Fall Challenge 2011

Summer has ended...the heat is finally over! So glad fall is here! It's time for a new seasonal reading challenge. I don't know if it can top the summer challenge (favorite follow-ups), but it's going to be good!

I think fall is a great season for scary books, with Halloween approaching and all. This fall, we'll read from the scariest genre of all, true crime.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor.

Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison.

The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims.

Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing.

Why should you participate in the challenge? If the intriguing synopsis isn't enough, then here's why (from Larson's website):

The Devil in the White City remained on the Times hardcover and paperback lists for a combined total of over three years. It won an Edgar Award for nonfiction crime writing and was a finalist for a National Book Award. The option to make a movie of the book was acquired in November 2010 by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Can't wait to read this one! Who's joining in?

Mommy's Little Girl

When news broke of three year old Caylee Anthony's disappearance from her home in Florida in July 2008, there was a huge outpouring of sympathy across the nation. The search for Caylee made front-page headlines. But there was one huge question mark hanging over the case: the girl's mother.

*Why did Casey Anthony wait one full month before reporting her daughter missing?

*Why were searches on chloroform and missing children found on her computer?

* Why did she go out partying with friends less than one week after Caylee disappeared?

As the investigation continued and suspicions mounted, Casey became the prime suspect. In October, based on new evidence against Casey-her erratic behvior and lies, her car that showed signs of human decomposition-a grand jury indicted the young single mother. Then, two months later, police found Caylee's remains a quarter of a mile wawy from the Anthony home. Casey pled not guilty to charges of murder in the 1st degree, and she continues to protest her innocence. Did she or didn't she kill Caylee? This is the story of one of the most shocking, confusing, and horrific crimes in modern american history.

I thought this was a fitting book for today, as the trial came to an end yesterday, and the jurors have found the "tot mom" not guilty on 1st degree murder, child abuse, and manslaugter! They have convicted her on 4 counts of lying to the authorities! It looks like Diane Fanning's book on the subject has become an "Edgar Award finalist".

I guess, like the OJ trial, we will all have to come to terms with the jury's verdict and hope that Casey Anderson will be paid back by Karma and God!