Blog

True Crime Books

March 25, 2021 by Lynn 2 Comments

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Do you love true crime books that are so unbelievable that it makes you wonder if it is fiction? If so today’s list of true crime books is for you!

Real-life is often stranger than fiction and nothing proves that quite like true crime books. A well-written true crime book will read like fiction. It will draw you into a story that is so obscure that you can’t believe it is true.

A good true crime book will also share the story of the person or crime in a fascinating way without glorifying or sensationalizing the crime that was committed. It will dig deep into the story of the person and their history without justifying their actions.

Most people, including my family, love true crime books because the stories are so twisted and fascinating that you can’t put them down.

We put together a list of our favorite true crime books. If you love true crime movies and TV, try picking up one of these true crime books!

And if you have a true crime book that you love, share it in the comments. We would love to find more true crime books to read.

True Crime Books

Blood and Ivy

Blood and Ivy combine Harvard and murder in the 1800s. If you love true crime mixes with how the medical system and college worked in the 1800s, this is one that you will probably enjoy.

Devil In the White City

The subtitle, A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America, says exactly what Devil In the White City is all about. I think this is true crime at its best. I could not put this book down. It is like reading a real-life thriller. My dad recently read this, and he enjoyed it as well.

Duel with the Devil

Duel with the Devil is a true crime story from 1799. A young Quaker woman was found dead in Burr’s newly constructed Manhattan Well. It is our nation’s longest-running cold case.

Bad Blood

Bad Blood is the book my husband and I can’t stop talking about. We both read and loved this modern-day true crime story. It mixes the tech world with the medical world in an unbelievable true crime story that happened less than ten years ago.

Above Suspicion

Above Suspicion reads like fiction. This is such a well-written book, and I am now wanting to read more by this author.

Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon is well written and has a fascinating story that is almost so bizarre that it sounds like fiction. It is Native American history mixed in with the history of Oklahoma and the FBI. If you love interesting, little-known history, I think you will enjoy this one. I highly recommend this book for history lovers and those who love good mystery books.

Catch Me if You Can

This book had me laughing at some points and shocked at other times. It is unimaginable what Frank Abagnale got away with on his crime spree. Catch Me if You Can is a fascinating true crime story.

American Fire

American Fire is a book about fire and crime in rural Virginia. It is about how a close community of people lived in fear of being the next victim. The book is in a way a journalistic type of book, but at the same time, it is a page-turner. If you want to read about a modern-day crime story that you probably have never heard about, this is a great read.

Convicted

The authors of the book Convicted tell their life experiences and how those experiences changed them. It is amazing what faith and forgiveness can do.

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist

I read The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist as part of my nonfiction book for every state challenge This book was so fascinating, yet so sad. It is a story that is so hard to believe happened and yet it happened and happened in recent history. My husband read this and enjoyed it so much that he recommended it to several friends.

The Man From the Train

If you love conspiracy stories, ideas, or just plain crime tales, The Man from the Train is a great book for you. I learned so much about early police work and fingerprints and how the justice system was sometimes misused.

Death In the Air

The author Dawson did an amazing job of intertwining the smog and the killer together In Death In the Air. In December 1952, London was brought to a halt by a historic smog event. One killer took advantage of the smog to hide his crimes. The Great Smog of 1952 is mixed with one of the worst serial killers of modern times. This book is part history, part crime, and part thriller.

What true crime books do you love?

Crazy Rich Asians: Book vs Movie

March 19, 2021 by Grace 1 Comment

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

We love a good book vs movie discussion and today we are talking all about Crazy Rich Asians book vs movie.

For a girl’s night, my mom, sister, and I watched Crazy Rich Asians, the movie. It was relatively clean, well done, good acting, a fun plot, and worth our time. As my sister donned it, a high-budget Hallmark movie.

You probably know what she means if you have watched as many Hallmark movies as she and my mom have seen.

I liked the movie. It was a great romance movie to relax with.

After watching it, I wanted to read the book because if you have read this site long enough you know that I often love the book even more than the movie. So I got the book Crazy Rich Asians and started right into it.

It is a bit slow and a lot of people to keep track of at first, but because I had seen the movie, it was easier to get into it and keep track of everyone because I had faces and settings to connect to.

I loved the book.

Part of why was because of the movie. However, the further I read in the book, the more I loved the book for itself not because I was already attached to the characters because of the movie.

This is partly because there was more depth to the characters in the books.

There were more scenes focused on characters in the book. I was so sad that the movie had left them out. They were focusing on the main love story between Nick and Rachel rather than other tales of love.

For example, I was not a fan of Michael or Astrid in the movie, but I am so reading the second book in the series because I want to know what happens in their relationship. Their relationship is totally different in the book. It was more realistic to me.

The book also handled the problems and also the abundance of money.

In the book, money causes more problems like in Michael and Astrid’s relationship. The book makes sure you see the issues more clearly than I felt the movie did it. It also has way more scenes of fancy shopping and houses than the movie.

I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot, but there were quite a few things the movie changed.

For many cases, I understood why.

I loved Awkwafina’s performance of Peik Lin in the movie. It was so good and funny, but I loved the books, Peik Lin, even though her character was different than the movie. Oliver was pretty close, and I liked him in both. Eddie has a bigger part in the book. And you get to read behind the scenes of people like Colin’s, who I had a different view and respect for because of the book.

The Youngs are also still rich in the book, but fewer people know them. More of a secret wealth.

Also, I felt I learned so much more about Asian culture in the book; however, getting to see it in the movie was amazing.

In the end, I think they should have done a TV series on Crazy Rich Asians. They missed so many subplots, and I was on edge and in an emotional attachment to Michael and Astrid, but in the movie, I was like “ah.”

I could see this being an amazing TV show. After reading the book, I can see how the following books may develop plots and characters more, or the same if it was a TV show.

So you know, if anyone out there is looking to do the TV show, I would love to help write it. I have lots of thoughts partially cause I just read it, but I could also see the rich Asians and family and romance drama making for a great new hit TV show.

Does anyone agree that Crazy Rich Asians should have been a TV show or at least a film series instead of a two-hour movie?

The movie was great. If you are looking for a good romance movie, you will enjoy the movie. If you loved the movie, you will enjoy the book.

Warning: there is a bit more sexual stuff and a decent amount more language in the book.

If you liked the book, the movie may be a little bit disappointing because it takes stuff out and changes some of the major scenes, especially those involving Nick and Rachel.

However, getting to visualize the wealth is kind of nice. Also the cute guys. And well, if you need a good romance movie with friends or family, it is not a bad choice.

They did a good job on the movie. The problem was there was so much in the book and such deep scenes that it could not be covered in the movie, so they had to change it.

So like I said, they should do a TV show.

What do you think about Crazy Rich Asians book vs movie? Did you like one better than the other? Or should they have made it into a TV show instead?

Do you love discussing books vs movies?

Did 2020 Change Bookstores?

March 17, 2021 by Lynn 5 Comments

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Have you visited a bookstore recently? Did you notice a change? I did.

It made me think: Did 2020 change bookstores forever? I keep asking myself this after visiting a bookstore for the first time in over a year.

It is no secret that our family loves books and bookstores. One of the things that we have missed over the last year is visiting bookstores.

My husband and I have really been missing just browsing the bookstore, so last week when we were running some errands, we stopped by a Barnes and Noble store near where we were. It is the first time in over a year that we have been to Barnes and Noble.

In fact, we have only been to two bookstores in the last year, but they were just quick stops at used bookstores, so we were so excited to spend some time looking around Barnes and Noble.

It did not take long for both of us to realize that the store had changed a lot since we were in it last. We knew that 2020 changed a lot of things. It has been a hard time to be in business.

Everything in business from supply to buyers has changed. The book industry is no different. It was affected just like everything else.

We had heard books publishing and the book business had changed, but the reality of how much had changed hit us when we entered the Barnes and Noble store.

There was so much less stock. This might be due to changes in publishing and the fact that publishers have had a hard time printing books, but I am guessing that it is more than that. We couldn’t believe how few books there were in stock compared to a year ago.

And the type of books they carried changed too.

There was a big display of new releases when you walked in the door. Because of how they had it displayed, it looked like a lot of books, but it really wasn’t. I was also surprised by the books in the new release section. Many of them were not really new releases because they were released months ago.

The nonfiction section is what changed the most though. It was so much smaller. We used to love to browse the nonfiction section at Barnes and Noble. You could always find some great books that you had never heard of.

Browsing the nonfiction section at Barnes and Noble is how I found one of my favorite books from my nonfiction books for every state challenge. But there is no longer much browsing to do in the nonfiction section.

They did still have a decent true crime section, and I did see some new release nonfiction memoir-type books.

The nonfiction history is where we noticed the biggest change. The world history, WWII books, and American history were all a lot smaller than they used to be.

It didn’t take me long at all to look through the nonfiction history section. I found very few books I wanted. And unlike normal, I didn’t come away with a list of books I would want to buy down the road.

This is kind of sad because that is my favorite section at the bookstore. Are people not interested in history anymore?

The other thing we noticed was the Manga section. It was huge! The Manga section was bigger than the entire nonfiction history section. I had no idea Manga was so popular. I came home and talked quite a bit to Grace about the popularity of Manga. I don’t get it. Maybe that means I am old….

I left the bookstore feeling a little sad. I am not sure Barnes and Noble is a place that I will enjoy browsing anymore.

Did 2020 change bookstores forever? Did the events of the last year change the availability of books or are the type of books that people are reading changing? Is it a supply issue or is it a demand issue?

My guess is that it is a little of both.

Yes, it was so nice to be in a bookstore again. We bought a few books because we wanted to support the store. I want bookstores to survive, and they won’t survive if they don’t sell books. But they won’t sell books if they don’t carry very many books.

What do you think? What changes have you seen in bookstores around you? Has the last year changed bookstores and the books that they sell?

Charles Lenox Mystery Series by Charles Finch

March 10, 2021 by Lynn Leave a Comment

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Set in Victorian England, The Charles Lenox Mystery Series by Charles Finch shares the adventures of an English Gentleman, who loves a good mystery.

Charles Lenox Mystery Series

The Charles Lenox books take place in England in the 1800s. They are a good mix of historical fiction and murder mystery.

This series is not really considered a cozy mystery series, but I think it fits that category because they are not overly graphic or gory. There are murders in the books, with some basic details, but nothing overly graphic.

They take place in England, which always makes it more of a cozy mystery to me.

To me, a cozy mystery is a comfort read. A cozy mystery isn’t a book that keeps you up at night. It is a book that you read when you want to relax and lose yourself in a book.

Charles Lenox Mystery Series by Charles Finch

I also like mystery books that are not overly sexual. In this series, there is actually very little romance. There are couples, married and single, but again nothing too graphic or with too much detail. The author keeps it pretty clean, which is getting rare in modern nonfiction and modern mystery books.

These are books I can easily let my kids read. My son read quite a few of the books in this series when he was in his mid-teens and really enjoyed them. Because they are clean books, with interesting characters and plots, I think they make a great mystery series for teens.

My oldest daughter has also read the first few books in the series. She liked them because the mystery was more complex than many mystery books.

If you enjoy a good historical fiction book with some decent mystery mixed in, I think you will enjoy these books

Charles Lenox Mystery Books

The Charles Lenox Books by Charles Finch (In Order)

Backlist Books Challenge February Reads

March 7, 2021 by Lynn 6 Comments

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

I love finding great backlist books! Today, I am sharing my February reads for my backlist book challenge. It ended up being a good reading month for me.

My February reading included a great mix of fiction and nonfiction. It also included books that I really enjoyed.

A few weeks ago, I logged off of Instagram. I am not giving it up, but for now, I turned my blog Instagram over to my daughter. And it might be one of the best decisions that I have made recently.

I had no idea how much time I spent scrolling Instagram. Now instead of scrolling, and I find myself reaching for books instead. More reading is always a good thing!

Less scrolling meant more reading for me the last few weeks, and I am hoping that trend continues.

Today, I am sharing my recent reads. My list includes more fiction books than normal, but two of the nonfiction books I read were long books, so I think my actual fiction vs nonfiction reading was probably normal for me.

Backlist Books Challenge February Reads

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

After reading Murder On the Orient Express last month, I knew that I wanted to read more Poirot mystery books by Agatha Christie. I like to read series in order, so I started at the beginning with the first book in the Poirot books.

I loved The Mysterious Affair at Style. It was published in 1938, so it is definitely a backlist book. I can’t wait to read more Agatha Christie books. I am not sure I will read them all in order, but I am going to try to.

Mad at the World by Willliam Souder

Mad at the World was published in 2020. It is a biography about the life of John Steinbeck. My husband and I are reading The Grapes of Wrath for a family book club.

I always find it fascinating to learn about authors and why they write the books that they do. I know very little about Steinbeck and thought this would be a good way to learn more about him.

This book was great paired with reading The Grapes of Wrath. I am glad that I read it, but I am not sure it is a book everyone would want to read. If you want to know more about Steinbeck, you will probably enjoy it, but otherwise, I would say skip this one.

No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I have been wanting to read a book by Doris Kearns Goodwin and decided this was the one that I would read first. I have read a lot of WWII books, but this book covered a lot of details that I was not familiar with. No Ordinary Time was published in 2009. So it was perfect for my backlist book challenge.

It was a long book with lots of details, but I am so glad that I read it. I love a book that gives you enough information that leaves you wanting to learn more about other topics. After reading this book, I am not wanting to read more about the Japanese Internment Camps during WWII and more about Eleanor Roosevelt and the White House during Roosevelt’s presidency.

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook by Celia Rees

This book is one that I featured in recent reads about WWII. I enjoyed this book because it was different than any other WWII that I have read. It covers events after the war.

Miss Graham’s Cold War Cookbook was published in 2020. It is about a teacher, who loves food and cooking, who becomes a spy. It is a little PG-13 in some spots but besides that I enjoyed it.

Together Tea by Marjan Kamali

Reading takes you to places that stretches you and teaches you. That is exactly what this book did for me. It took me to a time and place I know very little about.

After reading The Stationery Shop, I knew that I wanted to read Marjan Kamali’s other book Together Tea that was published in 2013. I wasn’t sure what I thought of this book until about two-thirds of the way through it. The last third of the book really made the book and characters come together. A book, I wasn’t sure about, ended up being a book that I loved. If you like historical fiction or loved The Stationery Shop, I think you will enjoy this one.

Dorie by Doris Van Stone

I am not sure where I heard about the book Dorie: The Girl Nobody Loved, but it has been on my bookshelf for a while. It was published in 1979.

I picked it up on a Sunday afternoon and finished it that same day. It was a quick read. I really enjoyed this Christian biography. It was a tough story to read because of what she went through as a child, but she shares the story of God loving her in a way that brings Him Glory. One of the things that I found interesting is that the author was friends with Darlene Deibler Rose, the author of one of my favorite Christian biographies.

The Lost Lieutenant by Erica Vetsch

The Lost Lieutenant is the first book in the Serendipity and Secrets series. It is a clean well written historical romance book. A lot of clean Christian romance books are cheesy and predictable, this one wasn’t. Well, it was a bit predictable, but I thought the writing was creative and different.

The Lost Lieutenant was published in 2020. It is a regency romance. It involved a marriage of convenience, people from vastly different upbringings, family secrets, and ultimately love. If you are looking for a clean easy romance, you will probably enjoy this one.

The Gentleman Spy by Erica Vetsch

The Gentleman Spy is the second book in Serendipity and Secrets series. It is the continuing story of, Marcus, one of the characters from The Lost Lieutenant. When Marcus’s father and brother die, he becomes the new Duke of Haverly. However, becoming a Duke puts his life as a spy at risk.

The story involves his life as a spy, his new life as a Duke, and of course love. This book was also published in 2020. There is a third book in the series being released in March of 2021. This book was another easy to read clean historical romance. After reading a couple of slower more intense reads, these two books by Erica Vetsch were just what I needed.

Let Us Help You Find Great Books!

Blog

True Crime Books

Do you love discussing books vs movies?

The Charles Lenox Books by Charles Finch (In Order)

Backlist Books Challenge February Reads