[Tarkus_]

Kodi hanging during startup?

Turn off settings>media>library>update library on start see if that does anything. A debug log would certainly help, might indicate a web service that is holding up a quick start. Kodi needs to exit properly, as it saves settings and writes to the log if this process is interrupted you might end up with partial writes and file corruption.

Thanks!  Turning off the library update seems to have done the trick.  Kodi now starts within a few seconds.  
So, what is the best workaround for Kodi not doing a library update on start?

Do you really need it updated that often?  I update manually, when needed.  From the Movies or Music screens, just click left, and it's at the bottom of the menu.  I only need to do this about once a week, if that, but if you're adding files more often than that, maybe that's too much of a hassle.