The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America | 
pickI came for the murder mystery/ true crime element but I found myself far more interested in the history and story of the architecture. I don‘t know why I waited so long to read this.
so-soI was looking forward to this book but was a little disappointed. I felt the book was more about the development of the World‘sFair and not as much about H. H. Holmes(which is why I bought it). I found his chapters interesting and wanting more, but VERY short. Learned some neat historical facts, so was not a complete loss.
pickI can see myself on the top of Ferris's wheel right now! I found this book to be fascinating; I never knew so much went into a world's fair, and what they had to do in the 1800s and what they had to endure is beyond staggering. Larson is a masterful storyteller with intense research to support his story. Larson does take some liberties with Holmes's story, but his theories make sense with all of the research he gathered.
pickMy most recent audioβ¦ this was so good, and when I googled to look up some pictures, it looks like Scorsese making a movie with Keanu Reeves and Leonardo DiCaprio. I can‘t waitβ¦ I bet it will be so good! Psychotic murderer loose along with history of the construction of the Chicago World‘s Fair.
pick(April review)ββββ
This book is not an easy read if you go in blind. The first few chapters were unbearable. I was not gonna give up so decided to do some research on the side to have a better understanding of what I was reading about. Well I went down the rabbit hole of "unrelated" topics..Tartarians, Rewriting of History, conspiracy theories... And more by the end I was in love, is not for everyone but i would recommend it.
This NF account proves that the most insidious evil is perpetrated by real peopleβ¦
#Evil #OminousOctober @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
This is my favorite work by Larson to this point. You have the wonder of the World‘s Fair and everything that went into planning for the event contrasted by the evil deeds of H.H. Holmes who left so many unfortunate victims in his wake.
#scarathlondailyprompt #victim #scarathlon #teammonstermash @StayCurious
I love watching true crime shows but I‘m not a big true crime reader π¬ This was the only true crime book I found in my library.
#TrueCrime π©Έ#ArtfulAugust ππΌπ¨
#BookNerd πππ€
Two of my favorite #truecrime stories - the devil one is chilling π₯Άπ«£π±
#artfulaugust @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
From Book Riot
Well, this ought to be interesting! Wonder who will play Holmes? I may have to pull this out for a reread. It was sooo good!!
pickLoved it! The main story is the building of the Chicago World‘s Fair along with the story of the serial killer H H Homes in the backdrop. Both stories fascinating. Very fun and approachable read.
Loved the dualing timelines of this story and the realism and the chillingness of the writing.
An excellent historical fiction novel that is now being made into a TV show..... maybe with Keanu Reeves. Uhm yes please. π
#letterD #alphebetgame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#alphabetgame #letterD
Still in the number one spot- five βοΈ βοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈ
What‘s your D @DarkMina @robinb @CrowCAH @CoffeeNBooks π
#BookCoverChallenge
Day 263.
Here I will note 365 books (or as many as I will have before I get tired) that have shaped my taste in literature. No explanations, no reviews. Just the cover of the book.
I do not challenge anyone. You are all welcome to take part.
Incredible having a book club discussion with author Erik Larson (writer of Devil in the White City & many more) hosted by Sharon McMahon (@sharonsaysso). Amazing!
pickClearly, Larson throughly researched this book. He provides a clear contrast between the last years of the 19th century, the world‘s fair, and this serial killer.
Overall, not my cup of tea as I did think it got bogged down with details at times. But worth reading.
#bookspin
The White City is the Columbian Exposition designed by leading Gilded Age architects for the 1893 World''s #Fair in Chicago. The Devil is Dr. Henry H. Holmes, who designs a nearby hotel with a dissection table, a gas chamber, and a crematorium. Yikes! These true stories are woven into Larson's best. Pic of Holmes Medical Museum above The Book Exchange in Foley, AL is NOT about the same man. #SavvySettings @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
pickThis is my 2nd book by Larson and I will completely read anything by him. His ability to write a compelling narrative laced with well researched history is magnificent.
I would have loved to seen the Chicago World Fair. It sounded like such a visual feast. I quite enjoyed reading about how it came about. The other side of the story, was chilling to know a man like Holmes stalked the world.
pickI started this for #scarathlon last month, and am only now finishing it. So interesting! Larson is as great as expected at bringing this rather complicated time in Chicago history to life. It‘s been on my TBR for a while, and I‘m glad I finally went for it! H. H. Holmes is as creepy as thought he might be πͺ and now I want to do some touristing and see what‘s left from the Chicago World Fair π¨π
Book haulπ did you know Amazon has stores that are called Amazon 4 star??? They have amazing deals regardless (like buy 2 get 1 50% off) but if you‘re a prime member it‘s an extra 30% off. I was V excited this am, also finally picked up devil in the white city which I‘ve heard rave reviews on
Elisabeth, I realized yesterday when I walked by it that I never took that photo I promised you. So here it is! This historical marker sits outside of my local Acme grocery store. π±
Murders, motives and madness surrounded the 1893 Worlds Fair in Chicago. The eponymous βdevilβ (H. H. Holmes) was a cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death.
#manipulates #maycharacters @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Current audiobook. Some true crime this morning.
pickI finally finished! This one has been a slow burn for me - a few chapters every night all month for #lmpbc
Some parts about the fair went on too long but the content was fantastic and so often I couldn‘t believe it was real. I need a full book on H.H. Holmes now! A great pick!
And luckily this gives me a THIRD bingo for #bookspinbingo this month!
I‘ll be mailing this out this weekend @Bookishlie
pickThis was really interesting and I loved reading more about Chicago‘s history. Some of the planning of the World‘s Fair was a bit boring but the chapters about Holmes and his activities were...disturbing and hard to put down. Overall this was a really good read.
βHow easy it was to disappear: A thousand trains a day entered or left Chicago.β
#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl
Committing to this as my βbefore bed bookβ to get it done for #lmpbc
I have to get through this and A Tale of Two Cities for read-alongs and I‘m hoping to get through an additional 3 before the end of the month.
Here‘s hoping my work load allows π€π»π¬
pickGreat read, especially if you‘re interested in learning more about Chicago history and architecture. The dichotomy of one man‘s life committed to building and another‘s to destroying was powerful.
pickI did it! I finished another book in 2020! Before the stroke of midnight. This book was interesting and the author does a great job of ensuring the reader stays enticed in the story by leaving little clues as to what will happen next. Overall an enjoyable read. I'll be mailing this on Saturday. #LMPBC #TrueCrime.
pickHappy Christmas Litsy world ππ
π
I unplugged for the day but I did manage to finish my #audiobook for this. I have a semi-unhealthy obsession with H.H. Holmes so I don't know why I couldn't get into this before but the audiobook really helped me get through my Christmas preparations. Highly recommend π
#WinterGames #MerryReaders #TBRRead #listenlitten #crushtherush #dashingdecember #24B4Monday (has that started yet?) #wintersolstice
It's time to sleep and wait for Santa to come so this little Christmas Dinosaur is saying Good Night and Merry Christmas to all the #Littens out there ππ
I'm off to get my pies in the oven and the veggies prepped for tomorrow. Can't wait for the bright and early morning π₯°
#WinterGames #MerryReaders
@Clwojick
Happy Christmas Eve!!
Today I go nuts getting my last minute cookies made to be delivered later, running a final clean before the people come tomorrow for dinner and (probably) braving the stores for anything I forgot. It's going to be a day but at least I have an #audiobook to get me through!
#WinterGames #MerryReaders #bookspinbingo #listenlitten #readyourway #crushtherush #dashingdecember #wintersolstice
@Clwojick @Andrew65 @Bookgoil
Interesting listen π§ would have loved to hear more about HH Holmes and not as much as the architecture planning for the World‘s Fair. It was a near so-so for me but it still had some fascinating facts about Holmes... like he chose his last name after Sherlock Holmes. π³
Getting around to this audiobook. π
so-soThis book took longer than expected to read. While I found some parts very interesting and engaging there were a lot of parts that left me uninterested. The writing itself is very good, it‘s simply not a book that held my interest.
pickMust read for anyone in Chicago
pickFinished this audio while jigsaw puzzling this afternoon. What a fascinating story! While the story of the Chicago Worlds Fair is impressive, I was drawn more to the story of the psychopath murderer who used the Fair as a cover for his terrible crimes. #readmyowndamnbooks #rorygilmorechallenge #bookspinbingo #bbrc #yeahbaby #characterwithmentalillness
pickFascinating history of a Chicago serial killer in 1893
I don‘t know how long this has been sitting on my bookshelf, but I‘ve finally picked it up for my nonfiction read. Liking it so far.
pickI love the city of Chicago and wanted to read a creepy book for October. I was not disappointed. I loved learning about what went into creating the World's fair and I was very creeped out about the story of the serial killer, H.H. Holmes. Excellent story telling for a non-fiction book.
bailed
