# Khadaji's Whatcha Reading Thread - January 2020 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715 "2020-01-01T14:03:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [January 13, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/41 "2020-01-13T13:22:53Z")
Currently passing the time with [Stephen King at the Movies: a complete history of the film and television adaptations from the Master of Horror](https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-King-Movies-Television-Adaptations/dp/1786750813/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12XYNVIR3DGGZ&keywords=stephen+king+at+the+movies+book&qid=1578921483&sprefix=stephen+king+at+the+movies%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1). It’s clumsily written and I’ve caught more than a few errors, but it’s interesting to find out about all the movies I never heard of, and it’s full of color pictures. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/42 "2020-01-13T14:36:43Z")
Finished _Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio_, by Peg Kehret, which was okay. Now I’m reading _The Pursuit of Love_, by Nancy Mitford. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/43 "2020-01-13T19:24:29Z")
I have a whole love seat (2-cushion couch) of books I’ve bought but either never got around to reading or read part of it and never finished. Starting to work my way through the pile. Just finished \*\*_The Twilight Warriors[_/B], by Robert Gandt, dealing with the battle of Okinawa in 1945. Not massively detailed, about 80% deals with a group of pilots on the carrier _Intrepid_ and their battle with the Japanese Kamikazes. The ground campaign, which involved hundreds of thousands of men is not covered in any great detail and the sufferings of the civilian population (an estimated 100,000+ killed) rates barely a mention. Still, it kept me turning the pages all the way to the end, so there is that. If you know nothing about the battle and like having it told from a first-person POV, you could do worse. Now starting _ **Merchants of Doubt** _ by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, which shows how big business will use ‘science’ to obfuscate and refute scientific conclusions, starting with the “Big Tobacco” campaign against the science showing smoking increases the risk of cancer (and other diseases), and progressing to Climate change and other issues where corporations and science tend to butt heads. Only 25 pages in, but looks interesting and we’ll see if it leads to a good read or not. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2020, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/44 "2020-01-14T13:12:19Z")
Started today on [Anyone](https://www.amazon.com/Anyone-Novel-Charles-Soule/dp/0062890638/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RRYLECXQXF3X&keywords=anyone+by+charles+soule&qid=1579007330&sprefix=anyone+by+ch%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1) by Charles Soule, a sci-fi novel about what happens when a scientist develops the technology to transfer human consciousness into different bodies. So far, so good! ---
**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:** [January 14, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/45 "2020-01-14T15:44:15Z")
Finished _The Pursuit of Love_, by Nancy Mitford, which was excellent. Now I’m reading _Good Words to You_, by John Ciardi. ---
**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:** [January 14, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/46 "2020-01-14T18:09:15Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Started today on [Anyone](https://www.amazon.com/Anyone-Novel-Charles-Soule/dp/0062890638/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RRYLECXQXF3X&keywords=anyone+by+charles+soule&qid=1579007330&sprefix=anyone+by+ch%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1) by Charles Soule, a sci-fi novel about what happens when a scientist develops the technology to transfer human consciousness into different bodies. So far, so good! That’s a plot point in the military sf novel _Old Man’s War_ by John Scalzi, which I really liked. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/47 "2020-01-16T16:16:13Z")
The Borgias - Power and Fortune, Paul Strathern The remarkable history of the Borgia family, starting in Spain in the 14th century with Alonso de Borja, who eventually became Pope. His nephew. Rodrigo also entered the church and rose to the Papacy himself. Here’s where it starts to get crazy. Despite his vow of celibacy, Rodrigo had seven children, by several different women, whom he openly acknowledged. Rodrigo spend much of his time scheming to advance the interests of his children amidst the violence of the Italy during Renaissance. The Borgias became notorious for their violence and some were even accused of incest, in particular Rodrigo’s son Cesare. A rich history, generally well-written and enjoyable to read. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/48 "2020-01-17T02:59:09Z")
Finished [A Hero Born](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31117072-a-hero-born). It’s apparently a megabestseller, not just in China but worldwide; overall the author’s works have sold more than 100 million copies, and AFAICT bear a large role in popularizing Wuxia/Kung Fu as a genre. I expected, reading this book, to be immersed in China’s history, in courtly manners and intrigue, in poetry and lovely descriptions of landscapes. That was all there, but scarcer than I thought there’d be. What I wasn’t prepared for was the nonstop action using metaphorical names (I opened to a random page just now to find an example, and within three paragraphs a character “tapped her foot and spun into a Nodding Phoenix,” and her opponent counters by “thrust[ing] his palm in a Drive the Boat Downstream.”) I wasn’t ready for the supernatural combat. I wasn’t ready for the humor. That said, as fun as this was, I didn’t find rococo plot especially engaging. I might read the others as they’re translated, but I don’t think I’ll seek them out. If I do, I’ll keep a cheat sheet of characters handy: as happened to me with The Count of Monte Cristo, I found myself losing track of the large cast. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/49 "2020-01-17T03:02:35Z")
I just finished reading [Tales from the Gas Station](https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Gas-Station-One/dp/B07Q63MN4Z) and its sequel. Those were the funniest books I’ve read in a long, long time. Very similar to the _Welcome to Nightvale_ podcast. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/50 "2020-01-17T13:48:26Z")
Finished Cadwell Turnbull’s debut science fiction novel _The Lesson_. Interesting but diffuse novel about our First Encounter with an alien race that has occasional disproportionate overreaction to perceived offenses. That part is pretty clearly an sf take on colonialism as perceived by the colonized. I’ll be meeting the author tonight. Not sure what to read next. I’ve got a stack of books, and I’ll probably be getting others this weekend at Arisia. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/51 "2020-01-17T16:16:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Finished Cadwell Turnbull’s debut science fiction novel _The Lesson_. Interesting but diffuse novel about our First Encounter with an alien race that has occasional disproportionate overreaction to perceived offenses. That part is pretty clearly an sf take on colonialism as perceived by the colonized. I’ll be meeting the author tonight. Cool–this is my next up! ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/52 "2020-01-17T19:33:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > That’s a plot point in the military sf novel _Old Man’s War_ by John Scalzi, which I really liked. Scalzi is one of those authors I keep thinking I should try sometime…got any suggestions as to where I should start? ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/53 "2020-01-17T19:42:11Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > That’s a plot point in the military sf novel _Old Man’s War_ by John Scalzi, which I really liked. Scalzi is one of those authors I keep thinking I should try sometime…got any suggestions as to where I should start? ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/54 "2020-01-17T21:38:49Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Scalzi is one of those authors I keep thinking I should try sometime…got any suggestions as to where I should start? Scalzi is a delight to read, but he’s not a great author. He’s funny and snarky and too clever by half. First time you read one of his books, you think the protagonist is funny and snarky and too clever by half. Twelfth book you read by him, you realize that he can’t write characters who are any different from him, and all his characters sound the same. But I read most everything he writes anyway, because I enjoy the funny snarky too-clever-by-half characters he writes. So start wherever you’d like. **Old Man’s War** is a great place to start. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/55 "2020-01-17T21:56:26Z")
All righty then! I can cope with that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/56 "2020-01-17T22:58:45Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > All righty then! I can cope with that. 🙂 I second Left Hand of Dorkness’s comments on all points. Old Man’s War is a good place to start. You might also start with the Collapsing Empire, as the third book in that trilogy is due out in a few months. I read The Seventh Bride, which was fun, and only $2.99 on Kindle, I also started Barbara Kingsolver’s [Unsheltered](https://www.amazon.com/Unsheltered-Novel-Barbara-Kingsolver-ebook/dp/B075WQK8ZJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2FZILYMPR1CLK&keywords=unsheltered+kingsolver&qid=1579301852&sprefix=unsheltered%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-1), which is not fun but has sucked me in. I’m still working on How Long 'Til Black Future Month, and suspect I will be for a while. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/57 "2020-01-18T22:48:07Z")
Finished _Good Words to You_, by John Ciardi, which was okay. Now I’m reading _Fed Up_, by Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant. It’s a cozy mystery. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/58 "2020-01-19T19:21:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Finished Cadwell Turnbull’s debut science fiction novel _The Lesson_. Interesting but diffuse novel about our First Encounter with an alien race that has occasional disproportionate overreaction to perceived offenses. That part is pretty clearly an sf take on colonialism as perceived by the colonized. I’ll be meeting the author tonight. I just finished this, and really liked it. The quiet, thoughtful, bleak mood reminds me a lot of Le Guin, and the reflections on colonialism are more complicated than I’m used to seeing. Good stuff! ---
**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:** [January 20, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/59 "2020-01-20T04:28:05Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Scalzi is a delight to read, but he’s not a great author. He’s funny and snarky and too clever by half. First time you read one of his books, you think the protagonist is funny and snarky and too clever by half. Twelfth book you read by him, you realize that he can’t write characters who are any different from him, and all his characters sound the same. > > But I read most everything he writes anyway, because I enjoy the funny snarky too-clever-by-half characters he writes. > > So start wherever you’d like. **Old Man’s War** is a great place to start. I disagree that all the characters sound like him, but the protagonist usually does. And yes, definitely start with _Old Man’s War_. If you like it, go on to others in the series. Also very good: his series that begin with _The Collapsing Empire_ (a distant-future interstellar allegory on global climate change) and _Lock In_ (a near-future pandemic leaves a significant chunk of humanity “locked in” and unable to respond to outside stimuli, leading to major social changes and advances in robotics). I also enjoyed his freestanding novels _Redshirts_ (an affectionate, on-target parody of _Star Trek_) and _Fuzzy Nation_ (about colonialism and First Contact). ---
**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:** [January 20, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715/60 "2020-01-20T04:39:05Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I disagree that all the characters sound like him, but the protagonist usually does. Fair enough. In any case, I’d say that his characterization is a major weakness, except that I don’t think he’s particularly trying to write complex, fully-realized characters in the first place. Four-color is good enough for what he’s doing, and it’s usually fun enough that I’ll pick up whatever he writes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-january-2020-edition/845715.md?page=4)