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

The Summer Palace, C.S. Pacat

This was... not what I was hoping for. The Captive Prince series ends abruptly, with lots of loose ends; I was hoping for a happy, loving coda where they do at least a little bit of explaining how the hell they plan to change the culture of both countries they rule and combine their rule and there is almost none of that. And the dynamic between Damen and Laurent, the very best part of the series (which occasionally makes no sense, but I let it go because Damen! and Laurent!! are in love!!) doesn't feel right. Laurent is too toothless, too sweet and syrupy and tenderly helpless, Damen enjoys Laurent being sweet too much. The whole series is based around the idea that Damen loves Laurent for his sharp angles, his ruthless plotting, his cunning brain. Giving us an epilogue where Laurent is none of those things and Damen thinks it's really sexy is weird for both of them. Gotta be honest -- there's post-series fic I think is much better.

Grade: C
#2 in 2017

The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made, Greg Sestero, Tom Bissell

I read 95 books last year! That's not bad. :D

Super interesting -- this sheds a lot of light on The Room and Tommy Wiseau. There's something slightly weird about the narration, since the author posits himself as Tommy's only real friend, maybe in the whole world, and the proceeds to tell us a) all the terrible things Tommy has said or done and b) all the ways he was dependent on Tommy. It doesn't totally feel like both of those things can be true. Plus the whole thing is slightly odd, because Tommy is an unreliable narrator about everything, so we have layers of unreliable narrators telling us this story. Still, it's funny and oddly touching at the end.

Grade: B

#1 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

The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London, Judith Flanders

This makes me want to reread Dickens, which is HIGH PRAISE because I hated Dickens in high school (except A Tale of Two Cities. I looooved me some Sidney Carton). But this book is FASCINATING. There are chapters on everything, from how sewer systems worked before the Great Stink, to what street sellers shouted as they sold stuff, to what prostitutes wore (fun fact: we're not sure!). This is a fun book, and there's a lot of great stuff here to excitedly tell people as you're reading.

For example, I just turned to my roommate and said, "So it turns out no one was sure who were the prostitutes and who weren't in London; all the records are from men who were like THERE ARE SO MANY PROSTITUTES ON THE STREETS," by which they mostly meant women who were out in public or maybe looked at them in what they considered a friendly way. It's hilariously ridiculous. Also, because the prostitutes allegedly dressed so brightly, they were known as "gay women," and the streets were just FILLED with gay women. I'll be honest -- that sounds great.

On the other hand, huge amounts of the chapters are just listing things; 74 kinds of street sellers, 93 things for sale for breakfast, the cost of 112 different rolls. I'm kidding, but not really. It gets exhausting, which is why it took me so long to get through the whole book.

Grade: B
#94 in 2016

The Final Deduction, Rex Stout

So this lady comes to Nero Wolfe and says her husband has been kidnapped, and she wants his help. She pays the ransom, the husband is returned, and then he winds up dead. What could have happened???

The charm of these books, as always, is in Archie Goodwin's narration and voice. I'm going to start putting in cute quotes or something from these books, because the patter and the flavor is just so good, and otherwise every summary is "oh hey, another book! Wolfe ate some stuff, Archie was sarcastic, Cramer chewed on a cigar." (That is not a complaint.)

#93 in 2016
Grade: B

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)