Review: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A fun read at first, that slowly but surely got bogged down in the sheer volume of Summerscale's research. It's a compelling premise, and you can see why it became such a sensational newspaper story at the time: a group of people go to bed in a locked house, and in the morning a child has been murdered. But the murderer was pretty clear from the start, and before long I lost interest in the next wrong theory the police explored, and what the washerwoman said the fourth time they asked her about Thursday afternoon. Despite the media taking things in any number of wonky directions, the narrative often wades into minutae. I hope there wasn't a shocking revelation saved for the epilogue, because as we were diving into the semi-notable events of a secondary character's career illustrating coral thirty years after the murder trial was done and dusted... I gave up.

Review: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is exactly what I'm looking for in a history book: riveting storytelling that pulls from documented texts, compelling insight into the way the subject at hand rippled through time to shape our lives today, a vibrantly written and gripping structure and voice, and unobtrusive first-hand impressions of the writer from their research and travels to the places in question. I drove the guys in the band a little crazy telling them Mongol facts.

I read this a few years ago, but making these notes now I am almost tempted to go back and read this book again. But I say "almost" because a review I read when I finished this book in 2018 has bothered me ever since. That review called into question Weatherford's choice to write two books about the Mongols, being this one and The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire. This volume goes into great (and fascinating) detail about the sons of Genghis Khan, while barely touching on his daughters. From the reviews, however, the Queens book shows those daughters as central to the story. As I recall, this review questioned whether modern-day gender politics on the bookstore shelf may have played a role in telling the "male" history and the "female" history in separate volumes.

So instead of re-reading this book again, I'll move on to Mongol Queens, make up my own mind about the politics, then perhaps loop back around and make my own Machete Order of Mongol History. (How fitting.)

Review: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Terrific, down-to-Earth, practical instructions on writing from a long time editor. I've put several of her suggestions into practice (put your ideas on index cards), and encountered several of the obstacles she told me to expect (I have too many index cards).
Read this two years ago and it still sticks with me. I must have been vocal about it, because now somehow I have two copies of it on my bookshelf. It's a good problem to have.

Review: The Rich Pay Late

The Rich Pay Late by Simon Raven
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The used bookstore guy recommended this, as Evelyn Waugh-meets-Anthony Powell, the old "moneyed white dudes having literary problems but generally being well off" type affair. It was funny and even reasonably warm-hearted, which was a pleasant surprise. In fact, it encouraged me to take another few paces through Anthony Powell's Dance To The Music Of Time, which my dad (and his buddy, and my buddy) say is perhaps the best series of books ever to be written, but I get awfully bogged down every time I wade in.

Review: Election

Election by Tom Perrotta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun, incredibly quick read. One of those rare books about high schoolers and adults that is neither creepy nor patronizing (nor a Carrie-esque bloodbath), and in fact heightens high school intrigue to the level where I still care about it as an adult.