# Khadaji's Whatcha Reading Thread - October 2019 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 1, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072 "2019-10-01T02:43:42Z")\ **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:** [October 2, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/21 "2019-10-02T18:10:09Z")
Just finished _The Seven-Per-Cent Solution_ by Nicholas Meyer, a very enjoyable pastiche that “answers” some big questions about Sherlock Holmes’s childhood and personal motivations. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > …My bedside reading is Ben MacIntyre’s **For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond**. I stumbled upon it in a used book store, and it’s the best book on Bond I’ve readin a long time, with a biography of Fleming filed with pictures and details I hadn’t encountered before, along with speculations about Fleming’s inspirations for character, plots, and gimmicks for the Bond books I hadn’t seen before, either… That sounds interesting. I’ve been working my way through the 007 books off and on over the past few years. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/22 "2019-10-02T20:18:18Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Just finished _The Seven-Per-Cent Solution_ by Nicholas Meyer, a very enjoyable pastiche that “answers” some big questions about Sherlock Holmes’s childhood and personal motivations. > That sounds interesting. I’ve been working my way through the 007 books off and on over the past few years. Nicholas Meyer wrote two sequels to _The Seven per cent Solution_. _The West End Horror_ isn’t bad. George Bernard Shaw substitutes for Freud as the Historical Character He Teams Up With, but there are cameos by just about everyone in the London Theater scene at the time. _The Canary Trainer_ isn’t about Wilson, as you’d expect from the title. It’s Sherlock Holmes Meets The Phantom of the Opera. (other peope have treated this meetup, too, most notably Sam Siciliano in _The Angel of the Opera_). Not one of Meyer’s better pastiches. He also wrote a one-page Sherlock Holmes Investigates Watergate for the “Endpaper” feature in the New York Times Sunday Magazine circa 1974. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2019, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/23 "2019-10-02T21:49:15Z")
Finished _Pure Drivel_ by Steve Martin. Meh. Now I’m reading _Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine_, by Gail Honeyman. ---
**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:** [October 3, 2019, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/24 "2019-10-03T01:05:48Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Finished _Pure Drivel_ by Steve Martin. Meh. > > … Well, at least it wasn’t pure drivel. ---
**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:** [October 3, 2019, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/25 "2019-10-03T12:43:29Z")
Starting today on [The Best Horror of the Year, volume 11](https://www.amazon.com/Best-Horror-Year-Eleven/dp/1597809721/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=IDM8P47VLNA8&keywords=best+horror+of+the+year&qid=1570106478&s=books&sprefix=best+horror%2Caps%2C150&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFIRks1OUtaNkFUVjUmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTEwMTQ0MDgyTUFJUVFYQUpIT09aJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0MTQ5NDcyVVZCR0lCRVNZOEpOJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==), edited by Ellen Datlow. ---
**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:** [October 3, 2019, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/26 "2019-10-03T16:00:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Nicholas Meyer wrote two sequels to _The Seven per cent Solution_… Yes, I read both back in the Nineties and was underwhelmed. Probably won’t go back to 'em. June Thomson remains my all-time favorite Holmes pastiche writer. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2019, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/27 "2019-10-05T03:19:53Z")
A little over a fifth of the way through _Falls the Shadow_, by Sharon Kay Penman, the second novel in her Welsh Princes trilogy. Historical fiction in 13th-century England and Wales. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2019, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/28 "2019-10-06T06:03:20Z")
I finished **Where the Crawdads Sing** by Delia Owens and to quote my review on Goodreads: I would have given this a solid 5 stars except for the Scooby Dooish ending. Seriously, she needed to end the story before all the tweeing of Barclay Cove and definitely before the climatic reveal. It just ruined the whole atmosphere of the story for me… and it just didn’t fit with the character and their behaviors. Overall however, the book is beautiful and reduced me to tears more than once, one of those times on the freeway… and a lot of social media yelling. The characters, with two notable exceptions, were weel drawn and had their own space in my head as I listened to the story unfold. The pacing was great, for a story that covered nearly 20 years, it never bogged down or was a slog to read. Her prose is a bit too flowery for my taste in places, but to give her her due, Ms Owens did know when to rein the diarrhea in and get back to the story. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/29 "2019-10-07T00:40:28Z")
Finished **The Giver Quartet**. Meh. The final one featured a pretty uninteresting antagonist who brought down an otherwise fine YA book. Then I read [The Witch-Boy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31193426-the-witch-boy), a YA graphic novel about a boy who grows up in a magical family. All the boys learn to shapeshift and fight demons, while all the girls learn to cast spells and do herbal magic. Except the protagonist is a very effeminate boy who can’t shapeshift but can cast spells. It’s a thinly-veiled metaphor for transgenderism, but also a thinly-veiled critique of gender roles, but also a thinly-veiled examination of what kids do when their dreams are at odds with parental expectations, but also a great adventure story. Right up my alley! The sequel, [The Hidden Witch](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36637409-the-hidden-witch), was also quite good. Looking for my next read. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/30 "2019-10-07T03:56:16Z")
Mama’s Last Hug. Terrific book exploring whether animals have real emotions. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2019, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/31 "2019-10-07T13:06:06Z")
I’ve started Trevor Noah’s **Born a Crime**. It’s been floating around our house for months now, my wife and daughter have both read it, and it ended up on my nightstand (which is a sure sign that one of them thinks I ought to read it). The first couple of chapters are shocking – as they’re meant to be. That someone that much younger than me had to go through all that outrageousness does boggle my mind. I picked up and read the Arcadia Press book on **Southbridge, Masachusetts**. I was at an Open House for the Optical Heritage Museum there on Sunday, and they were selling the book. I also picked up a used copy of **The Other Side of Oz**. It’s Buddy Ebsen’s autobiography, and looks like a short but interesting read. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2019, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/32 "2019-10-07T13:30:35Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Her prose is a bit too flowery for my taste in places, but to give her her due, Ms Owens did know when to rein the diarrhea in and get back to the story. 😃 A valuable quality in a writer! ---
**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:** [October 7, 2019, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/33 "2019-10-07T18:00:38Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Well, at least it wasn’t pure drivel. Actually, this book was a collection of humorous short stories. “Pure Drivel” was probably the best. It was about an editor of a magazine called _Pure Drivel_, who worked up the courage to write drivel of his own. Inspiring stuff. 😃 Just finished _Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine_ by Gail Honeyman. Not bad. Now I’m reading _Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant_, by Anne Gardiner Perkins. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/34 "2019-10-08T14:08:53Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > … It’s a thinly-veiled metaphor for transgenderism, but also a thinly-veiled critique of gender roles, but also a thinly-veiled examination of what kids do when their dreams are at odds with parental expectations… Sounds like the author needs to go to a fabric store and pick up some burlap. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/35 "2019-10-08T14:36:38Z")
Finished _[Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodlands)_. Highly recommend. It’s not an easy read, but an interesting take on the interplay between Nazi anti-Semitism and Soviet anti-mostly Polish and Ukrainian nationalism, which turned into somewhat the same thing. Interesting discussion of Soviet revisionist history about the Holocaust. The conclusion is the best part. One part stood out particularly - we can’t think of the Nazis as inhuman. Because that’s what the Nazis thought about the Jews. Also listened to _[Spy the Lie](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13167156-spy-the-lie)_ while driving out of town. Very over-hyped - the authors cherry-picked their examples way too much. If their lie-spotting techniques are so good, they should be able to come up with less obvious stories, where the bad guy practically confesses in front of them. Now finishing _Dutch Courage_, a collection of Jack London’s early short stories for YA. A nice little palate-cleanser to reset my taste for whatever I tackle next. On audio dog-walking books I have _Thuvia: Maid of Mars_ by E.R. Burroughs for the same reason. Regards, Shodan ---
**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:** [October 8, 2019, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/36 "2019-10-08T16:29:19Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Sounds like the author needs to go to a fabric store and pick up some burlap. 😃 It’s young adult, where the thin veils are just fine. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/37 "2019-10-08T23:37:52Z")
Finished _Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant_, by Anne Gardiner Perkins. Not bad. Now I’m reading _The House of Dies Drear_, by Virginia Hamilton. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/38 "2019-10-10T22:03:18Z")
Finished _The House of Dies Drear_, by Virginia Hamilton. It’s very good. Wish I’d read it as a kid. Now I’m reading _Paul Laurence Dunbar: A Poet to Remember_, by Patricia C. McKissack. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/39 "2019-10-11T13:02:10Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Starting today on [The Best Horror of the Year, volume 11](https://www.amazon.com/Best-Horror-Year-Eleven/dp/1597809721/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=IDM8P47VLNA8&keywords=best+horror+of+the+year&qid=1570106478&s=books&sprefix=best+horror%2Caps%2C150&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFIRks1OUtaNkFUVjUmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTEwMTQ0MDgyTUFJUVFYQUpIT09aJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0MTQ5NDcyVVZCR0lCRVNZOEpOJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==), edited by Ellen Datlow. Finished. Anthologies are always hit and miss, but this one had a pretty high signal to noise ratio. One story I didn’t finish (Laird Barron’s; too weird and boring); a few stories that just didn’t belong or didn’t do it for me (Robert Shearman’s Thumbsucker); some absolutely delightful stuff (honorable mention to Michael Marshall Smith, Dale Bailey, Joe Hill, and Adam-Troy Castro). Recommended. Starting today on Caitlin Doughty’s [Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big questions from tiny mortals about death](https://www.amazon.com/Will-Cat-Eat-Eyeballs-Questions/dp/039365270X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VO80EGLWSMRB&keywords=will+my+cat+eat+my+eyeballs&qid=1570798779&s=books&sprefix=will+my+%2Caps%2C145&sr=1-1). Do you know the answer? Would you like to? Probably not, at least not right away. They’ll start with the easier stuff like lips, noses, and eyelids. Your dog will do the same. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072/40 "2019-10-11T13:58:54Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Finished. Anthologies are always hit and miss, but this one had a pretty high signal to noise ratio. One story I didn’t finish (Laird Barron’s; too weird and boring); a few stories that just didn’t belong or didn’t do it for me (Robert Shearman’s Thumbsucker); some absolutely delightful stuff (honorable mention to Michael Marshall Smith, Dale Bailey, Joe Hill, and Adam-Troy Castro). Recommended. > Starting today on Caitlin Doughty’s [Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big questions from tiny mortals about death](https://www.amazon.com/Will-Cat-Eat-Eyeballs-Questions/dp/039365270X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VO80EGLWSMRB&keywords=will+my+cat+eat+my+eyeballs&qid=1570798779&s=books&sprefix=will+my+%2Caps%2C145&sr=1-1). Do you know the answer? Would you like to? Probably not, at least not right away. They’ll start with the easier stuff like lips, noses, and eyelids. Your dog will do the same. As I said long ago on this Board, I’m not sure that our cats will wait until we’re completely dead before they start nibbling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadajis-whatcha-reading-thread-october-2019-edition/841072.md?page=3)