The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America's First Serial Killer, Skip Hollandsworth

This book is fine, but it reads like it wants badly to be The Devil in the White City. It's never gripping enough, the murders are never horrifying enough, and the fact that no one was ever caught or even really suspected leads the author to speculate wildly with no conclusions. The writing is a little bit weak. The sheriff realizes his deputy is "about as deep as one of those tacks on the board," -- no, he didn't. It's not as bad as the thing I hate most in historical non-fiction; made up conversations between characters. But man, it's not great, either. The author wants so badly for this to be fascinating and keeps dragging Jack the Ripper into the story for comparison (he was only a couple of years later) but frankly, I wasn't convinced by the evidence presented that the "Midnight Assassin" killings were all done by the same person, let alone by a serial killer, and certainly not by Jack the Ripper. Just go read The Devil in the White City (and then try to sleep, ever again). Grade: C #3 in 2017

Night Witch (Rivers of London graphic novel), Ben Aaronovitch

I'm giving this a C, because it was confusing, but take that with a grain of salt; I am notoriously bad at understanding visual media. I honestly reread a bunch of pages over and over because I wasn't sure which Russian was doing what. There's a lot of double-crossing and Russian here, and not much magic. I liked the parts with Molly, and Peter, and Beverly, but the rest of it was a little muddled to me.

Grade: C
#95 in 2016

Book Recommendations: Non Fiction and History

I've been asked a few times for my best history/non-fiction book recs, so here are some I have loved. Nearly all of these are written for a popular history audience, not a specialist, so they're plotted or paced almost like novels. These are books that will make you turn to whoever is sitting next to you and go, "Oh my god, did you know--" until they give up and leave the room. 

I'll also label them "long" or "short" for how long it'll take you to read them. ...keep in mind that I read a lot, and all the time, so my "short" might not be yours.

If you're looking for something exciting action adventure-y:
A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
This cold war spy book reads like a novel -- and it should, since Graham Greene is one of the men involved. Once you get into this one you won't be able to put it down. (medium)

Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade
This is about the crusades, and it's a little bit drier, but it's awesome. It's either what Kingdom of Heaven was based on, or they're both using the same primary sources, the difference being that Orlando Bloom's character should have been an old grizzled dude. I've used this book (excerpts) in class with 9th graders, and they loved it. Los of set up, lots of "oh my god, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT??" Also: some great gossip about Richard the Lionheart. (longish)

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
This! Is! So! Exciting!! Genghis Khan's actual life feels like you're watching an awesome, epic movie about a badass warrior with surprisingly enlightened views. Compulsively readable. The sequel has been in my to-read list for... literal years. (shortish)


Something kind of creepy or mysterious:
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic -- and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World
Such a cool book. Did you know that germs travel through contaminated water? Well, people sure didn't before - not kidding -- John Snow proved that they did through tireless work. Cholera was wiping out whole neighborhoods, and no one else connected it to the water supply. Sounds kind of boring, but how he put it together is a page-turning read. (Shortish)

The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime
A nice case-by-case history of murder in Victorian England, how it was discussed at the time, and how the Victorians were obsessed with death. If you like true-crime TV or watching Criminal Minds, you'll love this. (Medium)

The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse: An Extraordinary Edwardian Case of Deception and Intrigue
This book is BANANAS. I'm not going to tell you anything here except the title. Look at that title! Read this book! (shortish)

Something packed full of information that will honestly just blow your mind:

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
As a Jewish atheist, I can whole-heartedly recommend this book whether you're a practicing Christian or have no particular feelings about God. This is an incredibly well-researched biography of Jesus the man, placing him in the right time and place, and explaining the social, political, and economic issues of his day and how we see those things reflected in the Bible. Does it sound dry? It's fascinating. (medium)

Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution it Inspired
For a long time it was illegal to translate the Bible into English, and people were killed for attempting it. Then King James approved it, and we got the King James version. You won't believe how many every day and common expressions come from this ranslation, or how profound its impact was on history. (Medium)

Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World
Okay. This is a dense, dense book. I've read it twice, but I'll probably read it again and go, "Wait, what?" a few more times. If you like military history, or American history (not my favorite) then this book is amazing. But keep in mind, I brought Postwar with me to the beach in Hawaii one vacation. It's all the decisions that were made after World War I -- and I do mean all -- and how they happened. The personalities involved, the negotiations, the back stabbing and double dealing. It's very readable, but also very long. Personally, I love how it's broken down by continent, so you see how WWI affected Europe, Asia, and other places. (Long. The Longest.)

She-Wolves: The Women who ruled England before Elizabeth
FASCINATING. There were so many women who NEARLY got to be the Queen of England before Elizabeth. They ruled through their sons, their husbands, their claims on the throne that were almost but somehow not quite legitemate enough. This book makes medieval military history feel fresh and exciting, like you're watching a war movie, and its thesis -- that these bad ass women deserve more attention -- is thoroughly persuasive. (Medium)

Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar

I've read a ton of Roman history, and this is by far the clearest and most readable. Amazingly clear, exciting, well-explained history of the Caesars, and all the unbelievably crazy shit they got up to -- even the "good" ones. Reads like a novel, un-put-down-able. (Medium)

BONUS: Science books!
What if? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions 

This is hilarious and fascinating and wonderful. It's by the guy who writes XKCD. Just awesome. 

A Short History of Nearly Everything
Have you read this? Go read this! Especially the part about the Yellowstone volcano. It will scare you so fucking much. It ranges from hilarious to amazing to fascinating to shocking science explanations. Bryson is always wonderfully readable. I love this book. (Medium)

T-Rex and the Crater of Doom
How do we know that the dinosaurs were killed by a meteor? Well, the author of this book is the guy who proved it. Short, fascinating, and with a first chapter that will knock your socks off (and wipe life off the planet. (Short)

Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo

These books are GREAT. I really really really liked them a lot. These are the "read on the subway, read during lunch, read in your spare five minutes, stay up too late to finish" kind of books.

Things I loved: the world building is so interesting! It's set in what I think of as fantasy Netherlands, although fantasy Russia, fantasy Germany (or maybe Finland/Sweden), and fantasy China make appearances. Old school fantasy used to have each country be a different type of person, as if all the people from country X are evil, and from country Y are religious zealots, and from country Q are proud but dumb (cough cough David Eddings cough). This does a great job of showing people from each country being influenced by their own culture and history, but also able to grow and change when they meet new people. There are good and bad people from everywhere.

Things I loved: the characters! A great range are assembled as part of Kaz's gang, not just "a sassy girl" and "a smart boy" and "the love interest." Everyone is complex, everyone gets flashbacks about how they became who they are, and everyone contributes. There is no whiny princess dragged along against her will, nor is there an ass-kicking warrior chick who never talks except to growl or be sexy. I liked everyone. (Okay, I especially liked Inej and Wylan.)

I haven't told you anything about the plot because book 1 is about a heist, and book 2 is about the repercussions of that heist, and you'll be happiest not knowing anything except that. I was sold on these books when I was told that Lymond is one of Bardugo's favorite hero-types, and you can see reflections of that in Kaz, but again, you'll be happiest not explicitly trying to compare this to Dunnett. It's twisty it's exciting, it's awesome.

One thing that made me laugh: everyone is a teenager, because it's YA, but also everyone is weighed down by endless tragic backstory and difficult experiences. These are some worldly, grizzled teens.

Grade: A
#88 and #89 in 2016