# Khadaji's Whatcha Reading Thread - March 2020 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 29, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690 "2020-02-29T03:07:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [February 29, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/1 "2020-02-29T03:07:51Z")
Is that spring I see? Not according to the National weather service which is predicting snow this weekend _sigh_ Okay, I’ll stay in and read… Currently, my list on Goodreads is… well, long. But I’m aiming to finish these soon (however the new Rivers of London book just arrived so all bets are off!): _Catch and Kill_ by Ronan Farrow _Devil’s Star_ by Jo Nesbo _Cunning Devil_ by Chris Underwood _Rising Wolf_ by Theda Black _Two Necromancers, a Dwarf Kingdom and a Sky City_ by L.G. Estrella ```auto Khadaji was one of the earlier members of SDMB, and he was well-known as a kindly person who always had something encouraging to say, particularly in the self improvement threads. He was also a voracious, omnivorous reader, who started these threads way back in the Stone Age of the early 2000s. Consequently when he suddenly and quite unexpectedly passed away in 2013, we decided to rename this thread in his honor and to keep his memory, if not his ghost, alive. ``` ---
**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:** [February 29, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/2 "2020-02-29T03:13:57Z")
Last month: [Bye February](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=889294) ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/3 "2020-02-29T16:04:04Z")
I’ve been reading the _Slough House_ series of spy novels by Mick Herron. They’re about modern British spies who failed badly enough to get kicked out of MI5, but not badly enough to be fired. Very amusing and well-written. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/4 "2020-02-29T17:31:59Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > I’ve been reading the _Slough House_ series of spy novels by Mick Herron. They’re about modern British spies who failed badly enough to get kicked out of MI5, but not badly enough to be fired. Very amusing and well-written. Humor is a hard thing to quantify… I HATED the first book and found it a slog. Probably just me though 😛 ---
**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:** [March 1, 2020, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/5 "2020-03-01T07:13:18Z")
Close to finishing _Gettysburg_, by Stephen W. Sears. I’m in the middle of Pickett’s Charge. Spoiler Alert: That charge ain’t gonna end well. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/6 "2020-03-01T20:48:57Z")
I finished Barbara Eden’s _Jeannie Out of the Bottle_, which was a quick read. I then launched into a bunch of books I’d picked up at science fiction conventions and used book shops: **Earthman’s Burden** by Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson. Ever since I saw the 1950s magazine with _The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound_ I’ve wanted to read the earliest Hoka stories by Anderson and Dickson. The Hoka, in case you don’t know, and teddy bear-shaped and sized- aliens who are highly imitative of Earth Culture. I suspect the Star Trek (OS) episode “A Piece of the Action” was inspired by the Hoka idea, only they played it with humans for the TV episode, of course. The Hoka might even have been an ninspiration for Lucas’ Ewoks, since they’re diminutive bear-like aliens who, in at least one story (“In Hoka Signo Vinces”) they defeat a technologically superior alien foe. (Anderson appears to like that kind of story. That’s basically the plot of his novel _The High Crusade_) The idea of the highly imitative culture that’s THAT imitative makes for cute stories, but it’s clearly unworkable. I ended up enjoying the the stories not very much, and thinking that several of them would probably be considered politically incorrect these days, right down to that book title. **Godel’s Proof** by Ernest Nagel and James R. Newman – offers a sketch of Godel’s proof, with none of the details. This suited me fine. I would’ve been put off by a rigorous explanation, and this book, which I’ve seen for years but never read, is a lot shorter and more direct than _Godel, Escher, Bach_ **Norstrilia** by Cordwainer Smith. – I’d read the Ballantine/Del Rey version years ago, but the NESFA Press edition has a lengthy appendix that has the material taken away from or added to both the original magazine publication and the Pyramid Books paperback editions (which chopped the novel into two halves). I was surprised how much I’d forgotten. **A World Named Cleopatra** – I’d wanted to read this one, too. It’s a “shared world” novel, in which POul Anderson (again) sets up the premise, and three other authors Michael Orgill, Jack Dann, and George Zebrowski – wrote stories set on the world of “Cleopatra”, to add to Anderson’s original. Shared Worlds can be either very good or very bad. _Medea: Harlan’s World_ was an example of the latter. The authors in that case pretty much concentrated on their own idea, not necessarily close to the supposedly “shared” content. On the other hand, the apparently interminable _Man-Kzin War_ series, based on Larry Niven’s universe, is frequently excellent. I’m only halfway through, but this is looking more like the first kind. On audio I’ve finished Clive Cussler;s **The Final Option** , his most recent of the Oregon Files novels. I have no doubt that he has at least one more plotted in his notes, if not more, and I am curious where hes going to go with it now that he made a major change in things. Having finished that, I’m reading Anthony Horowitz’ **Moriarty**. Horowitz wrote the two most recent James Bond entries, _Trigger Mortis_ and _Forever and a Day_, both of them using some Fleming material. He has been, to my mind, one of the best of the post-Fleming Bond authors, along with Sebastian Faulks, whose _Devil May Care_ started the latest round of new Bonds. In “Moriarty” he’s obviously trying to do the same with Sherlock Holmes. It’s an interesting book, but suffers from false pretenses. Moriarty is dead at the very start, Holmes has apparently been killed at Reichenbach Falls, and our main characters are the Scotland Yard detective Athelny Jones (coming of much better than he does in Doyle’s stories) and a Pinkerton detective named Chase. It’s the not-really-a-Sherlock-Holmes story approach I’ve seen others use, although set in the Holmes universe. Sort of another shared-world story. Not entirely satisfactory, but I’m only halfway through, so we’ll see if it improves. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/7 "2020-03-02T02:46:28Z")
Finished _Curious Toys_ by Elizabeth Hand. A killer is loose in Riverview amusement park in Chicago shortly after the outbreak of WWI. Pin, a girl who dresses as a boy, lives in the park with her mother, a professional dance partner and “gypsy” fortuneteller, and gets involved in the search for the murderer. She is helped in this by Henry Darger, later famous as a folk artist. The book is kind of fun. Pin is interesting, and the mystery part is fine; the atmosphere of the park and the hundred-years-ago world is nicely done and often evocative. The Darger part doesn’t really work, unfortunately. Feels like Hand decided to write a book with Darger as a character, whether or not he fit (hint: he doesn’t, really)…might’ve been a stronger book without him. Oh well. It wasn’t a waste of time by any means, but I can’t say I recommend it exactly. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2020, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/8 "2020-03-02T13:21:26Z")
This morning I read [Fox 8](https://www.amazon.com/Fox-8-Story-George-Saunders/dp/1984818023/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PAOSIQ4EE0M4&keywords=fox+8+george+saunders&qid=1583154815&sprefix=fox+8%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1), a short story by George Saunders, who also wrote\* Lincoln in the Bardo. \* This story is written in dialect, and is about a fox who learns to speak Yuman by listening outside of people’s windows. He references Dickens at one point, but usually speaks like Bill & Ted. > [@](#): > > He woslike: I’ll go with you, Fox 8. > I woslike: Dude. So it’s extremely cute, in a bad way. Also, animals get hurt in this story. I did read one review of it over at Goodreads that I enjoyed more than the tale itself. [spoiler] ---
**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:** [March 2, 2020, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/9 "2020-03-02T13:23:25Z")
Hey, I wasn’t finished! So anyway, that review: WHO HURT FOX 8 I JUST WANNA TALK That just broke me up for some reason. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/10 "2020-03-02T13:29:54Z")
Montana Bigfoot Campfire Stories by Rusty Wilson. I love a good real life Bigfoot story and Rusty polishes up what people tell him to make them readable. I’m also rereading the first 3 Witch World books. ---
**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 2, 2020, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/11 "2020-03-02T14:06:16Z")
Finished _Naked Came the Florida Man_, the latest Serge Storms novel by Tim Dorsey, which was okay. Now I’m reading _Mother Love: Poems_, by Rita Dove. ---
**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 2, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/12 "2020-03-02T15:22:55Z")
I quit reading sci-fi wayyyyy back in high school, but recently I went to a talk by the author Daniel Wilson. He happens to be a member of the Cherokee Nation and was speaking to the local chapter. He is (or was) also one of the foremost experts on robotics, and wrote a book called **[Robopocalypse](https://www.amazon.com/Robopocalypse-Contemporaries-Daniel-H-Wilson-ebook/dp/B004CFAWS4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=roboapocalypse&qid=1583162262&sr=8-1)**, which ended up a best seller. Long story short: That’s what I’m reading. I was a bit apprehensive that he had perhaps ripped off the Terminator story line, but it’s standing on its own so far. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/13 "2020-03-03T02:13:11Z")
I just started _An Ace and a Pair_, the first book in a series by Bruce Banner. The series is a police procedural about an older cop who gets assigned to run a Cold Case team as a punishment for, as he says, being a dinosaur. He’s also assigned to work with a woman everyone dislikes because she has a bad attitude. I’m only a few pages in but so far I like it quite a bit, and the good news is there are, I think, 20 or so in the series. All seem to be fairly short. Anyone else read Banner? He is extremely prolific and has several series; one is about a spy, I think. ---
**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 3, 2020, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/14 "2020-03-03T04:50:04Z")
I started **The Witch Elm** by Tana French yesterday. Good Lord that woman is in love with the sound of her “voice”, I’m one hour into the audio book and nothing has happened… except the pretentious douche of a narrator going on and on about his awesomeness and why doesn’t everyone else see it. _insert barf emoji here_ My book club is reading it so I’ll keep at it at least for a little while longer. ---
**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 3, 2020, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/15 "2020-03-03T04:51:37Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > I just started _An Ace and a Pair_, the first book in a series by Bruce Banner. The series is a police procedural about an older cop who gets assigned to run a Cold Case team as a punishment for, as he says, being a dinosaur. He’s also assigned to work with a woman everyone dislikes because she has a bad attitude. I’m only a few pages in but so far I like it quite a bit, and the good news is there are, I think, 20 or so in the series. All seem to be fairly short. Anyone else read Banner? He is extremely prolific and has several series; one is about a spy, I think. Sounds like something I would enjoy! Psst it’s Blake Banner not the Hulk 😉 Also this book is free for Kindle right now if anyone is interested. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/16 "2020-03-03T12:20:07Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Sounds like something I would enjoy! Psst it’s Blake Banner not the Hulk 😉 > > Also this book is free for Kindle right now if anyone is interested. Thanks for the correction on Banner’s name. Duh. Also the book is included in a four-novel book that’s 99 cents on Nook (or was yesterday). I finished _Ace and a Pair_ last night and found it very entertaining; looking forward to more. The plot gets a bit convoluted toward the end, but the evolving relationship between the two detectives is very interesting. ---
**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 3, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/17 "2020-03-03T13:52:10Z")
Finished _Mother Love: Poems_, by Rita Dove. It was interesting, with some striking imagery. Now I’m reading _Annihilation_, a science fiction novel by Jeff VanderMeer. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/18 "2020-03-03T14:50:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I quit reading sci-fi wayyyyy back in high school, but recently I went to a talk by the author Daniel Wilson. He happens to be a member of the Cherokee Nation and was speaking to the local chapter. He is (or was) also one of the foremost experts on robotics, and wrote a book called **[Robopocalypse](https://www.amazon.com/Robopocalypse-Contemporaries-Daniel-H-Wilson-ebook/dp/B004CFAWS4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=roboapocalypse&qid=1583162262&sr=8-1)**, which ended up a best seller. > > Long story short: That’s what I’m reading. I was a bit apprehensive that he had perhaps ripped off the Terminator story line, but it’s standing on its own so far. He wrote a sequel, _Robogenesis_, that was published in 2014. I haven’t read either of them. Steven Spielberg was going to film it, but it has been put on a series of holds. Word now is that Michael Bay will be the director, if it ever becomes a real thing. ---
**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 3, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/19 "2020-03-03T15:06:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > He wrote a sequel, _Robogenesis_, that was published in 2014. I haven’t read either of them. > > Steven Spielberg was going to film it, but it has been put on a series of holds. Word now is that Michael Bay will be the director, if it ever becomes a real thing. Yeah, he mentioned that. He’s also written a sequel (with permission) to _The Andromeda Strain_, called [The Andromeda Evolution](https://www.amazon.com/Black-Zone-Michael-Nothcirc-ebook/dp/B07CRGKWC3/ref=sr_1_2?crid=23BEZCAV2PKQC&keywords=daniel+wilson+books&qid=1583247770&sprefix=daniel+wilson%2Caps%2C217&sr=8-2). He did this in cooperation with Crichton’s estate and family, who had approval rights. I may try that one next, as it got excellent reviews. ---
**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 3, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/20 "2020-03-03T15:27:54Z")
I’m nearing the end of _Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup_ by John Carreyrou, about big money and even bigger scandal at Theranos. It’s pretty good; can’t wait to see the well-deserved collapse of the company. I’m also, now and then, making my way through Stephen King’s short-story collection _Nightmares & Dreamscapes_ and Isaac Asimov’s _The Foundation Trilogy_. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Close to finishing _Gettysburg_, by Stephen W. Sears. I’m in the middle of Pickett’s Charge. Spoiler Alert: That charge ain’t gonna end well. Huzzah for the gallant boys in blue! > [@Chefguy](#): > > …[Daniel Wilson has] also written a sequel (with permission) to _The Andromeda Strain_, called [The Andromeda Evolution](https://www.amazon.com/Black-Zone-Michael-Nothcirc-ebook/dp/B07CRGKWC3/ref=sr_1_2?crid=23BEZCAV2PKQC&keywords=daniel+wilson+books&qid=1583247770&sprefix=daniel+wilson%2Caps%2C217&sr=8-2). He did this in cooperation with Crichton’s estate and family, who had approval rights. I may try that one next, as it got excellent reviews. Interesting! Hadn’t heard of that. I’m a fan of the original book and movie. I look forward to learning what you think of the sequel. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690.md?page=2)