Murderabilia: A History of Crime in 100 Objects (Harold Schechter)

With podcasts developing like My Favorite Murder and Serial, the popularity of the true crime genre seems to have had a comeback in recent years. Although with older books such as Helter Skelter and In Cold Blood, I'm not sure it ever really wasn't popular.

Harold Schechter's Murderabilia: A History of Crime in 100 Objects is an interesting look at 100 true crime cases in a few pages each. Of course there are the standard cases most people have heard of like the Black Dahlia and the Manson murders. But there are some cases that may have been infamous in their time but are probably more obscure to modern-day people.

Schechter begins each case with an image of an object that has to do with it (such as the shotgun used in the Clutter family murders). I thought that more could have been woven in about each object in the case (sometimes it's barely mentioned), but all in all, I did find Murderabilia a worthwhile book for true crime readers.

MY RATING - 4

Once a Giant: A Story of Victory, Tragedy, and Life After Football (Gary Myers)

The 1986 New York Giants were one of the best Super Bowl champions in history, winning all but two of their games and only losing those two games by a combined eight points. The Giants’ first championship since the 1950’s set the stage for another Super Bowl championship four years later. Gary Myers’s book Once a Giant: A Story of Victory, Tragedy, and Life After Football is an account about how these football players and coaches bonded off the field and have continued to maintain strong friendships over 35 years after their Super Bowl championship.

Myers interviews a number of Giants players and coaches, including head coach Bill Parcells and star players Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor. These interviews cover their time as teammates as well as their lives after football. For many of them, the toll of playing the game and the repeated hitting that is a part of the sport caused nagging long-term effects that included some former players contemplating suicide. Through it all, many of the 1986 Giants have been able to confront and survive these challenges together.

Once a Giant is a great read for Giants fans. The book is balanced, enjoyable to read, and provides several good laughs from some of the anecdotes.

MY RATING - 4.5

Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks -- a Cool History of a Hot Commodity (Amy Brady)

Many of us have the ability to get an ice cube on demand from our refrigerator or are within a reasonable drive or walk to get ice cream from a stand or grocery store. The ability to chill and produce frozen concoctions of some sort is one of the modern conveniences that has had a long, winding evolution to get to its current state.  Author and historian Amy Brady chronicles the frozen journey in Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks – a Cool History of a Hot Commodity.

Brady’s book is a mostly entertaining story of how ice evolved from a regional means of keeping things cold to how we use ice today - not just keeping items chilled but also a key ingredient in any chilled drinks and desserts, as well as the year-round recreational pursuit of skating in an indoor rink. Ice shares the invention and technological advancement of ice making and refrigeration and the good (and bad) that resulted from it. Early pioneers in the field of artificial ice making were scoffed upon and ridiculed for their attempts at “playing God” while their technology was eventually co-opted and used in further advancements in refrigeration that became more widespread.

Some individuals who are prominent in the history of America’s ice trade and evolution of ice aren’t included in the story - many in Washington, DC, and in Ohio may know of Mike Uline’s business interests in both the production of ice and the indoor arena that had his name on it in our nation’s capital. However, other unique and even entertaining stories are included. Ice has played a powerful role in transforming American life and our economy over the centuries and Ice (the book) captures much of that story in an effective way.

MY RATING - 4

Just Like Home (Sarah Gailey)

Ahh, it's almost October -- my favorite time of year. As soon as Labor Day is over, my thoughts turn to spooky reads. I thought that's what I was getting with Sarah Gailey's Just Like Home. Instead, I got a book that seriously missed its mark by the end.

One day, Vera receives a phone call from her mother, Daphne. Daphne is dying and wants Vera to come home to sort things out in the Crowder House. The problem -- beside the fact that Vera has long been estranged from Daphne -- is that this is a house where her serial killer father murdered his victims. 

This is all that happens for the first 2/3 of the book, and actually, I found this part really interesting and suspenseful. It's the ending that's a bit of a mess, and I think I figured out why. At least for me, even the most far-fetched horror book has to have some semblance of reality in it. Think of Stephen King's It -- the way it is written, I truly believe that a deranged clown could be in the sewer. But by the end, Just Like Home goes beyond far-fetched into the ridiculous, which ruined the book for me.

MY RATING - 2

In Sardinia: An Unexpected Journey in Italy (Jeff Biggers)

The Mediterranean island of Sardinia is one of the more unique places in all of Europe with a fusion of Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian, Phoenician, and North African influences having blended into the island over its rich history. While Sardinia has been a part of Italy since the country’s unification in 1861, it maintains a very distinct identity much like its Sicilian neighbors to their southeast. 

Author Jeff Biggers embarked on a long journey around the island to experience its cuisine, its literature, and its history. In Sardinia: An Unexpected Journey In Italy is the culmination of those travels. What I appreciated the most about In Sardinia is that the chapters are short and generally focused, and I felt that the book took me on both a geographic journey around the island and a journey through time. While I was a bit disappointed in the lack of pictures within the book, Biggers’s descriptive writing was a very apt substitute and helped my imagination capture what Biggers experienced in his time in Sardinia.

The author’s storytelling and ability to paint the picture of a beautiful island has helped ensure that In Sardinia will not be the last travel book I read anytime soon.

MY RATING - 4.5

Just Like Mother (Anne Heltzel)

The creepy doll face on Anne Heltzel's Just Like Mother tells you all you need to know about what's inside these pages. This is a disturbing, spine-chilling story for the most part, but falls flat in some places.

Maeve and Andrea are close cousins who grew up in a cult run by "mothers." After Maeve escapes, she is adopted by a loving family and tries to have a normal life. She always wonders, however, what happened to her cousin. When they're both adults, Maeve is happy when Andrea finally contacts her. Andrea is a wealthy woman who made her money in the fertility industry. But childhood memories run deep -- this book doesn't have the aforementioned creepy doll face on the cover for no reason. 

While the story itself was horror personified, I felt it didn't go deeply enough into the cult aspect. Who were the mothers? What was the purpose of Boy? There were a lot of questions that left me wondering. 

That being said, it's been a long time since I actually gasped while reading a book, but Just Like Mother made me do so in many places. It's scary, and above all, one could see a story like this happening in real life (but let's hope not). 

MY RATING - 3

Travelers to Unimaginable Lands: Stories of Dementia, the Caregiver, and the Human Brain (Dasha Kiper)

Taking care of loved ones with dementia is emotionally draining on the best of days. The caregiver tries in vain to help that loved one with basic day-to-day recollection of events, place, space, and all things living as the loved one’s memory slips and their behavior changes. Dasha Kiper’s book Travelers to Unimaginable Lands: Stories of Dementia, the Caregiver, and the Human Brain examines not so much the loved one with dementia but the caregiver, specifically how the workings of the caregiver’s “healthier” brain prevents them from adapting to and understanding the loved one that is suffering from dementia.

Kiper highlights several stories of parents and children along with husbands and wives: A man believing his spouse is an impostor, a woman who has imaginary friendships, and a woman whose childhood trauma emerges to torment her son. These are all too common examples of dementia in various forms, not just Alzheimer’s Disease that many of us are more familiar with at a high level. Despite “knowing better” that one’s memory is suffering, all too often the caregiver will slip up and resort to confrontation and taking these symptoms personally. Kiper’s book showcases these struggles.

Travelers to Unimaginable Lands is thoughtful and insightful. Dementia not only directly impacts the individual suffering from it but it also produces downstream, indirect impacts on the people who care for and support the loved one. While Travelers does not answer the question “how do you easily fix that,” it does help the caregiver sense that they are not alone and that they can and should find support and solace with others who are going through the same situation.

MY RATING - 4