#history – Page 35 – Cannonball Read 17

Two Scottish bozos in a camper van.

Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other by Sam Heughan & Graham McTavish

June 10, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I have not seen the STARZ TV show this book is the account of making, but this book (and the audiobook specifically) was a pretty good time. (STARZ insisted on naming the TV show Men in Kilts, but its original name was Clanlands, as this book makes pretty clear without actually stating it.) If you want something extremely goofy, spotted through with Scottish history, this is your book. The book is told by both Graham and Sam in alternating POV sections as they narrate the […]

Scathing indictments lightly cloaked in humorous, beautifully written prose.

The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King

May 27, 2021 by narfna 4 Comments

Can’t recommend this one highly enough. A lot of books are required reading (or should be) for subject matter alone, but this book has the one-two punch of being about something educational and important that everyone living in a colonized country that used to belong to native peoples should read, and also being entertaining and extremely well-written. I finished the introduction and said out loud (to my cat), “I already love this.” Or maybe it was a Goodreads status update. Either is likely. It’s been […]

Murder most historical

Sons of Cain: A History of Serial Killers from the Stone Age to the Present by Peter Vronsky

April 20, 2021 by TheShitWizard 6 Comments

Sons of Cain is the third book on serial killers that I’ve read from Peter Vronsky, having previously read about Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters and Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters. This time, the angle taken is a historical one, with Vronsky looking at serial killing trends from the Stone Age until now, while also theorising about the potential future of these types of crimes. Serial killing is in no way a modern phenomena, and this book looks […]

Hands All Red

Maids by Katie Skelly

April 7, 2021 by KM Bezner 1 Comment

Katie Skelly’s latest outstanding horror comic Maids opens with a gory promise to its readers: keep reading to discover whose bloody eyeball is rolling across the floor. Although, if you’re a true crime fan you may already know the answer: Maids is based on the story of Christine and Léa Papin, two sisters working as servants in a wealthy household who in 1933 butchered their employer Léonie Lancelin and her daughter Genevieve. But even if you’re already familiar with the case, which sparked debates over […]

I can see why she won the Pulitzer for this, but it wasn’t completely to my tastes.

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

April 6, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I’m really glad I did the audio version for this one, because I’m not sure my raccoon brain (shiny things only!) would have had the patience to sit through it otherwise, and it’s worth sitting through. Robin Miles is, as always, a great narrator. This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, either. I had actually never learned about the Great Migration in all my many (many) years of school, which is not really surprising, but is disheartening, so I was excited to get into […]

True crime and queer history.

Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green

April 3, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

Thanks to Celadon Books for the ARC! It has not affected the content of my review. I wish I had gotten to this book before publication, but better late than never. I was offered an ARC and accepted gladly, as I’d wanted to read the book anyway. It then arrived weeks late, presumably because the USPS is having some capital ‘I’ Issues right now. The book was worth the wait, though, even if I was sort of unsettled and left a bit unsatisfied at the […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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