book list, January 2018
Jan. 31st, 2018 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edenfallingIt's time for the continuing (...after a long hiatus, shush) adventures of Liz and her reading list! These are the books I read in January 2018. (Click on the cuts for summaries and reactions. I reserve the right to spoil all hell out of any book if spoilery bits are what I feel like talking about.)
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Strange Practice, by Vivian Shaw
---An urban fantasy book in which a doctor and several of her clients (who are all classic horror monsters -- vampires, demons, mummies, etc.) try to solve a series of gory and increasingly supernatural murders in London. This is mostly an excuse for character interaction; the plot is pretty straightforward. It is surprisingly cozy for a murder story, though, and there was actual thought put into the logistics and the daily grind of the various monsters. While the main cast desperately needs more women, I was glad that Greta had some female friends who were mentioned more than just once in passing, and that they were actually plot-relevant (albeit off-page) by explaining how Greta could take a few days off her regular work.
The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America, by Russell Shorto
---I don't know how epic this necessarily is, but it's a VERY interesting book, and a useful corrective to a bunch of standard narratives about America's colonial past.
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, by David Von Drehle
---This is actually as much about Manhattan in the early 20th century, unionization, the progressive movement, Tammany Hall, immigration, New York state politics, and the failings of the criminal justice system as it is about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. But the fire is the heart of the book, around which all the rest revolves, and the chapters on the fire itself are harrowing. Highly recommended, but be aware that it is upsetting in various directions.
The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails To Prosecute Executives, Jesse Eisinger
---Well-written, but difficult to read more than a chapter or two at a time because it's an uncomfortable mix of dry subject matter and things guaranteed to make you flamingly furious. I recommend it.
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And now, dinner!
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Strange Practice, by Vivian Shaw
---An urban fantasy book in which a doctor and several of her clients (who are all classic horror monsters -- vampires, demons, mummies, etc.) try to solve a series of gory and increasingly supernatural murders in London. This is mostly an excuse for character interaction; the plot is pretty straightforward. It is surprisingly cozy for a murder story, though, and there was actual thought put into the logistics and the daily grind of the various monsters. While the main cast desperately needs more women, I was glad that Greta had some female friends who were mentioned more than just once in passing, and that they were actually plot-relevant (albeit off-page) by explaining how Greta could take a few days off her regular work.
The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America, by Russell Shorto
---I don't know how epic this necessarily is, but it's a VERY interesting book, and a useful corrective to a bunch of standard narratives about America's colonial past.
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, by David Von Drehle
---This is actually as much about Manhattan in the early 20th century, unionization, the progressive movement, Tammany Hall, immigration, New York state politics, and the failings of the criminal justice system as it is about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. But the fire is the heart of the book, around which all the rest revolves, and the chapters on the fire itself are harrowing. Highly recommended, but be aware that it is upsetting in various directions.
The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails To Prosecute Executives, Jesse Eisinger
---Well-written, but difficult to read more than a chapter or two at a time because it's an uncomfortable mix of dry subject matter and things guaranteed to make you flamingly furious. I recommend it.
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And now, dinner!
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Date: 2018-02-01 01:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2018-02-01 03:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-02-02 08:14 am (UTC)I decided I needed to read Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe books. I'm working through in chronological rather than written order and am currently in 1805, so haven't entered the Napoleonic Wars yet. Good reading. Seriously brutal stuff.
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Date: 2018-02-02 06:01 pm (UTC)