# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' Thread - May 2015 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753 "2015-04-28T22:34:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/41 "2015-05-09T16:26:21Z")
I just finished Kate Atkinson’s [Case Histories](http://www.amazon.com/Case-Histories-Novel-Kate-Atkinson/dp/0316010707/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1431188187&sr=8-2&keywords=case+histories). It’s sort of a mystery novel. I’ve just put the TV series based on this book on the Netflix queue. Has anyone seen it? Is it worth watching? ---
**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:** [May 11, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/42 "2015-05-11T18:54:11Z")
I just zoomed through _The Girl on The Train_, by Paula Hawkins. I really liked it and will try this author again. Apparently this book is “the next _Gone Girl_”. I have to admit I’ve never read _Gone Girl_ and the fact that everyone is talking about it makes me stubbornly want to avoid it, but if it’s as good as _Girl on the Train_ maybe I should. At the moment I’m uncharacteristically reading some non-fiction, [Severed: a history of heads lost and heads found](http://www.amazon.com/Severed-History-Heads-Lost-Found/dp/0871404540/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431369553&sr=1-1&keywords=severed), by Frances Larson. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/43 "2015-05-11T19:36:33Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > At the moment I’m uncharacteristically reading some non-fiction, [Severed: a history of heads lost and heads found](http://www.amazon.com/Severed-History-Heads-Lost-Found/dp/0871404540/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431369553&sr=1-1&keywords=severed), by Frances Larson. Oh my… sounds like something I would LOVE to read! ---
**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:** [May 12, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/44 "2015-05-12T14:11:48Z")
After reading three samples and _still_ having to think about it for a minute, I finally decided to proceed with _**[Finn Fancy Necromancy](http://www.amazon.com/Finn-Fancy-Necromancy-Arcana-Familia-ebook/dp/B00LZBDGBI/)**_. So far I’m enjoying it. 🙂 (I liked all three samples, and will most likely buy/finish the other two [_[Bad Monkey](http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Monkey-Carl-Hiaasen-ebook/dp/B00AP2VR8W/)_ and _[Kitty and the Midnight Hour](http://www.amazon.com/Kitty-Midnight-Hour-Norville-Book-ebook/dp/B0012Y1GMO/)_] later.) ---
**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:** [May 12, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/45 "2015-05-12T14:14:40Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Oh my… sounds like something I would LOVE to read! It’s got nice pictures too! :eek:… ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/46 "2015-05-12T14:42:52Z")
Finished \*\*\*Promised Land \*\*\*fast, and am back to Fitzgerald’s _ **Tender Is the Night.** _ ---
**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:** [May 12, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/47 "2015-05-12T15:30:42Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > It’s got nice pictures too! :eek:… You sold me! On the Christmas list with you! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/48 "2015-05-12T21:36:07Z")
I lied- I started reading Philip Dick’s \*\*\*Man in the High Castle \*\*\*instead. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/49 "2015-05-12T22:28:16Z")
I finished **The Defector** by Daniel Silva. In spite of a somewhat Deus Ex Machina ending (and I suspect most of the world’s problems are “solved” by the use of money and leverage anyway) the end was heart pounding, page turning and my eyes could not move fast enough across the page. The book was well paced and populated by interesting characters and situations. I liked that the end had realistic effects on the survivors, it’s one of the things lacking in the earlier book, where everyone walked away from all the killing with a shrug. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/50 "2015-05-12T22:37:42Z")
I’m in the last hundred pages or so of Edmund Morris’s _Colonel Roosevelt_. The U.S. is about to enter WWI, and family tragedy lies ahead for T.R. and his doting wife Edith. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > …At the moment I’m uncharacteristically reading some non-fiction, [Severed: a history of heads lost and heads found](http://www.amazon.com/Severed-History-Heads-Lost-Found/dp/0871404540/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431369553&sr=1-1&keywords=severed), by Frances Larson. I’m amazed there’s enough material on that subject for an entire book. A long article, maybe, but a book…? > [@astorian](#): > > I lied- I started reading Philip Dick’s \*\*\*Man in the High Castle \*\*\*instead. When you’re done with that, try (the much better IMHO) _SS-GB_ by Len Deighton and _Fatherland_ by Robert Harris. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2015, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/51 "2015-05-13T10:28:00Z")
In honour of the upcoming Victoria Day long weekend, I finished Lytton Strachey’s **Eminent Victorians**. The profiles of Cardinal Manning (and the Oxford Movement) and “Chinese” Gordon were interesting, the profile of Florence Nightingale was okay, and the profile of Dr. Arnold seemed like filler. Now I have a better idea what Trollope means when he uses terms like “Newmanite”, “Puseyite” or “Oxfordian”! ---
**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:** [May 18, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/52 "2015-05-18T19:26:54Z")
I’m currently enjoying [The Evolution Man, or How I Ate My Father](http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Man-How-Ate-Father/dp/0679750096/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1431976943), by Roy Lewis. Light and really amusing…I wanted to thank whichever one of you recommended it, but I’m not sure he posts here anymore. It was an SDMB member through Goodreads, possibly **Mr. Bus Guy**? Anyway. It’s good. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/53 "2015-05-18T23:56:05Z")
I finished **Hunted** by Kevin Hearne today… The series started strong, in spite of the Mary Sueness of the lead character, it had interesting characters a strong plot and just enough reality to build dreams upon. But this book was like sitting in on a Live Action Role Playing game, the whole plot was the three main characters running across Europe… yes that was it. There were a couple of battles in there and the obligatory once a book contractual obligation death and near death for Atticus, but since the former happened very early in the book it lacked a sense of disaster. It was more of an “Oh that’s inconvenient…” moment. Granuaile remains a cardboard cutout being dragged along by the flashier Atticus. Hell, Oberon the dog has better lines and way more personality than Granuaile. And please, Sir, do NOT try to write from a female perspective again, you can’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/54 "2015-05-19T00:48:10Z")
I’m still reading The Princess Bride and really liking it. Probably as much as the movie since it has stuff that wasn’t in the movie which is, obviously, pretty common. I’ve got a few books on deck, but it’s looking like Valley Of The Dolls next. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2015, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/55 "2015-05-19T11:49:35Z")
I finished **Cryptonomicon** , and am reading **Shakespeare’s Star Wars** , which is much better than I expected. I’m also reading Vonda McIntire’s novelization of **Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan** , which I didn’t read when it came out. I also picked up a copy of her novelization of **Star Trek III** at the same time. Next up is the second volume of William H. Patterson’s bio of Robert Heinlein. On audio, I finished Barbara Tuchman’s **The Guns of August** , and also **The Fellowship of the Ring** that I picked up, used. I now have the entire Lord of the Rings on audio, except for a few missing and scratched-up discs. I’m now going through the 2006 series of **Twilight Zone** radio plays made by Stacey Keach and company, which Pepper Mill picked up for me for Christmas, but forgot about until she did some cleaning last week. I’m surprised that I hadn’t heard about these before – they’re very well done, adapting the original scripts for radio and updating the references, and using a cast with lots of famous names. Two of the actors were even in the original 1960s TV show – Orson Bean and Shelley Berman. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/56 "2015-05-19T16:39:20Z")
Orson Bean! My very own SDMB wannabe meme. I’ve finished the main text and am now enjoying the endnotes (a lot of nifty, if relatively trivial, stuff buried there) in Edmund Morris’s _Colonel Roosevelt_. Next up: _The Fountains of Paradise_ by Arthur C. Clarke, about building an orbital elevator. I read it years ago and recently had a hankering to read it again. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/57 "2015-05-19T17:20:47Z")
I am reading [Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII](http://www.amazon.com/Six-Wives-Queens-Henry-VIII/dp/0060005505) by David Starkey. The book is great – a detailed narrative that sheds new light on all of the people in question. He uses firsthand sources to create a highly intriguing narrative that holds together very well. This is a much visited subject but he makes it new and worth thinking about yet again. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/58 "2015-05-19T19:59:50Z")
Read **In The Kingdom of Ice** , by Hampton Sides, an excellent account of the ill-fated Arctic exploration of the USS Jennette in the 1800s. Now reading **Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival** , by Peter Stark. This is an account of the both the overland and sea expeditions to establish the beginnings of Astor’s fur trading empire in the PNW in the early 1800s. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/59 "2015-05-19T20:06:24Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Orson Bean! My very own SDMB wannabe meme. > > I’ve finished the main text and am now enjoying the endnotes (a lot of nifty, if relatively trivial, stuff buried there) in Edmund Morris’s _Colonel Roosevelt_. > > Next up: _The Fountains of Paradise_ by Arthur C. Clarke, about building an orbital elevator. I read it years ago and recently had a hankering to read it again. If you liked _Fountains of Paradise_, you might was to read Charles Sheffield’s _The Web Between the Worlds_, which came out about the same time, and is eerily similar – a science fiction novel written by a British engineer about the construction of the first “Skyhook” orbital tower made of single-crystal fiber by the engineer who built the world’s longest suspension bridge. The craft that climbs the fiber is called “Spider”. The two novels were so similar that they actually had Arthur C. Clarke write a forward to Sheffield’s book, saying that the similarities are coincidence (mixed with the topic being a hot one at the time), but that the books are sufficiently different to make them nothing like carbon copies of each other. [http://www.amazon.com/The-Web-Between-Worlds/dp/0671319736/ref=pd\_sxp\_f\_pt](http://www.amazon.com/The-Web-Between-Worlds/dp/0671319736/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt) ---
**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:** [May 20, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753/60 "2015-05-20T00:31:24Z")
I finished **Winesburg, Ohio** by Sherwood Anderson. It was an interesting mood piece, and I liked the fact that it was a collection of short stories and not a bunch of vignettes glued into novel format like **One Hundred Years of Solitude**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-may-2015-edition/718753.md?page=4)