April Reading
::blows dust off the journal::
I figure keeping a record of the books that I read will help keep me motivated and help me keep track. I'm three books into this month so I'm going to mush them all in together in one big post. These are not particularly deep reviews and are just what I came away from the book feeling.
Book One - The Devil and the White City by Erik Larson
This was recommended through Bill James' Popular Crime and I wanted to pick it up because one of the two main focuses is Herman Webster Mudgett, more infamously known as Dr. H H Holmes. Despite having all the signs of being America's answer to Jack the Ripper, there isn't a lot actually written about Holmes and I was hoping to get a lot more about this criminal out of this book.
Honestly, Holmes' story feels like an add on. Larson is far more interested in the story of how and why the Chicago World's Fair took the shape it did and Burnham, the main motive power behind the Fair. His depiction of the major personalities is warm and very human and, something that I have seen other authors do, Larson manages not to let his knowledge of later events influence his treatment of Burnham and his associates in the moment.
The World Fair in Chicago was a major event, one that would be eclipsed by the economic instability in the lead up to the First World War. The world as Larson shows it is the Gilded Age and he does a good job of recreating the atmosphere and the sense of the times. This makes for a very engaging read. Unfortunately, Larson puts a lot more thought into this background and how the various decisions were influenced than he does into Holmes. It strikes me as a pity because I think the book would have been really interesting if he'd just focused on one or the other.
Larson is a good and engaging historical writer which honestly makes the 'true crime' parts suck a little harder. His description of Holmes comes across as fictional and not in the good way. His descriptions read like the worst kind of 80's 'pyscho' thriller. There is a lot of focus on Holmes' 'emotionally dead' blue eyes. There is also no real exploration of the possible motives behind Holmes' actions. He was clearly sociopathic but killing in the manner that he did makes him a rarity among serial killers.
Add to that the diversity of victims and Holmes makes for an imperfect fit into the 80's stereotype of an impotent, sexually frustrated psychopath which makes it all the more disappointing when that's how Larson writes him.
My closing thought is that the book cover says this is going to become a movie which I think is going to require a lot of adaptation since there is really only the most superficial connection between the two stories.
Book Two: Sane New World: A User's Guide to the Normal-Crazy Mind by Ruby Wax
This book was picked up because Ruby Wax has recently become something a public figure concerning depression and I'd read her 'Drowning, Not Waving' article and found it pretty resonant so when I was poking around the self-help table at Waterstones, looking for something to give me an idea on how to start building a post-depressive life and saw this, I thought it would be interesting.
And to be fair to the book and it's author, it is a very interesting book. What I can't say is that it's a useful book. The remedy that Wax is talking about for depression is mindfulness, something that my mum is pretty interested in and therefore an idea that I was already pretty familiar with. The rest of the book focuses on depression as it has manifested for Wax. This is where the book stops working for me - Wax's depression manifests in a pretty maniac way. She uses her mindfulness to cut down on the distractions that overwhelm her and to focus on doing only one thing.
For me personally, depression is a deep apathy and mindfulness does not magically unlock my executive function. I also get the impression that Wax has spent a lot of time in the depths of the self-help industry and come out pretty sick of all the platitudes that get trotted out. She bases her conclusions on her own needs and there is a sense that while this has been a successful path for her, I really don't think it works when she generalizes it.
There is also the fact that her trademark biting humour surfaces in a way that I occasionally found off-putting. It is possible that this book would work better if I was an A-type person but as I'm not, her methods of coping don't work and if I was just trying to start coping with my depression, or if this was the book that the people around me were relying on to empathize with me, well, I don't think I'd be better off.
Useful for people without depression, maybe or as a way to start exploring the fact of depression outside of the stereotypes that most people have for the disease. It doesn't work for me but that might be because I'm further along in my own balancing act and know myself well enough to know it wouldn't work for me.
Book 3: Macbeth, a true story by Fiona Watson
This was a really interesting book that I enjoyed reading a lot. It addresses the historical Macbeth - who was not the worst Scottish king even in his lifetime - and a reflection on the forces that went into shaping the semi-mythical story of Macbeth that we know today. Watson is Scottish and tackles this subject with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of knowledge.
Her biggest challenge is the dearth of sources although she finds and uses quite a few and she makes her case for any supposition that she makes very clear. It is a surprisingly readable book and a very even-handed look back at a man who probably was as close to a good man as his times and culture permitted but who was ambitious and willing to work to achieve that ambition.
All that said there are two issues with the book. The first is that there is a lot of genealogy, a necessary evil given how tribal and unstable Scotland was at the time. This may or may not be a problem for other readers and Watson does do her best to keep same-named but difference personalities separate. The amount of Malcolms alone involved in this period of history can get confusing very fast and while Watson does her best, a lot of the conflict was routed in the feuds and bonds of different clans so the genealogy is necessary. It can still be overwhelming.
The other issue is more with the reader than the book. My knowledge of Scottish history isn't great and what I do know, comes from English perspectives. Watson, as a Scot, assumes a certain level of knowledge in the received history that makes up Scottish identity that I don't have and while I can follow along, I feel like if I knew the background, the book would be richer.
Overall though, I do recommend it and it's given me a very different perspective on history around the turn of the previous millenium and what history hasn't told me about that period.
Originally posted here Please comment there using OpenID.
I figure keeping a record of the books that I read will help keep me motivated and help me keep track. I'm three books into this month so I'm going to mush them all in together in one big post. These are not particularly deep reviews and are just what I came away from the book feeling.
Book One - The Devil and the White City by Erik Larson
This was recommended through Bill James' Popular Crime and I wanted to pick it up because one of the two main focuses is Herman Webster Mudgett, more infamously known as Dr. H H Holmes. Despite having all the signs of being America's answer to Jack the Ripper, there isn't a lot actually written about Holmes and I was hoping to get a lot more about this criminal out of this book.
Honestly, Holmes' story feels like an add on. Larson is far more interested in the story of how and why the Chicago World's Fair took the shape it did and Burnham, the main motive power behind the Fair. His depiction of the major personalities is warm and very human and, something that I have seen other authors do, Larson manages not to let his knowledge of later events influence his treatment of Burnham and his associates in the moment.
The World Fair in Chicago was a major event, one that would be eclipsed by the economic instability in the lead up to the First World War. The world as Larson shows it is the Gilded Age and he does a good job of recreating the atmosphere and the sense of the times. This makes for a very engaging read. Unfortunately, Larson puts a lot more thought into this background and how the various decisions were influenced than he does into Holmes. It strikes me as a pity because I think the book would have been really interesting if he'd just focused on one or the other.
Larson is a good and engaging historical writer which honestly makes the 'true crime' parts suck a little harder. His description of Holmes comes across as fictional and not in the good way. His descriptions read like the worst kind of 80's 'pyscho' thriller. There is a lot of focus on Holmes' 'emotionally dead' blue eyes. There is also no real exploration of the possible motives behind Holmes' actions. He was clearly sociopathic but killing in the manner that he did makes him a rarity among serial killers.
Add to that the diversity of victims and Holmes makes for an imperfect fit into the 80's stereotype of an impotent, sexually frustrated psychopath which makes it all the more disappointing when that's how Larson writes him.
My closing thought is that the book cover says this is going to become a movie which I think is going to require a lot of adaptation since there is really only the most superficial connection between the two stories.
Book Two: Sane New World: A User's Guide to the Normal-Crazy Mind by Ruby Wax
This book was picked up because Ruby Wax has recently become something a public figure concerning depression and I'd read her 'Drowning, Not Waving' article and found it pretty resonant so when I was poking around the self-help table at Waterstones, looking for something to give me an idea on how to start building a post-depressive life and saw this, I thought it would be interesting.
And to be fair to the book and it's author, it is a very interesting book. What I can't say is that it's a useful book. The remedy that Wax is talking about for depression is mindfulness, something that my mum is pretty interested in and therefore an idea that I was already pretty familiar with. The rest of the book focuses on depression as it has manifested for Wax. This is where the book stops working for me - Wax's depression manifests in a pretty maniac way. She uses her mindfulness to cut down on the distractions that overwhelm her and to focus on doing only one thing.
For me personally, depression is a deep apathy and mindfulness does not magically unlock my executive function. I also get the impression that Wax has spent a lot of time in the depths of the self-help industry and come out pretty sick of all the platitudes that get trotted out. She bases her conclusions on her own needs and there is a sense that while this has been a successful path for her, I really don't think it works when she generalizes it.
There is also the fact that her trademark biting humour surfaces in a way that I occasionally found off-putting. It is possible that this book would work better if I was an A-type person but as I'm not, her methods of coping don't work and if I was just trying to start coping with my depression, or if this was the book that the people around me were relying on to empathize with me, well, I don't think I'd be better off.
Useful for people without depression, maybe or as a way to start exploring the fact of depression outside of the stereotypes that most people have for the disease. It doesn't work for me but that might be because I'm further along in my own balancing act and know myself well enough to know it wouldn't work for me.
Book 3: Macbeth, a true story by Fiona Watson
This was a really interesting book that I enjoyed reading a lot. It addresses the historical Macbeth - who was not the worst Scottish king even in his lifetime - and a reflection on the forces that went into shaping the semi-mythical story of Macbeth that we know today. Watson is Scottish and tackles this subject with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of knowledge.
Her biggest challenge is the dearth of sources although she finds and uses quite a few and she makes her case for any supposition that she makes very clear. It is a surprisingly readable book and a very even-handed look back at a man who probably was as close to a good man as his times and culture permitted but who was ambitious and willing to work to achieve that ambition.
All that said there are two issues with the book. The first is that there is a lot of genealogy, a necessary evil given how tribal and unstable Scotland was at the time. This may or may not be a problem for other readers and Watson does do her best to keep same-named but difference personalities separate. The amount of Malcolms alone involved in this period of history can get confusing very fast and while Watson does her best, a lot of the conflict was routed in the feuds and bonds of different clans so the genealogy is necessary. It can still be overwhelming.
The other issue is more with the reader than the book. My knowledge of Scottish history isn't great and what I do know, comes from English perspectives. Watson, as a Scot, assumes a certain level of knowledge in the received history that makes up Scottish identity that I don't have and while I can follow along, I feel like if I knew the background, the book would be richer.
Overall though, I do recommend it and it's given me a very different perspective on history around the turn of the previous millenium and what history hasn't told me about that period.
Originally posted here Please comment there using OpenID.