# Khadaji's Whatcha Readin' thread - November 2016 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034 "2016-10-29T16:12:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/21 "2016-11-04T04:15:26Z")
Not meaning to brag, but as it happens, I’m well ahead of my pace from last year. Don’t really know why; I don’t have the sense that I’m reading any more than usual. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/22 "2016-11-04T06:10:59Z")
Are there any Allen Steele fans out there? With the passing of Jack Vance, Steele and Jack McDevitt have become n my favorite SF writers. I just finished **Coyote** , the first in a trilogy, and I was very impressed by it. Steele has created a planet (well, a moon, actually) and given it a credible geography, plus flora and some rather nasty fauna. It is the refuge for about a hundred refugees from a fascist USA, and they must face challenges not intended by the planners of the starship voyage. Also, they stole the starship, and cannot expect much help from earth, even if they wanted it. Excellent planet-building and believeable characters. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/23 "2016-11-04T13:53:19Z")
Just because I’m eager to participate in this whole discussion about reading pace … Is there anyone else out there who wants to read less books this year than they did last year? I think last year I read at something like a pace of about a book a week, and I feel like that’s kind of an indication of how much time I spend in my own head rather than actually interacting in the world. So I wouldn’t mind seeing some sort of indication that I got out of the house and did stuff more this year. (Though I completely messed with the results. I unearthed all my old letters from high school and college, as well as my journals going back to freshman year of high school, and I’ve been alternating between reading books and reading through this other stuff. So if my end result is fewer books read this year, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I got out of the house more.) ---
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/24 "2016-11-04T15:03:20Z")
I did some poking around Goodreads, and realized that two books I abandoned are included in my “read” count. Which isn’t quite fair/right. So I’ve actually only read 17 books so far this year, and have just under two months to finish 3 more if I want to hit my goal! Also, apparently if I _do_ manage to finish 20 books in 2016 it will be a banner year for me: [ul] [li]2015: I read 16 books[/li][li]2014: I read 19 books[/li][li]2013: I read 17 books[/li][li]2012: I read 7 books (☹ !)[/li][/ul] I think the reason for my 3-weeks-per-book average is that I do most of my reading in bed before I fall asleep, and usually only get through a chapter or two each night. And if I’ve worked a long day or am particularly tired, I might not read at all on a given night. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/25 "2016-11-04T15:16:34Z")
I had to start getting up an hour early on weekdays. Then I drive to work and sit outside in my car reading (this morning with a flashlight)! I thought it would be awful but it really helps me get dressed faster in the morning. 🙂 ---
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/26 "2016-11-04T15:32:01Z")
That’s either dedication or insanity… 😉 ---
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/27 "2016-11-04T16:29:50Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Thanks for the new thread, **DZed**! I appreciate you putting these up and the slightly different flavor you give them each month. Thanks! I do try… though maybe I’m a little weird for most of the readers here. 😃 **Wind of my soul** I didn’t like the end of that one, but I have enjoyed the rest of the series… > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Finished The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, a very quick read. I was disappointed. For one thing, there’s a horrific animal abuse scene. After reading that, I kind of skimmed the next hundred pages in a daze. It certainly affected me more than it did any of the book characters, who never reacted or referred to it again. > For another thing, the book doesn’t end, it just stops. Of course it stops at an important point, with two possibilities, and you’re not told which way it went. I read some online reviews afterward and most people seem to think things turned out…well…so I’ll just assume it was that. Perhaps the movie version clarifies. Nope movie just ends too… which is why I went to the book. Wow, it’s been over 30 years since I read it! I always figured she just poisoned the creep too My book count was low through the summer but I’m reading again with the autumn. My number on Goodreads is a bit skewed since at least 5 of the 42 books are short stories. And I finished **Timeless** by Gail Carriger today. I really think this is my favorite book in the series. Very good and very sweet in equal measures. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/28 "2016-11-04T18:36:07Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > Are there any Allen Steele fans out there? With the passing of Jack Vance, Steele and Jack McDevitt have become n my favorite SF writers… I read Steele’s _Clarke County, Space_ and _The Tranquility Alternative_ awhile back, and liked them both, but not so much that I felt I had to read all of his other stuff. May I suggest Joe Haldeman (_All My Sins Remembered_), John Scalzi (_Old Man’s War_) and George R.R. Martin (_Tuf Voyaging_)? All excellent. > [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Just because I’m eager to participate in this whole discussion about reading pace … Is there anyone else out there who wants to read less books this year than they did last year?.. Not I. I wish I had more time to read, not less. Being in three book clubs will do that to you! ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/29 "2016-11-04T18:50:42Z")
The \*Hamilton \*hoopla has put me in the mood for early American history, and now I’m reading Stephen Budiansky’s book about the War of 1812: _Perilous Fight, America’s Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815_. So far it’s really good, although since I’m a big fan of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series, it’s odd to be reading about the Royal Navy as the enemy. (I previously enjoyed Budiansky’s book about WWII codebreaking.) I’m on book two of Daniel Abraham’s fantasy series called The Dagger and the Coin. I’d never heard of Abraham until he co-wrote the new sci-fi series The Expanse, and I thought I’d try some of his other work. I like this one pretty well: a medieval setting, a character-driven story, and very little magic, which is just how I like my fantasy. “The Coin” part of the title refers to the fact that one of the main characters is a banker, and Abraham has tried very hard to make a banking scheme into a riveting plotline, with mixed success. I’m in the middle of a collection of short stories by Sholem Aleichem: _Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories_, all written between 1894-1911. I picked this up for the first set of stories, which are the basis of the musical _Fiddler on the Roof_. The garrulous, philosophical Tevye is similar to the character in the musical: “It’s like it says in the bible, I not only have no money, I also lack health, wealth and happiness.” I think I’m enjoying the Railroad Stories even more, though. My reading stats have been trending down the last few years, but I’m still reading a lot. I’m trying to read more nonfiction, which typically goes slower. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/30 "2016-11-04T19:12:13Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > The \*Hamilton \*hoopla has put me in the mood for early American history, and now I’m reading Stephen Budiansky’s book about the War of 1812: _Perilous Fight, America’s Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815_. So far it’s really good, although since I’m a big fan of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series, it’s odd to be reading about the Royal Navy as the enemy. (I previously enjoyed Budiansky’s book about WWII codebreaking.) > … Ian Toll’s _Six Frigates_, about the early U.S. Navy, is also quite good. ---
**Author:** ![TexCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/texcat/32/9041_2.png) [@TexCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexCat)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/31 "2016-11-04T19:44:14Z")
I have recently finished: _ **Broken Promise** _ by Linwood Barclay. I have enjoyed everything I’ve read by him. _ **Journey to Munich** _ by Jacqueline Winspear. More enjoyable than the last one, and it looks like Maisie is going to open her office again, I hope. _ **A Wilder Rose** _ by Susan Wittig Albert. Found on Amazon Prime reading. A fictionalized story of Rose Wilder, the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and how the Little House books were written. Interesting. _ **All Clear** _ and _ **Blackout** _ by Connie Willis. Turned into a slog. I enjoyed both _The Doomsday Book_ and _To Say Nothing of the Dog_, in spite of the obvious plot problems, but these were tooooo long. Currently reading: _ **Friction** _ by Sandra Brown _ **The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing** _ by Marie Kondo. Hoping for some inspiration. : ) And listening to: _ **Even Money** _ One of the new Dick Francis books written by Felix Francis. This one about a bookmaker on the horse track. I’ve added 76 books to Goodreads this year: 2 were books I abandoned, 28 were audio books, and so I guess I’ve read 46? ---
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/32 "2016-11-04T21:54:26Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I’m in the middle of a collection of short stories by Sholem Aleichem: _Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories_, all written between 1894-1911. I picked this up for the first set of stories, which are the basis of the musical _Fiddler on the Roof_. The garrulous, philosophical Tevye is similar to the character in the musical: “It’s like it says in the bible, I not only have no money, I also lack health, wealth and happiness.” I think I’m enjoying the Railroad Stories even more, though. I read quite a bit of his work back in the early 80s. It’s an intriguing and colorful look into a world very different than this one. I enjoyed his style a lot. ---
**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:** [November 4, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/33 "2016-11-04T21:56:05Z")
> [@TexCat](#): > > **Even Money** \* One of the new Dick Francis books written by Felix Francis. This one about a bookmaker on the horse track. I enjoyed that one a lot! ---
**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:** [November 5, 2016, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/34 "2016-11-05T05:49:42Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > For now, I’ve started the last book I brought with me from Bangkok, _The Wright Brothers: The Dramatic Story behind the Legend_, by my favorite historian, David McCullough. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Hope you like it. Although it’s shorter than his usual tomes, I don’t think he’s missed a step in research skills or writing style. Enjoying it so far. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2016, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/35 "2016-11-06T04:24:23Z")
Glad to hear it! Finished the audiobook of _Homer & Langley_ by E.L. Doctorow, loosely based on the story of the reclusive, hoarding Collyer brothers. Witty, well-written, beautifully evocative of bygone Manhattan, and ultimately quite sad. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/36 "2016-11-06T15:37:24Z")
Margaret Atwood’s “Hag-Seed”. It has a wry, outlandish quality to it that I wouldn’t associate with Atwood. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/37 "2016-11-07T12:52:29Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > **Wind of my soul** I didn’t like the end of that one, but I have enjoyed the rest of the series… Oh good! Then I’ll give the series another shot for sure, because Aaronovitch definitely demonstrated at the beginning of that book that he knows how to write well. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/38 "2016-11-07T14:45:32Z")
Started this morning on [Shrill: Notes from a loud woman](https://www.amazon.com/Shrill-Notes-Woman-Lindy-West/dp/0316348406/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478529639&sr=8-1&keywords=shrill+lindy+west) by Lindy West. I’m not sure what moved me to pick this one up because I don’t know who Lindy is, but I’m glad I did. It’s very funny. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/39 "2016-11-07T16:18:33Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Oh good! Then I’ll give the series another shot for sure, because Aaronovitch definitely demonstrated at the beginning of that book that he knows how to write well. I feel it took him a couple books to find his “feet”. I’m eagerly awaiting the new one, I miss Peter’s snarky comments. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034/40 "2016-11-07T17:07:11Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Ian Toll’s _Six Frigates_, about the early U.S. Navy, is also quite good. That one’s sitting on my counter intimidating me. Pretty thick looking paperback! About 3/4 of the way through “The Fall of the House of Cabal”. So far, so good. Apparently references some of the short stories in the canon, so I may have to get out the Kindle and track those down. The writing style is still over-arch, but not as bad as the previous book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-readin-thread-november-2016-edition/770034.md?page=3)