Book review: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

 

 

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

In 1893, Chicago was host to the World's Fair, where things like Shredded Wheat and the Ferris Wheel were introduced. Daniel Burnham was the visionary behind this huge, obstacle-ridden undertaking. And at the same time, a few blocks from the fair, another man, Dr. H.H. Holmes, has a vision of his own, one of torture and murder, and becomes the first documented serial killer in America.

This was a fascinating read! Although it in non-fiction, it reads like a novel. I did find that Googling images of the buildings and attractions as they were mentioned was very helpful, as there aren't many photos in the book. And as much as I enjoyed knowing how the fair itself came to be, the parts that focused on Holmes, as sick and creepy as he was, were what I looked forward to reading the most.

I give this book an A.

Book Review: Me Talk Pretty One Day

Me Talk Pretty One Day  by Davis Sedaris

This collection of short stories and essays by David Sedaris, is, for the most part, hilarious. He's one of those authors that seems to remember every part of  his life perfectly, and can convey it to the reader with so much humor, that you think "How did all this happen to this poor guy?!" My favorite of his stories in this book are the ones about his sister, actress and author Amy Sedaris, wanting a fat suit, and not being able to afford the whole thing, and the one where his father wants all of his kids to play instruments and form a family band, like "The Partridge Family". As an added bonus, this book makes one of the best audio books, because the author reads it himself.

I give this one a B+.

If you liked this book, I suggest Naked, also by David Sedaris. You also might want to check out some of his readings on YouTube.

Book Review: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

STIFF: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Who knew there were so many things a dead body could do?!

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is a fascinating, and quite hilarious, book about many of the possibilities in which a human body can be used.

Like being able to tell how accurate car safety crash tests are.

Or being used by doctors to practice plastic surgery.

Or how (or if) a person would be able to survive a plane crash.

And my personal favorite, for crime scene investigation purposes (body farms y’all!).

You didn’t have to ace your high school anatomy class (or even have taken one) to understand the amazing things our bodies can do, even if we’re no longer using them ourselves.

And the way Mary Roach writes is so engrossing, I completely forgot I was reading non-fiction, and learning about something I would not have otherwise given a second thought to.

I give this one a B+.