# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread -- March 2018 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633 "2018-02-26T23:32:11Z")\ **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:** [March 20, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/41 "2018-03-20T16:23:03Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > Continuing with my cozy and historical mystery kick: > > _A Most Novel Revenge_, by Ashley Weaver. Historical. Set between the wars in England. The third in a series and very enjoyable. > > _This Side of Murder_, by Anna Lee Huber. Also historical. Also set between the wars in England. The first in a series and, despite a REALLY STUPID plot point, also very enjoyable. More old-fashioned seeming than the Weaver. > > _Live and Let Growl_, by Laurien Berenson. Contemporary. The 19th! in a series that is completely the comfort food of books. Not a strong entry. > > _A Skeleton in the Family_, by Leigh Perry. Contemporary. This is a silly damned premise, but I enjoyed it a lot. The skeleton is not figurative. His name is Sid. I laughed. Candace Robb’s first Owen Archer book is a great read… the rest of the series veers into some seriously creepy, and not in a good way, territory. I found the first two enjoyable, wanted a shower after the third and the fourth to be decent… [The Apothecary Rose](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/171759.The_Apothecary_Rose?from_search=true) ---
**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 20, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/42 "2018-03-20T16:47:58Z")
If anybody is looking for some easy-reading western fiction, the _Joe Pickett_ series by C.J. Box might fill the bill. Joe is a game warden in a fictional Wyoming county who manages to get himself embroiled in all manner of criminal situations. I think there are 18 novels at this point. The books are not as good as the _Longmire_ series, and are fairly predictable, but are readable. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/43 "2018-03-20T23:35:07Z")
One of my freaky-good readers (seriously, this third grader just finished **A Prayer for Owen Meany** , a whole other conversation right there) recommended [The Night Gardener](https://www.amazon.com/Night-Gardener-Jonathan-Auxier/dp/1419715313) to me. I finished it yesterday; it’s a charming but fairly forgettable children’s story with some unexpectedly macabre moments. If you’re looking for something to gift to your goth-in-training niece or nephew, this wouldn’t be a bad choice. I also just finished Nnedi Okorafor’s novella [Binti](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25667918-binti), a science-fiction story about a girl leaving her isolated African community to travel to a science academy on planet, and the horrors that happen along the way. Okorafor is always good for some freaky-ass visions of what could be; while I don’t rank this among her best, it’s less than 100 pages, and I’m happy to have read it. (If you’d like her best, consider the World-Fantasy-Award-Winning [Who Fears Death](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7767021-who-fears-death), post-apocalyptic central African horror/fantasy awesomeness). ---
**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:** [March 21, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/44 "2018-03-21T19:14:35Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’m about three-quarters through my second reading of Susanna Clarke’s _Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell_, and I’m again enjoying it immensely. It’s kinda sorta like Jane Austen wrote a Harry Potter book - wry, witty, detailed, with memorable characters and a terrific take on the return of magic to Regency England. Highly recommended… Finished it - and liked it even more than I did the first time! I zipped through an audiobook of Robert Heinlein’s _Citizen of the Galaxy_, about a young slave boy in a distant-future interstellar society. Not bad. The reader, Lloyd James, had some fun with the voices - Baslim the Cripple sounds like Sean Connery, Grandmother like Katharine Hepburn, and Capt. Brisby an awful lot like Ronald Reagan. I’m now about halfway through Joseph Ellis’s _Revolutionary Summer_, about the political and military events of the summer of 1776, as the Continental Congress in Philadelphia considers and finally declares independence, and the Continental Army meets and is bested by the British invasion force in New York. It’s pretty good, although not as good as his masterful _Founding Brothers_. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Currently reading a fantasy novel about a man’s travels within the Tower of Babel, [Senlin Ascends](https://www.amazon.com/Senlin-Ascends-Books-Josiah-Bancroft/dp/0692820191/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1521560770&sr=8-1) by Josiah Bancroft. Thoroughly engrossing. You might like Ted Chiang’s short story “Tower of Babylon,” in his collection _Stories of Your Life and Others_. (Chiang’s short story “Story of Your Life,” also included in the collection, was the inspiration for the recent sf movie _Arrival_). “Tower of Babylon” is about the construction of a massive tower and the society which develops among its builders; it has a weird ending that I’m still not sure I understand, but it was certainly an interesting story. ---
**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 21, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/45 "2018-03-21T22:36:33Z")
I finished **The Wonder Engine** Book Two of the Clocktaur Wars by T. Kingfisher aka Ursula Vernon. As a long time fan of Ms Vernon, I have to say the book did not disappoint. I’m sad that it’s over. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/46 "2018-03-22T16:39:01Z")
I’m reading _The Devil in the White City_, which takes place at the tail end of the 19th century (if nonfiction books can “take place”). It has alternating chapters describing preparations for the world fair and a serial killer who lives in Chicago, where the fair takes place. It’s good enough to keep reading, but not as good as I was expecting it to be based on the recommendations of others. The people building the fair fall pretty far behind schedule, and there’s this sense of stress and urgency in the chapters on fair preparation which I don’t like. I read books to relax, not to feel frantic and overwhelmed! Other book I’m reading right now is _The Dazzling Heights_. I like this book more than I was expecting to. It’s the second book in a trilogy, takes place one hundred years in the future, and follows a group of high schoolers as the fall in love, backstab, and try to keep secrets from one another. I came in with low expectations, since it’s the second book in a series and second books are sometimes pretty bad, but this one keeps me engaged. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/47 "2018-03-23T13:57:59Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > I’m reading _The Devil in the White City_, which takes place at the tail end of the 19th century (if nonfiction books can “take place”). It has alternating chapters describing preparations for the world fair and a serial killer who lives in Chicago, where the fair takes place. It’s good enough to keep reading, but not as good as I was expecting it to be based on the recommendations of others. The people building the fair fall pretty far behind schedule, and there’s this sense of stress and urgency in the chapters on fair preparation which I don’t like. I read books to relax, not to feel frantic and overwhelmed! I liked the author enough to read some of his other books. I even emailed him about a subject he may find interesting to write a book about, and he wrote me back! I found myself putting the book down and Googling to get more information. ---
**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 23, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/48 "2018-03-23T14:09:31Z")
Finished _The Pope of Palm Beach_, by Tim Dorsey. Fun as usual, but not one of his best. Next up: _Mandelbrot the Magnificent_ by Liz Ziemska. It’s a magical-realist novella based on his youth and escape from the Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/49 "2018-03-23T17:10:47Z")
> [@lno](#): > > I just finished **The Secret History** by Donna Tartt; it came up as a recommendation sometime last fall, I bought it off Amazon, and let it sit on the nightstand for months. Given this came out 26 years ago, my thumb is clearly on the pulse of America. > > I’m moving on to her 2014 **The Goldfinch** which won a Pulitzer, and also **Red Rising** which was another recommendation. As much as I love **The Goldfinch** and **The Secret History** (they are numbers 1 and 2 on my “favorite books” list), I HATED **The Little Friend**. Creepy and boring and not her wonderful writing style. Currently I’m reading **Victoria** by Daisy Goodwin, and **The Great Influenza** by John M. Barry. ---
**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 24, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/50 "2018-03-24T19:13:28Z")
Finished \*Mandelbrot the Magnificent \*by Liz Ziemska. Outstanding. Makes me wish I knew more about math than I ever will. One of the best books I’ve read so far this year. Next up: _Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters_, by Patricia C. McKissack. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/51 "2018-03-25T03:48:29Z")
I just finished [Hello Universe](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30653713-hello-universe), the latest Newbery winner. I’ll go post a review [in the appropriate thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=818959&page=4). ---
**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:** [March 25, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/52 "2018-03-25T18:17:35Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …I’m now about halfway through Joseph Ellis’s _Revolutionary Summer_, about the political and military events of the summer of 1776, as the Continental Congress in Philadelphia considers and finally declares independence, and the Continental Army meets and is bested by the British invasion force in New York. It’s pretty good, although not as good as his masterful _Founding Brothers_… Finished it. Ellis had some interesting things to say about the limited-war approach of British leaders who were, in 1776, still hoping to bring America back into the imperial fold, but otherwise he didn’t break much new ground. McCullough’s _1776_ and Fisher’s _Washington’s Crossing_ are better books on the war. Just started Noah Feldman’s _Scorpions_, about four U.S. Supreme Court justices all appointed by FDR, and how their personalities and judicial views eventually drove them apart. ---
**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 25, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/53 "2018-03-25T20:47:45Z")
Finished _Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters_, by Patricia C. McKissack. I enjoy folktales in general, and there were a couple of good ones in here: “The Best Lie Ever Told” and “The Earth Bone and the King of the Ghosts.” Next up: _Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That’ll Improve and/or Ruin Everything_, by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/54 "2018-03-25T21:52:08Z")
I recently completed Chernow’s “Grant” and it was very well done, as usual. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/55 "2018-03-26T02:00:33Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I recently completed Chernow’s “Grant” and it was very well done, as usual. I’ve heard that from several other history-junkie friends. I’m sure I’ll read it someday. His Washington and Hamilton bios are both superb. ---
**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, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/56 "2018-03-27T15:01:14Z")
Just started _The Cartoon History of the Universe, Volumes 1-7: From the Big Bag to Alexander the Great_, by Larry Gonick. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/57 "2018-03-27T19:09:07Z")
Currently reading [The Great Game](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11395017-the-great-game), the end of a trilogy that I’ve not read the first two in. I try to avoid this situation in general, for obvious reasons, but I bought this novel with a gift card back in January, not realizing it was the third in a trilogy, and my library system doesn’t have the first two. It’s ridiculous: steampunk London ruled by lizard-people, with every literary character you can think of stuffed willy-nilly into the book. I’m skeptical of steampunk, and I’m skeptical of fantasies set in London, and I’m skeptical of throwing literary characters into new novels as a gimmick; all of these together is extra dumb. But I’m loving it. What can I say? The author knows how to take this hot mess and turn it into a doesnt-take-itself-remotely-seriously action fest. ---
**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 27, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/58 "2018-03-27T22:00:06Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Currently reading [The Great Game](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11395017-the-great-game), the end of a trilogy that I’ve not read the first two in. I try to avoid this situation in general, for obvious reasons, but I bought this novel with a gift card back in January, not realizing it was the third in a trilogy, and my library system doesn’t have the first two. > > It’s ridiculous: steampunk London ruled by lizard-people, with every literary character you can think of stuffed willy-nilly into the book. I’m skeptical of steampunk, and I’m skeptical of fantasies set in London, and I’m skeptical of throwing literary characters into new novels as a gimmick; all of these together is extra dumb. > > But I’m loving it. What can I say? The author knows how to take this hot mess and turn it into a doesnt-take-itself-remotely-seriously action fest. I love hot messes that don’t take themselves seriously. 😃 ---
**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 28, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/59 "2018-03-28T00:44:13Z")
Just finished **Rag and Bone** by KJ Charles. It’s another m/m urban fantasy full of magic, warlocks and revenaunts set in 1870s London. She is definitely one of my favorite authors. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633/60 "2018-03-28T13:10:14Z")
I finished _The Graveyard Book_ by Neil Gaiman yesterday. If I hadn’t tried to read _American Gods_, I would swear that everything Gaiman touches turns to gold. This was my seventh Gaiman book, and aside from _American Gods_ I’ve enjoyed every one. Though I must say my favorite of his is _The Ocean at the End of the Lane_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-march-2018-edition/809633.md?page=4)