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The Wonderful O

by James Thurber

★★★★☆

What a wonderful little story all about the letter O!

An ominous character named Black arrives on an island called Ooroo (soon to be changed to R). He shares with a sailor that his mother got stuck in a porthole and they couldn't pull her in, so they had to push her out. The trauma of this was so unbearable that Black decides to be rid of the letter O - I'm assuming this is because a porthole is a circular shape, but this part was a little fuzzy and maybe could've been expanded on.

However, Thurber writes his stories with a rhyme and rhythm throughout, never knowing when you're going to inadvertently read a rhyming sentence or two. I came across words I'd never heard before. I loved how even animals without an O in their name, were still linked to the Latin categorical name, like spiders are arthropods!

I just had to add my favourite quotes from this book; there simply wasn't enough available on Goodreads to capture the fun silliness and wordplay this story is full of.

It's a fun little story that teaches children about words and nouns and plurals. It's safe to say that I won't be able to not notice the amount of words with O's in them after reading this.

I know that I'm not alone in wondering why two of Thurber's children's stories (The 13 Clocks) were on the 1'001 books to read before you die list', but I get it now. It's an enjoyable and quick read that shows the fun you can have with words. 🤗

#boxalls 1001 list #books to read before you die #fiction #james thurber #goodreads #bookworm #book blog #book blogger #books #book reviews #books and reading #reading #booklr #books & libraries

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Burden

by Matt Duchossoy

★★★★★ - 4.5*

This book reads like a fever dream and I pulled this face a bunch of times as I read:

But in a good way! Maybe I'm not right in the head but I devour gore, horror and generally fucked up shit and this mini book delivered. The author shared his inspiration at the end and I definitely got the Silent Hill and The Mist vibes as I was reading.

It was my first experience with Bizarro fiction, and it certainly was bizarre, but I'm already looking forward to reading another book from Matt Clarke!

#booklr #books #bookworm #goodreads #book blogger #books & libraries #book reviews #book blog #books and reading #reading #splatterpunk #extreme horror #bizarro #fiction

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My Family Can Kiss My Ass

by Chanel Jasmin Clark

★★☆☆☆

I go into every book with the mentality that they automatically get 5 stars and that rating fluctuates throughout my reading. This book quickly went down to a 4, a 3, a 2, a 2.5 and then finally a 2.

The cause of the first lost star, which isn't mentioned in the blurb, is that the author is religious and most of the book is her preaching about God and how he can fix your problems. As an atheist, I prefer to avoid religious books, especially ones that preach too much, so I don't appreciate this being left out of the blurb.

The cause of the second lost star is that the book is heavily anecdotal with no credible sources of information. It felt like I was reading the author's diary or autobiography. I understand that for the author to understand narcissists, they're likely going to have personal experience but just under half way through, her chapters lose structure and is made up of a formula of 'The narcissist will do this to you - I know this because this and this happened to me - so yeah, that's the fact, don't contact them'.

That leads me onto the loss of the third star. Her main advice is: go no contact. Whilst this is legitimate advice for dealing with narcissistic family members, when the rest of the book is full of anecdotes and no new or scientific information, it simply becomes a needlessly stretched out passage of text that reads 'go no contact' in as many possible ways. The author even has one chapter that says to avoid holidays and vacations with toxic family, then one immediately after saying to avoid family functions, then another chapter saying to avoid funerals. To me, this read as the same thing stretched over three chapters.

It went down to 2 as the book continued to go down the route of 'the narcissist will do this one specific thing to you. I know this because my mum did it to me (followed by another long diary entry)'.

It had a small 0.5 boost when there were some comical sentences thrown in the ever increasingly ranty, sweary, downward spiral of the end of the book; and also when the author said that the church is toxic as hell and won't help you heal.

It went back down to 2 when the author displayed her (likely religion caused) homophobia in the second to last chapter. Then the last chapter was almost entirely focused on the church and God, referring to family members as demonic and even included burning sage, spraying walls with Florida water (???) and mopping your floors with ammonia? I think this is good evidence of how unhinged and unstructured the book becomes the further you read.

What kept this book at a 2 was that, at least at the beginning of the book, the writing started off quite good. She was using official terminology, providing examples that were contained and there were a couple of nuggets of information I found affirming. Throw in some witty or comical sentences and there was a recipe here for a decent and helpful book. Unfortunately, it wasn't delivered and like another reviewer said, I'm so glad I didn't buy this book.

#booklr #books #bookworm #goodreads #books and reading #book reviews #book blog #books & libraries #reading #book blogger #narcissism #self help books #self help #family #non fiction

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Incel

by Matt Duchossoy ★★★★☆

3.5*

What a wild ride! This book (and likely every book by this author) is not for the faint hearted at all, as it contains, obviously, misogyny, but also torture, r***, body horror, gore, murder and mass murder.

After reading Burden, I knew this would be a little fucked up, but this was definitely more fucked up.

I don't even know why I was drawn to this one. I'm aware of incels/nice guys online (if you're not, I recommend doing a bit of googling to understand their warped mentality, though Matt does a good job of getting some of that across) so I guess seeing a book that's written around that quite niche topic caught my attention.

The writing was pretty decent, aside from the odd spelling mistake or missing word. It's one of those stories that you take at face value and don't read too much into, especially as I felt like Wayne was acting in a way that contrasted his thoughts.

Whilst I know that's kind of the heart of the story, (his confliction between moving away from his friends and confronting his long held beliefs, or giving into them and taking revenge on everyone) and I understood how Wayne kind of accepted the waterslide incident and let it slide (lol); as things progressed and he seemed to more actively tell his friends no, he seemed to go along with things much more easily than I expected him to, even when he realised (or didn't; he seemed very naive and oblivious through most of the story) that they were going to commit murder and things were simply escalating to unnecessarily extreme levels.

Also the boob scene made me want to vom and I have a strong and morbid stomach, and have seen my fair share of gore in my time, but man, that was so fucked up. 😦 Yet that should've been the time that Wayne well and truly left (though I know the story would've ended if he did, but maybe there could've been a twist that forced him to come back. Or maybe this is just my hope/need to see that there's some good in people, idk). The main characters are certainly not likeable and ultimately truly evil and I think that's hard to accept sometimes. Readers seem to often want to like or connect with characters, not disconnect from, and strongly dislike them.

Overall, it was an okay book, but I think I'll take a break from Matt's books for a little while. 😂

#booklr #books #books and reading #bookworm #book blog #book reviews #book blogger #goodreads #reading #books & libraries #incel #splatterpunk #extreme horror #fiction

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The Picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde

★★★★☆

4.25*

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. You always imagine books written in the 1800s will be hard to read but I love how Wilde writes; he's very comical and so poetic. I was highlighting so many beautiful and comical sentences; mainly from Lord Henry, my favourite character - what a lad! 😂

This is a book that leaves itself open to interpretation, despite following a fairly linear story. I finished it feeling like it could be interpreted in so many different ways (so many I can't even begin to put them all down here), which I think is pretty cool! There were a lot of really insightful nuggets of wisdom that makes you reflect on your own life and how you choose to live it.

My main criticism is chapter 11 (I think it was), where it basically encapsulates Dorian's life trajectory by going through absolutely everything there is to know about almost everything. It was tedious to read and I had to skim over some of it. But then the story gets back on track to the pretty awesome ending!

This book is on the 1001 books to read before you die list. It's on there for a reason and I recommend giving it a try!

#book reviews #booklr #books #books and reading #book blog #book blogger #goodreads #bookworm #reading #books & libraries #classic literature #oscar wilde #dorian gray #boxalls 1001 list #books to read before you die #fiction

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The Dark Violinist

by Lauren Chambers

★★★★☆ - 4.25*

The Dark Violinist follows the story of Sebastian, an extraordinarily talented violinist who can play pieces that even the masters can't play; and is the son of an equally extraordinary violinist, Santiago Ramirez. Sebastian is also plagued by dark visions and is seen as someone with mental health issues. He gets taken under the wing of a renowned conductor, Dr. Brownstone, trying to find new talent that he can use against his nemesis, Jay Nygaard. But there is a lot more going on under the surface that are yet to be revealed.

Chambers has a great knack for making you feel what the character's are feeling through one sentence alone. It is hard to write about the sound of music, but I felt that Chambers did this well.

However, there were some sentences that I had to read a few times to get the sentiment; I felt like they could've been reworded a bit better. There were times when I felt like a little more description may have helped make a scene more profound or spooky. I feel as though it would've helped if Chambers explained things a little more regarding what was happening with Seb and how things had passed over to him from his father. These things didn't affect my ability to enjoy this book though and there were many comical little quips that I liked.

There is a nice amount of diversity in this book which I appreciated, and of course it revolves around a person with perceived mental health issues, but there is also a character who has half a hand. There is a little bit of spiciness too, but not overly so, so there's no drawn out, very graphic descriptions which aren't to my taste.

I felt as though the characters behaved mostly as you would expect them to in light of the situations they were in, and was true to their personality. They felt well built and believable, and there were a couple of characters that I particularly liked (…. Nancy basically, though I did like Mikhaila too).

As you get closer to the end, there's a strong sense of foreboding, like there's a fire brewing (Sebastian felt like a fireball waiting to explode) and you don't know what or who will burn, which made the book more exciting to read and I found it hard to put down!

Sebastian's character sort of changed as the book progressed, becoming someone who could be quite callous and abrasive. He also became dead set on becoming an amazing and famous violinist, but although Sebastian played the violin for a while before meeting Brownstone, it wasn't made obvious from the get go that his life long dream was to become a super famous musician.

On the other hand, I appreciated that the book went its own way; it didn't follow loads of the usual tropes and the story sometimes went in a direction I couldn't have predicted which I enjoyed. I love an original story!

So, if you're a lover of classical music, gothic horrors and deals with the devil, as well as forbidden romance and strong characters, give this book a try!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Due to be published in May 2024.

#booksprout #arc #booklr #books and reading #bookworm #goodreads #book blogger #books #book reviews #reading #books & libraries #book blog #horror #gothic horror #fantasy #fiction #devil #violinist

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Everyone Knows You Go Home by Natalia Sylvester

& To Kill a Mockingbird

& a very big ghost story book that will take forever to finish.

I’m bored and nosy. Please reblog this with the book you’re currently reading.

[hannahsliteraryhaven]

Pageboy

by Elliot Page ★★★☆☆

The joy of reading books is that you get to experience the world from someone else's perspective and it opens your eyes to the struggles of others that you likely have never given a second thought about. That was why I chose to read this book. I'm fortunate that I've never felt I was born in the wrong body, so reading this book was my way of understanding what that was like, at least from one person's standpoint. Yet, I couldn't help feel disappointed.

The book seems to suffers from that "must reach xxx number of pages by set deadline" disease. At the start of the book, Elliot shares that there are things he remembers, other things he doesn't, so they get filled in by other people, and it kind of shows. The book was padded with a lot of drivel, unnecessary descriptions, history lessons and even a very, occasionally cringey, long chapter about his visit to some hippie camp that I ended up skipping because I couldn't stay focused on it, because I couldn't help thinking "this isn't what I chose to read this book for".

You don't know what you're going to get from chapter to chapter, and you might get to a chapter where you're thinking "this is what I'm most interested in", such as their relationships with their partners, their family and their struggle with their feelings and dysphoria, but it might then go off on an unrelated tangent. A lot of it didn't really make sense or felt unnecessary to be included in the book, nor did anything kind of come full circle to show why Elliot had included that anecdote. I would've much rather read a shorter version of this book that solely focused on Elliot's more personal experiences and their journey towards coming out as gay and ultimately trans.

Maybe I'm being harsh because I read McCurdy's book, "I'm Glad My Mom Died", before this one; another child star who, although doesn't experience difficulties of coming out, experiences abuse and an eating disorder. McCurdy does a great job of organising the book fairly linearly, clearly and each chapter is so deeply personal and entirely focused on her personal experiences and feelings. I just didn't get that level of sustained and focused intimacy with this book, despite some of the somewhat crude language that was used, which felt like it was thrown in to give the appearance of being more real and intimate, but you can't help your mind wandering when he randomly talks about beavers* or composting your poop.

It's a shame because I think this book had a promising premise, it was simply executed poorly.

*At one point it seemed he got attacked by a beaver but it wasn't made clear whether that legitimately happened, if it was metaphorical or imagined at the time because this story was cut off, as many are.

#book reviewer #booklr #books and reading #bookworm #goodreads #book blogger #book blog #book reviews #books #books & libraries #lgbtq #transgender #elliot page #non-fiction

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I'm a Therapist, and My Patient is Going to be the Next School Shooter: 6 Patient Files That Will Keep You Up At Night 

by "Dr" Harper ★★☆☆☆

On the premise of being a collection of short fictional stories, this book could possibly get a better rating. But I think a lot of people saw 'Dr Harper' and assumed the author to be an actual doctor. At least that was my assumption, though I should've known better that confidentiality policies would likely stop that type of book from being published or even written to begin with. I was looking forward to delving into a psychology book with at least an ounce of truth in it but got none.

So I soon realised these were all fictional and tried to enjoy these short stories for what they were; harmless short stories about psych patients who found themselves in unique situations or weren't even mentally unwell to begin with.

Except, as a psychology student, it was very hard and borderline distracting trying to ignore the glaringly obvious lack of psychological knowledge and understanding the author has. There were some instances where I felt the author was almost insensitive to people who actually suffer with mental illness and perpetuated stigmas. Like suggesting people with personality disorders were a threat, even though the mentally ill are considerably more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators. The therapist also likes to jump straight to very rare conditions and always wants to jump to a diagnosis within minutes.

The fictional doctor does everything a therapist shouldn't do with patients. They're also intolerable as a character and often acts as if he's a mind reader and can predict what everyone will do or even manipulate them. That's so far from the truth of what a therapist is capable of! I don't know if the author intended for that or if it was their lack of understanding of therapy and psychology.

The main character claims to be a man of science but then uses pseudoscience in his practice. Not to mention the fact that therapists usually practice one form of treatment, they don't have a bag full of tricks they can whip out when required.

I can appreciate what the author was going for with this book and how the cases intertwined and how it directed the therapist's story, and for that I give them credit but I think the same story could've been presented in a much better and clearer way.

For those not sure whether to give this book a try, read this if you like fiction, but avoid if you're a psych student/graduate!

If the author maybe understood psychology better or didn't write about subject matter they're not informed of, this could've been better, even as a fictional book. It certainly won't keep you awake at night.

But well done to them for finding a niche and choosing a good title to pull readers in. Personally, I don't think I could be content knowing people were still purchasing this book though.

#booklr #book blogger #book review #books #books & libraries #goodreads #reading #books and reading #bookworm #book reviews #book reviewer #fiction #therapist #patient #school schooter #book blog

[hannahsliteraryhaven]

Human Universe

by Brian Cox

★★★★★

I'm a big fan of Brian Cox and this book made me love him even more. This wasn't just a purely scientific book, it was a sometimes comical and witty love letter to humanity, with the occasional moment of holding up a mirror to us all and making us reflect on what we're doing to our planet.

This book answers all of those big questions you've ever had about life, where we came from, why are we the lucky ones to have been created on one planet in such a vast universe, where life came from etc.

Every question I've ever had about the universe was answered and explained in layman terms and I think that's what makes this book incredible.

#bookworm #booklr #book blogger #book review #book reviews #non-fiction #books #science #books and reading #reading #goodreads #space #astronomy #nasa #outer space #planets #universe #brian cox #bbc #nature

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Very thought provoking and I will try to remember this for future reviews!

I used to work for a trade book reviewer where I got paid to review people's books, and one of the rules of that review company is one that I think is just super useful to media analysis as a whole, and that is, we were told never to critique media for what it didn't do but only for what it did.

So, for instance, I couldn't say "this book didn't give its characters strong agency or goals". I instead had to say, "the characters in this book acted in ways that often felt misaligned with their characterization as if they were being pulled by the plot."

I think this is really important because a lot of "critiques" people give, if subverted to address what the book does instead of what it doesn't do, actually read pretty nonsensical. For instance, "none of the characters were unique" becomes "all of the characters read like other characters that exist in other media", which like... okay? That's not really a critique. It's just how fiction works. Or "none of the characters were likeable" becomes "all of the characters, at some point or another, did things that I found disagreeable or annoying" which is literally how every book works?

It also keeps you from holding a book to a standard it never sought to meet. "The world building in this book simply wasn't complex enough" becomes "The world building in this book was very simple", which, yes, good, that can actually be a good thing. Many books aspire to this. It's not actually a negative critique. Or "The stakes weren't very high and the climax didn't really offer any major plot twists or turns" becomes "The stakes were low and and the ending was quite predictable", which, if this is a cute romcom is exactly what I'm looking for.

Not to mention, I think this really helps to deconstruct a lot of the biases we carry into fiction. Characters not having strong agency isn't inherently bad. Characters who react to their surroundings can make a good story, so saying "the characters didn't have enough agency" is kind of weak, but when you flip it to say "the characters acted misaligned from their characterization" we can now see that the *real* problem here isn't that they lacked agency but that this lack of agency is inconsistent with the type of character that they are. a character this strong-willed *should* have more agency even if a weak-willed character might not.

So it's just a really simple way of framing the way I critique books that I think has really helped to show the difference between "this book is bad" and "this book didn't meet my personal preferences", but also, as someone talking about books, I think it helps give other people a clearer idea of what the book actually looks like so they can decide for themselves if it's worth their time.

Update: This is literally just a thought exercise to help you be more intentional with how you critique media. I'm not enforcing this as some divine rule that must be followed any time you have an opinion on fiction, and I'm definitely not saying that you have to structure every single sentence in a review to contain zero negative phrases. I'm just saying that I repurposed a rule we had at that specific reviewer to be a helpful tool to check myself when writing critiques now. If you don't want to use the tool, literally no one (especially not me) can or wants to force you to use it. As with all advice, it is a totally reasonable and normal thing to not have use for every piece of it that exists from random strangers on the internet. Use it to whatever extent it helps you or not at all.

#book reviews #writing advice #writing tips #books #booklr #fiction

[hannahsliteraryhaven]

What books have you done this to?

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The Book That Wouldn't Burn

by Mark Lawrence ★★★★★

OMG! The twists! Yes, there's more than one twist!! 😱😱😱

I will preface this review with the fact that I am not a big fantasy reader, so I don't have much of a mental catalogue of books to compare this too. But wow, I devoured this book! It's official - Lawrence has converted me into a fantasy reader and I hope to read the rest of this series!

There are so many threads interwoven in the story that it's hard to dissect them for this review. My mind is swamped with the world that Lawrence beautifully curates, the loveable characters and the mysteries of the library and Crath City. I love how seemingly two separate perspectives are much more deeply interwoven than you could ever have imagined, and how it gradually unravels and everything slots into place. And the first twist! There were the subtlest of hints, yet I didn't see it coming AT ALL! I didn't see the second twist coming either… so many times I stopped and glared at the book like, this can't be happening (in a good way)?!

I'll be honest though, the first few chapters didn't catch my attention. I wasn't too fond of Livira's character. But when we move into Evar's perspective where he's trapped in the library, my attention was captured. Livira does some crazy things at times, but as she grows into a woman, I enjoyed her character as well as Evar's, and the love they have for each other is so sweet. I've seen other readers saying they loved and preferred Livira over Evar, so each to their own.

The story moved at a steady pace, with something happening all the time! Something was always happening, being discovered or things were clicking into place, so my attention stayed with the book throughout. It's not often that I read a book that has me pining to continue to read it, especially such a big one!

I dislike books that spend far too long on description, but I didn't find that an issue at all in this book. Another reviewer said they felt there was a little too much description, but I guess because I was so hungry for more information about the world, I didn't see an issue. I actually really enjoyed how Lawrence writes and I'm intrigued by his other series. I could envisage everything pretty clearly in my mind's eye, though I couldn't comprehend the size of the library of course! Things get a little complex near the end and at occasional points, but I was still able to follow the heart of the story and really enjoy it. I was going to rate it about 4.5 or 4.75 out of 5, but I couldn't accept the very low star ratings and want more people to find and love this series, mwhahahaa!

Lawrence has said that this book is almost a love letter to books and I totally see that. If you love books about books, then this is one for you. If you love books about time travel and robots then this is the book for you. This is also definitely a book that you can reread, if that's your thing.

#book blogger #booklr #books #books & libraries #reading #books and reading #goodreads #bookworm #the book that wouldnt burn #fantasy #adventure #adventure books #book reviews #book review #book reviewer #book blog #fiction

[hannahsliteraryhaven]

A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

by Sue Klebold ★★★★☆

I read this book as a Brit who was only 4 when Columbine happened. It was something mentioned on the peripherals of my life, some brief awareness of the two boys in trench coats shooting at students, not knowing much about the facts of the case, but you could say I was entirely detached from the event. And I think that's why I was able to go into this book without prejudice.

The reviews on Goodreads are absolutely infuriating.

The reviews where people criticise Sue for defending her family and how she raised her kids… of course she's going to do that??? She received endless abuse, hate mail, blame and threats from essentially the entire world, so it is totally understandable that she wants to set the record straight! Who wouldn't? She would be damned if she did and damned if she didn't. She mentions in the book that people already viewed her negatively, so why not share her experience to at least try to set the record straight?

Also, the frankly idiotic reviews talking about how couldn't she have recognised the anger in Dylan as a child?! You all only say this IN HINDSIGHT. There are countless kids out there who behave like Dylan did as a kid and as a teenager that don't do what he did, and turn out to be great human beings. Do you kick off at their parents for not recognising that their kid is a little angry or too independent? No. She also covers in the book how even 4 year olds can deceive adults and FBI experts. Teens are excellent at hiding things and their true feelings. I feel that even if Sue did everything "right" (as if her parenting had any influence at all) he would've never admitted to his mother what he was planning and she may never have been able to prevent it even if he did tell her. The world is placing far too much on Sue and her family's shoulders.

What Sue does an excellent job of is drilling into the readers' head the warning signs of depression in adolescents (they present slightly differently to adult depression). If you have a teenager at home that you're worried about, Sue shares the things she regrets not doing or saying with her son (as well as some anecdotes of parents whose child committed suicide whilst they were unaware of their feelings) and knows now what signs/opportunities that she missed, largely because she assumed her family were fine and happy, so it could be incredibly informative to a parent who doesn't know what to do for their teen. It's probably not the first resource to go to, but it's certainly very eye opening at how little parents know and understand about poor mental health in adolescents. She has done an excellent job of turning the tragedy into something positive by spreading such awareness.

My heart goes out to Sue, for the sad loss of her son who could've gone on to do great things (most likely if he had not met Eric). My heart goes out to her for the intense emotions, stress and trauma she experienced whilst having the community point their finger at her and send her abuse and hate, instead of seeing her simply as a grieving mother who has absolutely no culpability in the tragedy. I hope Dylan's family have learned to ignore the idiots that criticise them and focus on the positive comments and support from people around the world. We're out there.

And although I know Eric was the main instigator of all of this, due to his psychopathy/personality disorder, and despite not knowing absolutely anything about his family or upbringing, I still have the ability to see Eric as a human being separate from his family. His actions are his alone. It's the same for Dylan. Keep their families out of it!

#booklr #book blogger #book blog #books #bookblr #books & libraries #goodreads #reading #bookworm #books and reading #book reviews #book review #columbine #columbine 1999 #massacre #murder #true crime #memoirs #non-fiction #history #school shooting

[hannahsliteraryhaven]

#booklr #book blogger #glasses #book blog #book review #books #books & libraries #reading #goodreads #books and reading #bookworm #the book that wouldnt burn #fantasy #cross stitch #bookmark #cute #cosy

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Killers of the Flower Moon

by David Grann

★★★★★

I could not put this book down. I was hooked from the first chapter. It read like a murder mystery, except it really happened which makes it so chilling. Not to mention the many photographs throughout the book that bring the time period, the settings, victims and perpetrators to life.

The story goes as follows: white men forced the Osage out of their fertile lands to hilly and rocky land that I assume the white men thought would eventually lead to their deaths from starvation. But in a wonderful twist of fate, the land the Osage had been forcibly moved to was riddled with oil; black gold. With thanks to an Osage chief, they were able to have some level of control over their land and their oil, leading to the Osage becoming extremely wealthy, and, most importantly, their headrights could only be inherited, not bought. Well, you can imagine how pissed off the greedy white settlers were! If murdering them, starving them, controlling them, and moving them off their land over many decades wasn't enough, they now wanted their oil and their riches. Subsequently it led to the murders of countless members of the Osage tribe, with murders believed to have happened years before and after the Reign of Terror is said to have happened (the focus of the book and movie), resulting in a suspected death toll into the hundreds. Many of which were never investigated or not ruled a homicide.

Grann has written this book so wonderfully, I found it really easy to follow as Grann reminds you who people are throughout which I found so helpful. After reading Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a book full of names and very few (if at all) reminders to help you remember the countless people mentioned, this felt like a breeze to read. I wouldn't recommend listening to this though; you might find yourself having to go back to reread sections at times to fully grasp the craziness.

Sadly, and irritatingly, I'd never heard of the Osage murders or the Reign of Terror as it's sometimes known. I think it's pretty evident as to why that's the case. I love and thank authors that bring these cases to the light of day, defying the powers that once had control over the narrative.

As the mystery unfolded, not knowing who the culprit(s) was, my jaw kept hitting the floor the more things unravelled. It is infuriating and shocking how greedy, heartless and conniving these murderous men were. The main culprit was a self centred cocky bastard right to the very end. Some continued to plot how to get more money whilst already in prison for murder. Like what?!

I'm booked into watch the film soon, finally! But if you've already watched the film, I would still recommend reading this book as Grann includes so many photos, including of Pawhuska and living relatives of the victims. He shares interviews with living relatives and information that hasn't been spoken of before. He discusses a few murders before and after the Reign of Terror and attempts to solve an additional unsolved murder case! He also shares information about what Pawhuska and Fairfax are like now; the remnants of the buildings that are left as well as the masses of graves that paint a grim picture of the past, the Osages current struggles and their views on what happened and how it's affected them.

Grann did a tremendous amount of work for this book. If you were captivated by the film and the story, you'll only get more out of this book.

#native americans #the wild west #killers of the flower moon #murder #true crime #book tumblr #booklr #books #reading #goodreads #bookworm #non fiction #book reviews #book reviewer #books and reading #books & libraries #history #native indians #murder mystery #leonardo dicaprio #booksirens #book blog #book blogger

[hannahsliteraryhaven]

Happy World Book Day!

I'd love to know what book you've read that left a strong impression on you, or your all time favourite!

If you can't think of one right now, feel free to share what you're currently reading. :)

#world book day #world book day 2024 #book blog #book blogger #booklr #book quotes #reading #books & libraries #books and reading #goodreads #bookworm #books #book reviewer #currently reading