# Khadaji's What'cha reading -- May 2014 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445 "2014-05-01T15:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/61 "2014-05-09T16:14:46Z")
_A Dance of Dragons_, the 5th \*Song of Fire and Ice \*book. It’s turning into a hard slog. Not as hard as book four, yet. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/62 "2014-05-09T17:12:20Z")
**The Methods of Uncle Abner** , by Melville Davisson Post. It’s a collection of mystery short stories written in the 1920’s. I’m a fan of the Silver John books by Manly Wade Wellman, and although those stories are fantasies, not mysteries, the Uncle Abner stories (some of which I’ve read before in other collections) have the feel of the Silver John stories. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/63 "2014-05-09T17:48:29Z")
_The Eustace Diamonds_, by Anthony Trollope. It’s a whole Victorian-length novel about a greedy young woman trying to keep valuable diamonds that don’t belong to her but instead to the heir of her late husband’s estate, her 2-year-old son. Also, like all of Trollope’s novels apparently, there is much intrigue about who certain people will marry - will they marry for money, for rank, or for love (or some combination of those)? In reality, it’s a fascinating look at life for a certain class of people in Victorian England. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/64 "2014-05-09T18:28:23Z")
I’m reading [Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Won’t Stop Talking](http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking-ebook/dp/B004J4WNL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399659984&sr=8-1&keywords=quiet). I just got through the first section, which demonstrates how extroversion has risen to popularity as of late, and introversion has been brushed off as something to be overcome. It’s an interesting, somewhat self-validating read that has made its way into my conversations with some of my friends. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/65 "2014-05-09T20:51:51Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > I’m currently about 60 pages (by my tablet’s count) from the end of Joe Hill’s NOS4A2. I think, based on it (the first of Hill’s prose I’ve read, though I’ve read a few of his comics before), that Hill is a slightly better writer than his dad, though King’s influence can be seen throughout. It has some pacing issues, though - as we’re getting into the endgame, any scene that doesn’t include the antagonist (including the realistic, and potentially interesting otherwise, bits with the police) feels like padding to add another couple hundred pages (which adds to the feeling of his dad influencing his writing) when the story should be getting resolved. > > Once I’ve finished that, I’m picking up Consider Phlebas, which I grabbed just after Banks passed on. (I’ve considered picking the books up before, it was his passing that made me finally go ahead and do it.) I read NOS4A2 a few months ago, not realising Joe Hill was the son of Stephen King. The whole way through the book, though, I kept thinking “this guy writes like Stephen King.” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/66 "2014-05-09T21:39:33Z")
He really does…I mean, I was keyed to notice the similarities by the fact I knew their relation going in, but there were a few points I honestly forgot I was reading son, not father. ---
**Author:** ![Waymore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Waymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waymore)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/67 "2014-05-09T23:14:29Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Here’s the link, **Waymore** : [Khadaji's What'cha reading -- May 2014 - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=722346) > > Welcome to the SDMB! We can always use some more people who want to talk about books. 🙂 Mea culpa. I searched “books” and “reading”. Guess I wasn’t cut out to be a detective. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/68 "2014-05-09T23:27:34Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > _Hit Parade_ by Lawrence Block. Third novel (although they seem to be more in the form of short stories) about a hit man. Despite the topic, it’s quite a light read. The first three (and the fifth) were originally published as short stories. The fourth (Hit and Run) is the only actual novel, and is by far my favorite Keller. > [@shiftless](#): > > _A Dance of Dragons_, the 5th \*Song of Fire and Ice \*book. It’s turning into a hard slog. Not as hard as book four, yet. Just you wait. You haven’t begun to see slog until you get to the second half of it. Martin needs an editor. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/69 "2014-05-09T23:37:24Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > I read that when it came out and didn’t like it nearly as much as the first one, _Footprints of Thunder_. A third in the series, _Dinosaur Thunder_, came out in December 2012 and it was quite readable although the plot is getting pretty silly! I like dinosaurs and time travel, so I’ll probably keep reading if he writes a fourth. > > Currently reading _Afterparty_ by **Daryl Gregory**. Very good but reminding me a lot of _Zod Wallop_ by **William Browning Spencer** , which I reread fairly recently. Wouldn’t that rot your socks! I didn’t know I was reading the second book in a series. I hate when that happens. I also like time travel (dinosaurs not so much) but I’ve read a couple of books about disrupted earths and alternate timelines, so this one sounded as if I’d really enjoy it. I haven’t given up and may read the third book if I make it to the end of this one. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/70 "2014-05-09T23:48:47Z")
For those of you who liked Devil in the White City, I am halfway through Larson’s next one, Thunderstruck. It’s terrific so far. ---
**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 10, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/71 "2014-05-10T00:02:19Z")
> [@MrKnowItAll](#): > > I’ve just started the latest Pulitzer winner _The Goldfinch_ by Donna Tartt. Pretty engrossing so far. I just finished a Pulitzer-winning novel: **The Age of Innocence** by Edith Wharton. I’ve been reading quite a few books set in Victorian England, so it was interesting to see an American view of what high society was like at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/72 "2014-05-10T00:18:15Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > I finished _The Martian_ by **Andy Weir** , which was fairly good but could probably have worked as well as a novella. I’m 2/3 through [The Martian](http://www.amazon.com/Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir/dp/0804139024/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399680928&sr=1-1&keywords=the+martian+andy+weir) and am enjoying it immensely. I’ve also started [Charles Addams: A Cartoonists Life](http://www.amazon.com/Charles-Addams-A-Cartoonists-Life/dp/0679463259) by Linda Davis. In the car we’re listening to [Heartless](http://www.amazon.com/Heartless-Parasol-Protectorate-Gail-Carriger/dp/0316127191/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399681013&sr=1-1&keywords=heartless+gail+carriger), book 4 of the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger. I love Audible. It makes long drives so much better. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/73 "2014-05-10T05:41:10Z")
I’m still on **The Goldfinch**. I start reading at bedtime and it’s pretty dense so it is slow going! ---
**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 10, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/74 "2014-05-10T05:43:17Z")
To Kill A Mockingbird. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/75 "2014-05-10T10:39:27Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > Wouldn’t that rot your socks! I didn’t know I was reading the second book in a series. I hate when that happens. I also like time travel (dinosaurs not so much) but I’ve read a couple of books about disrupted earths and alternate timelines, so this one sounded as if I’d really enjoy it. I haven’t given up and may read the third book if I make it to the end of this one. The first part came out in hardback in 1995, eleven years before _Thunder of Time_, which is also the gap between the action in the two books, iirc. Part 3 came out in 2012, so it’s a slow series! Without reading the first one, I’d have been very confused reading the second! _Afterparty_ continues to be good - I didn’t know if anyone else would have read _Zod Wallop_, Malthus! I have a couple of his other books and if I had known that _Irrational Fears_ would never make it to paperback, I’d have bought the hardcover… it sounded great at the time. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/76 "2014-05-10T12:30:38Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, **Waymore**! There’s no reason why you should have realized that the “Khadaji” thread was our monthly gathering place for readers – it’s named in honor of the poster who used to start the thread every month (who, sadly, died last year). I have merged your thread with the existing thread – not a big deal. Again, welcome! **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2014, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/77 "2014-05-10T12:45:39Z")
> [@Doctor\_Who](#): > > For those of you who liked Devil in the White City, I am halfway through Larson’s next one, Thunderstruck. It’s terrific so far. I read that recently. It made me realize what an unmitigated ass Marconi was. I want to find his grave and kick it. Fair warning: the murder part is fairly gruesome. ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/78 "2014-05-11T02:51:54Z")
I’m just into \*How to Survive the Titanic or the Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay \* which is intetesting enough so far. I’ve had a couple of false starts recently including last month’s book group choice, which we all hated. It was Joyce Carol Oates’ \*The Accursed \*. I think I managed about 10% of it and I wasn’t the worst offender. This month’s choice is \*The Paris Wife \* which I’m lukewarm about. However the point of my book group is partly to read stuff I’d never normally choose, so it’s doing its job there. Also it’s to drink wine, eat nibbles and cackle, which is where it’s majorly successful. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/79 "2014-05-11T21:26:10Z")
I’m almost done with _The Glass Castle_ by Jeannette Walls. Now I know why Steve Harvey cried when he said he was from Welch. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445/80 "2014-05-11T22:33:30Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Now I know why Steve Harvey cried when he said he was from Welch. Huh? That’s a place? I’m reading _One of Us_ by Willa Cather, about an introspective farm boy. It’s weird how novels featuring people who are inspecting their inner selves seem to think they’re the only ones in turmoil. It’s not a criticism of the novel, which is quite good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-may-2014/687445.md?page=5)