-Case-Files-Undead-1/dp/1537368478/ref=tmm\_pap\_swatch\_0?\_encoding=UTF8&qid=1490374269&sr=8-1](https://www.amazon.com/Necropolis-Case-Files-Undead-1/dp/1537368478/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1490374269&sr=8-1) Awesome… on it’s way to my tablet right now. 😃 ---
**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:** [March 25, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/88 "2017-03-25T01:36:58Z")
Finished **The Palace Guard** by Charlotte MacLeod today. Ahhh I do love Cousin Brooks! The Kelling Clan needs to exist in the real world! ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/89 "2017-03-25T03:43:37Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > I finished this today and had to come back to gush. Holy crap, what a great book! Completely absorbing, hilarious and wonderfully humane. I don’t think I’ve loved a book as much since _Life After Life_. Highly recommended! I really liked this book too. Thanks to whoever recommended it several months ago! ---
**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:** [March 25, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/90 "2017-03-25T14:46:23Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > If Kipling is racist, I personally find his racism less offensive than in some who display that trait: it appears to me that he essentially likes his main characters, even if he portrays them condescendingly, as “lesser” specimens of humanity – his soldier trio are, after all, lowly privates in the army, without the advantages of education / polished upbringing. I’m sure he considered himself progressive, in his own way. But a remark like this: > [@](#): > > The Captain was not a nice man. He called all natives ‘niggers,’ which, besides being extreme bad form, shows gross ignorance. makes me wince. I mean, the idea that you shouldn’t call **all** natives ‘niggers’ is not really something to pat yourself on the back about nowadays. > [@Sangahyando](#): > > I’m with you on the “painful dialect”, though. Am not in the main fond of writing with “funny spellings” to indicate non-standard English modes of speech – find it distracting. With two of the “Soldiers Three”, it’s not a huge annoyance for me – one of them is, anyway, a man of few words – just doesn’t say much _to_ annoy. The speech of Mulvaney, the Irish guy, drives me round the bend, though – almost to throw-book-violently-across-room point – and he’s a garrulous individual, so there’s a lot of it ! Yes, Private Mulvaney was one of the characters I was thinking of. I’ve had my fill of reading “dhrink” or “fwhat” or “av” for now. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/91 "2017-03-25T14:50:30Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Yes, Private Mulvaney was one of the characters I was thinking of. I’ve had my fill of reading “dhrink” or “fwhat” or “av” for now. Even worse is when you’re sure they’re mocking the character for pronouncing something some way, but when you sound it out it sounds exactly like the way you and everyone you know pronounces it. So then you can’t tell if he’s mocking your speech or if he means you to pronounce the phonetic spelling some other way that you can’t figure out! I’m trying to remember the example is Charles Dickens’s _Martin Chuzzlewit_ that drove me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/92 "2017-03-25T15:09:57Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’m sure he considered himself progressive, in his own way. But a remark like this: > > makes me wince. I mean, the idea that you shouldn’t call **all** natives ‘niggers’ is not really something to pat yourself on the back about nowadays. Maybe the “all” is just a “filler” word on the author’s part (I know that present-day orthodoxy, anyway, is pro-terse precision and anti-“fillers”) – and his actual drift is, "one shouldn’t call _any_ natives ‘niggers’ ". I’m a big fan of George MacDonald Fraser’s Harry Flashman, and tend to drag him in ubiquitously: per the “Flashman” novels, HF seems to delight in referring to all peoples on earth who are not Caucasian; Oriental; or Native American; as “niggers”. I feel that this is part of Flashy’s “shtick” of acting a part of being even nastier than he truly is, and expressing himself as offensively as he can contrive – per his narrative in the books, in actual fact he’s relatively un-racist; and takes people – whatever their race – as he finds them. Being a misanthrope, he perceives most people as fools and / or knaves; but the minority whom he respects, or finds redeeming traits in, are of all races – “not white” does not for him necessarily mean “inferior”. > [@](#): > > Yes, Private Mulvaney was one of the characters I was thinking of. I’ve had my fill of reading “dhrink” or “fwhat” or “av” for now. Mulvaney is truly a grade-A pain. There’s one story – something to do with elephants IIRC – for which Kipling makes Mulvaney his narrator / mouthpiece for the whole tale. I struggled through a couple of pages, and then baled out. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/93 "2017-03-25T15:20:33Z")
As far as Kipling goes, he was still a product of his times. It would not be sensible to hold him to the social standards of today. That would be not unlike taking George Washington off the dollar bill because he was a slave owner. As for Fraser and Flashman, Fraser was clearly showing the average thinking of the day. I would find it very odd if Flashman, knowing him as well as I do, were suddenly to espouse a 21st-century social point of view. I will point out though that in at least one book, he was very proud of Britain having abolished slavery. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/94 "2017-03-25T15:54:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > As far as Kipling goes, he was still a product of his times. It would not be sensible to hold him to the social standards of today. That would be not unlike taking George Washington off the dollar bill because he was a slave owner. > > As for Fraser and Flashman, Fraser was clearly showing the average thinking of the day. I would find it very odd if Flashman, knowing him as well as I do, were suddenly to espouse a 21st-century social point of view. **I will point out though that in at least one book, he was very proud of Britain having abolished slavery.** Can I ask, which one? I can only recall – with him playing the habitual cynical-and-perverse card to the max – his observing that taking slaves from Africa (as reluctantly participated in by him) wasn’t nice; but that overall British obsession about that particular evil (particularly on the part of religious zealots, who pissed him off big-time) – and with the slave trade having anyway ceased to be particularly profitable for Britain – obscured and distracted from the as-bad, or worse, evil of heartless industrial exploitation back home, of the British poor. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/95 "2017-03-25T16:01:34Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > Can I ask, which one? I can only recall – with him playing the habitual cynical-and-perverse card to the max – his observing that taking slaves from Africa (as reluctantly participated in by him) wasn’t nice; but that overall British obsession about that particular evil (particularly on the part of religious zealots, who pissed him off big-time) – and with the slave trade having anyway ceased to be particularly profitable for Britain – obscured and distracted from the as-bad, or worse, evil of heartless industrial exploitation back home, of the British poor. _Flash for Freedom!_, in which Flashman is himself sold into slavery and assisted by a young Congressman Abe Lincoln. I recall a tear of pride running down his cheek at being told the esteem Britain was held in certain quarters because they had abolished slavery. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/96 "2017-03-25T16:18:20Z")
Just finished the **Dodge City** book. It was very informative about the various characters of the wild west: the Earps, the Mastersons, Holiday and many others. It’s not particularly linear, as it delves into the biographies of a lot of people, but it’s a good read. The author really tried hard to sift out truth from myth. Even without all that, it’s apparent that the cow towns of the late 1800s were pretty wild. Bat Masterson’s life, in particular, was very interesting. Next up is **My Life as an Indian: The Story of a Red Woman and a White Man in the Lodges of the Blackfeet** , written in 1907 by James Willard Shultz. $.99 on Kindle. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/97 "2017-03-25T17:34:18Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > _Flash for Freedom!_, in which Flashman is himself sold into slavery and assisted by a young Congressman Abe Lincoln. I recall a tear of pride running down his cheek at being told the esteem Britain was held in certain quarters because they had abolished slavery. Maybe I should re-read. I’d forgotten that which you cite, from _FFF !_ – I recall chiefly, that Flashy is “shitting bricks” because Lincoln is insisting on – and taking measures to back it up – his appearing and testifying at the official enquiry in New Orleans, at which if he does so; his having taken part in an illegal slaving voyage will come to light, thus causing his coming under the full rigour of the law – this re him and “his own skin”, by far his greatest concern. Perhaps he is indeed not such a total swine, as he gleefully paints himself as. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/98 "2017-03-26T19:46:03Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > Maybe I should re-read. I’d forgotten that which you cite, from _FFF !_ – I recall chiefly, that Flashy is “shitting bricks” because Lincoln is insisting on – and taking measures to back it up – his appearing and testifying at the official enquiry in New Orleans, at which if he does so; his having taken part in an illegal slaving voyage will come to light, thus causing his coming under the full rigour of the law – this re him and “his own skin”, by far his greatest concern. Perhaps he is indeed not such a total swine, as he gleefully paints himself as. As I recall, he did not get involved with that slave ship on his own initiative but was forced to as a result of losing a game of cards. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/99 "2017-03-26T20:04:47Z")
Hi, my name is Kris and I have the attention span of a grasshopper… so I started **The Mystery of the Pirate’s Ghost** by Elizabeth Honness, one of my favorite ever children’s mysteries, because something in **The Bilbao Looking Glass** , possibly the setting, made me think of it and then there was no getting rid of the need to read. 😃 On the upside I am about 5 books ahead on my Goodreads challenge! ---
**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:** [March 27, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974/100 "2017-03-27T00:06:20Z")
Finished Jack Gantos’ Dead End in Norvelt. Not bad. I’m curious about how much of it’s real, since it’s about a kid named Jack Gantos, and the author grew up in Norvelt. Started Words on the Move: Why English Won’t–and Can’t–Sit Still (Like, Literally), by John McWhorter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2017-edition/780974.md?page=6)