Monthly Archives: August 2010
Review: Nightmare House (Harrow House Series #1)
Nightmare House by Douglas Clegg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I know Doug, and I had already read this book. But re-reading it by listening to the audio version, I spooked myself to the point that I turned on the dome light in my car and checked to make certain no one was hiding in the back seat. 
Review: The Great Influenza
The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Two things kept me from enjoying this book. The first was that it could have used some editing. It was so long that Audible split its audiobook file into three parts, and a huge portion of the first section was concerning, not the 1918-1919 pandemic, but the history of medical education in America. The second was petty on my part, I admit, but it was slightly annoying that the author kept referring to John Hopkins University as “The Hopkins”. The nickname just seemed too informal for the context of this book.
The listening was much enhanced by the narration by Scott Brick, however.
Review: Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder that Rocked New Orleans
Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder that Rocked New Orleans by Ethan Brown
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
The author finally admits, when the book is almost complete, that he is sympathetic to the murderer. He stops shy of this admission, actually, writing that his wife felt he was, to the point of being angry with him. This book is an apology for the murderer, and the author forgot that the murder was not a quick act of passion, but rather a planned, gruesome saga that involved living with the corpse for over two weeks, and setting up a horrid tableau in order to scar those who followed the instructions in his suicide note. Brown works so hard to exonerate, somehow, the murderer from the full guilt of his crime that the book becomes a history of the war at some points.
Review: Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans: More Than 50 Beautiful, Affordable Designs Featuring Berroco’s Comfort Yarn
Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans: More Than 50 Beautiful, Affordable Designs Featuring Berroco’s Comfort Yarn by Norah Gaughan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Splendid. Could only be improved by the addition of a spiral binding.
