I seriously need to practice my book reviewing/writing skills. Good Reads makes it easy to do this. Here's two that I've recently read. Looking over them now I realize that I need to do a better job of summarizing what the book is about before diving in to my critique.

The Man Who Made Lists by Joshua Kendall

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I didn't actually finishing reading this book. I have a 150 page rule. If I'm not captivated by 150 pages then reading becomes homework not pleasure. I gave it three stars because someone who is interested in Roget, the time period he was functioning in, his contemporaries, and even the history of natural science would probably find this book pretty interesting. Roget had a compulsive personality but managed to use what could have been a disabling trait to his and in the end everyone's advantage by creating lists, lists which would subsequently become that crucial resource we've all learned to rely on. Although I may not have enjoyed this read, the information provides a deep look into a not well know part of history.


The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This isn't your typical true crime novel. The author tries to bring to light how new the field of detective work was during the mid 19th century, how detectives were looked down upon because Victorian life in general treasured its privacy and detectives had a tendency to threaten that lifestyle. So you have to read it more as an account of the history of detectives and see it less as a juicy horror filled true crime novel. Don't get me wrong, it tells the true story about the horrible murder of a small child and since I have son about the same age, it was really difficult to read at times. But I found it interesting simply because it was atypical.