# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**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 24, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/61 "2020-03-24T11:52:16Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You might also like John Scalzi’s _Old Man’s War_, another excellent military sf novel, although he doesn’t take himself as seriously as either Heinlein or Haldeman. Haldeman’s short story “A Separate War,” in the collection _A Separate War and Other Stories_, is also a very interesting take on _The Forever War_, told from the perspective of Marygay Potter. I’ve read it, and its sequels. Good reads, but somehow less… filling than Heinlein, or even Haldeman. I don’t feel drawn to re-reading it. ---
**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 24, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/62 "2020-03-24T15:51:24Z")
Gotcha. Did you read “A Separate War,” too? ---
**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 24, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/63 "2020-03-24T16:13:51Z")
Meant to, but Haven’t found a copy yet. Nor The Forever Peace ---
**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 24, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/64 "2020-03-24T16:40:17Z")
I wouldn’t recommend _Forever Peace_. Not one of Haldeman’s best, and beware, it isn’t a sequel to _The Forever War._ But _A Separate War and Other Stories_ has some great stuff, including the title story. ---
**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 25, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/65 "2020-03-25T20:42:12Z")
Finished _Monster She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction_, by Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson. It had some interesting-sounding titles I might read and also gave me some story ideas. Now I’m reading _A Horse to Remember_, a YA novella by Sam Savitt. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/66 "2020-03-26T14:41:16Z")
I started reading [Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3450744-nudge?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=MNqqGzSUQY&rank=1) by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, but returned the book when I realized I’d practically read the book already. I’ve read so many books on behavioral economics, and they cite many of the same studies and researchers. It made me realize that I really ought to expand my list of nonfiction books to read. So I bought [Incognito: The Secret Lives of Brains](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9827912-incognito?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=tTdjBnabTV&rank=4) by David Eagleman, which also cites many studies I’ve seen before but has enough new information for me to keep reading. And then I went on Amazon and spent a good hour or so gathering together a list of nonfiction books to read that weren’t psychology related. Or, at the least, seemed like psychology from a new perspective. I am also reading [Miracle Creek](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40121959-miracle-creek?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Ftr9X4Gxlh&rank=1) by Angie Kim, and holy crap, it is good! The plot is that one year ago, there was an explosion at a small business that killed several clients and injured several more. The story unfolds during the jury trial afterwards, where the mother of one of the dead clients (a child) is accused of murder. And as the trial goes on, you discover that a whole bunch of people are either lying or hiding stuff – not just from the jury, but from their spouses as well. And you get to wondering what is such a big secret that someone would be willing to impede a murder investigation in order to keep the secret? It’s very well-written and engaging. It’s written by a Korean-American with a law degree, and her background shines through in the writing. Her insights into the experience of being a Korean-American immigrant, as well as her familiarity with courtroom proceedings, is something I don’t often encounter in fiction writing. (A lot of fiction writers seem to have never had any career other than writing, and they make all their main characters into writers, and that gets old.) I haven’t finished the book yet, but unless the ending completely sucks, I’m going to go ahead and recommend this one. ---
**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 26, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/67 "2020-03-26T15:08:49Z")
Finished _A Horse to Remember_, a YA novella by Sam Savitt. Meh. Now I’m reading _The Court of Last Resort_, by Erle Stanley Gardner. It’s not one of his mystery novels. Instead, it’s about how he and others looked into the cases of people who had been unjustly convicted of serious crimes. It was published in 1954, as a revised edition, but it’s not clear when this project started. ---
**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 27, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/68 "2020-03-27T19:00:46Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Started today on [Qualityland](https://www.amazon.com/Qualityland-Marc-Uwe-Kling/dp/1538732963/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1584727221&sr=1-1) by Marc Uwe-Kling, a novel about a futuristic society in which everyone’s lives are determined by their assigned rank, and a poor schlub named Peter Jobless who decides to fight the system. Pretty good so far. The satire was amusing at first, but grew tedious. I was glad to close the cover on this one. Re Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Held my interest, but I couldn’t have gotten through it on paper. Katherine Kellgren is gold. I also knocked off a star for an animal death that hit me hard. ---
**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 29, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/69 "2020-03-29T15:22:51Z")
Finished _The Court of Last Resort_, by Erle Stanley Gardner. Not bad overall, and parts of it were very interesting. Now I’m reading _The Rithmatist_, by Brandon Sanderson. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/70 "2020-03-30T23:13:58Z")
\*The Volunteer by Jack Fairweather “The true story of the resistance hero who infiltrated Auschwitz”\* Incredible book. Absolutely grim, heartbreaking yet at the same time surreal. Youngsters need to be taught the story of Witold Pilecki. What a hero. ---
**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 30, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/71 "2020-03-30T23:41:58Z")
Finished _The Rithmatist_, by Brandon Sanderson, which was okay. Now I’m reading _Live and Learn and Pass It On_, edited by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. ---
**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 31, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/72 "2020-03-31T14:21:10Z")
Started today on [Old Man’s War](https://www.amazon.com/Old-Mans-War-John-Scalzi/dp/0765315246/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1585664404&sr=8-2), by John Scalzi (as I’ve been told to many times). Hey, not bad! 🙂 ---
**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 31, 2020, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/73 "2020-03-31T18:36:44Z")
Finished _Live and Learn and Pass It On_, edited by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. It’s a collection of advice from people 5 to 95, of which my favorite is from a 7YO. “I’ve learned that I like my teacher because she cries when we sing Silent Night.” (Sniff.) Now I’m reading _Tales of Adventure and Medical Life_, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s previously published non-mystery short stories. ---
**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 31, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/74 "2020-03-31T20:05:46Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Started today on [Old Man’s War](https://www.amazon.com/Old-Mans-War-John-Scalzi/dp/0765315246/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1585664404&sr=8-2), by John Scalzi (as I’ve been told to many times). Hey, not bad! 🙂 Oh, good! A military-sf favorite of mine. The whole series is worthwhile IMHO. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/75 "2020-04-01T02:35:13Z")
New thread: [So? How ya doing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=22222789#post22222789) ---
**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:** [April 1, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/76 "2020-04-01T02:36:51Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Started today on [Old Man’s War](https://www.amazon.com/Old-Mans-War-John-Scalzi/dp/0765315246/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1585664404&sr=8-2), by John Scalzi (as I’ve been told to many times). Hey, not bad! 🙂 I think I got a copy of that one for free awhile back from Tor. I should read it while I’m stuck home… (Just got Redshirts recently as well) ---
**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:** [April 1, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/77 "2020-04-01T02:42:37Z")
_Redshirts_ is a must-read for any Trekker. An affectionate meta take on the show, with (I thought) a surprisingly touching ending. ---
**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:** [April 4, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/78 "2020-04-04T23:39:59Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690/79 "2020-04-05T01:02:34Z")
**CalMeacham @59:** Nero Wolfe novels are _always_ worth a re-reading. The mystery is usually the least memorable part, so it seems new again. And Fritz’s cooking and Archie’s quips are always worth revisiting. I’m gonna reread _Too Many Cooks_ pretty soon, and I haven’t read _The League of Frightened Men_ since I was a teenager, when I thought it was the best one of all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2020-edition/848690.md?page=3)