Stacked: A booklog

Aftermath, Inc.

"Now that's how you scrub a f*$%in' blood stain!"

Al Swearengen in Deadwood 

Title: Aftermath, Inc.: Cleaning Up After CSI Goes Home

Author: Gil Reavill

Publisher/Publisher Date: Gotham Books, 2007

Library/Bookstore: Borders

Date Borrowed/Bought/Read: August 2008

Rating: ***

What It's About: True-crime writer, Gil Reavill, wants to know what it would be like to experience a fresh crime scene.  He decides to job shadow a couple of techs from Aftermath, Inc., a company that cleans up after suicides, violent murder, and unfortunate accidents.  Anything at the crime scene that has been touched by bodily fluids, blood splatter, and/or other human biomatter has to be treated, removed or replaced completely (getting your head shot off creates a lot of biomatter).  It ain't an easy job, but dammit, somebody has to do it. 

Why I Chose to Read It: A couple of years ago, I wrote a post on my blog about the people who cleaned up the dead.  It's a job that most people don't know much about. 

Notes About the Book:

1. This book is not for people with weak stomachs.  By page 7, I was turning a little green.  Some people have sick, sick minds.
2. You can make a lot of money being a crime-scene cleaner!
3. Gil talks about himself too much. 
4. At one of the clean up sites, they actually find an eye under a folded-ever flap of skin.  An EYE!!! 
5. The techs refer to puking on the job as "pulling a Bushie."  HA!
6. Aftermath, Inc. was called in to clean up the mess that was made when a mechanic was sucked into the engine of a Boeing 737.  The airline company didn't want to throw away a $10 million engine.
7. It was sad reading about the tragic death of film collector Alois Felix Dettlaff.  He was the owner of the original Thomas Edison's 1910 Frankenstein film (the first horror movie ever made) that was once thought to be lost by the Library of Congress.  Dettlaff died alone in his home and his body wasn't discovered until almost a month later.  His family doesn't know what happened to the film cannister containing the original print of Frankenstein.  You can watch it here. 
8. The picture shown above is from the upcoming movie Sunshine Cleaning starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt.  It's about a mom who starts her own crime scene clean up company with her unreliable sister.  According to the book, they're doing it wrong.

Do I Recommend It?  Yes.  It's a fascinating read if you think your stomach is up for it!

Links:

Aftermath, Inc.--They're hiring!

Aftermath, Inc.: The Book--A blog for the book.

How Crime-scene Clean-up Works

Twilight

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb...," he murmured. I looked away, hiding my eyes as I thrilled to the word.

"What a stupid lamb," I sighed.

"What a sick, masochistic lion."  He stared into the shadowy forest for a long moment, and I wondered where his thoughts had taken him.

Edward and Bella from Twilight 

Title: Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Publisher/Publisher Date: Little, Brown and Company/2006

Library/Bookstore: Inklings

Date Borrowed/Bought/Read: July 2008

Rating: **1/2

What It's About:  Seventeen-year-old Bella Swan is madly in love with the mysterious and handsome Edward Cullen from biology class.  There's only one problem: The dude's a vampire.  Will their love last or will it be torn apart by darker forces? 

Why I Chose to Read It:  I have an age inappropriate crush on Robert Pattinson.  Actually, my friends told me I would like it since I'm such a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Notes About the Book:

1. I was kind of disappointed (okay, very disappointed) that the book had little gore and no hot vampire sex.  
2. It really bothered the feminist in me how Bella was always telling Edward how perfect and handsome he was.  What girl does that?  Gag me. 
3. Glittering vampires?  Jesus, Stephenie. 
4. The artwork for the book is gorgeous.
5. Native American characters!  Woo hoo!
6. I liked how Bella was so clumsy.
7. Is everyone in Forks, Washington a moron?  Didn't they find it a little odd how the Cullen children never seemed to age or move on from high school?  Um, and why the hell would vampires want to relive their high school years for the rest of eternity anyway?  That's just dumb. 
8. I liked the idea of a vampire baseball team.
9. I'd like to know more about Alice.
10. It creeped me out how Edward was always secretly watching Bella.  Stalking is so not sexy.
11. Did I mention that I was disappointed that there was hardly any blood and no hot vampire sex?  

Do I Recommend It?  Yes and no.  I'm torn.  I guess I will recommend this book because the ending did make me want to find out what happens next.  However, it would have been better if Stephenie Meyer had edited out about 50 pages of fluff.  Bella thinks Edward is hot and Edward thinks Bella smells nice.  Got it.  Don't need to read about it over and over again. 

Links:

Stephenie Meyer (Official Site)

Twilight movie (Official Site)

Bella and Edward (Fan Site)

Justice: Crimes, Trials, and Punishments

Defense Attorney Broderick asked the medical examiner: "Did you remove the calvarium [Patricia Lonergan's] by sawing from the superior orbital regions to the inferior occipital regions?"

Dr. Halpern: "Did I take off the top of her head with a saw?"

Broderick: "Yes."

The Lonergan Case from Time magazine (Apr. 03, 1944) 

Title: Justice: Crimes, Trials, and Punishments

Author: Dominick Dunne

Publisher/Publisher Date: Three Rivers Press/2001

Library/Bookstore: My mother lent it to me.

Date Borrowed/Bought/Read: July 2008

Rating: ****

What It's About: Dominick Dunne writes about the crimes of the rich and famous for Vanity Magazine.  He's good at what he does because he travels in the same social circles as the defendants he writes about.  Not only does he write about the facts of the trials, but he also shares all of the juicy gossip that happens behind the scenes.  In Justice, he covers the famous murder trials of O.J. Simpson, the Menendez brothers, and Claus von Bulow.  He also writes about the personal pain and injustice he experienced during the trial of his actress daughter's killer (the creep only served 3 years).

Why I Chose to Read It: I'm a big fan of Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice.

Notes About the Book:

1. I was toying with the idea of skipping over the O.J. Simpson parts because I figured there wasn't anything about the trial that I didn't already know. Boy, was I wrong.
2. The Lonergan murder story creeped me out.
3. Judge Ito is a freak. I didn't need the image of him running naked through dormitory hallways shouting, "Banzai!"
4. I didn't know that Griffin Dunne is his son.

Do I Recommend It?  Yes.  If you love true crime TV shows, you'll love this book, too.  It's full of gossipy murder goodness.

Links:

The Menendez Brothers

OJ Simpson murder trial

 

A Walk Across America

"No more distractions.  The elation of finally being alone was total.  We walked straight west.  I had everything I needed in the world resting comfortably on my shoulders, and the entire country waiting to be discovered."

-Peter Jenkins, from A Walk Across America

Title: A Walk Across America

Author: Peter Jenkins

Publisher/Publisher Date: Perennial/2001

Library/Bookstore: Encore Books

Date Borrowed/Bought/Read: June 2008

Rating: ****

What It's About: Encouraged by a friend to get to know his country before rejecting it, Peter Jenkins decided to walk across America with his loyal half-malamute dog, Cooper.  It took him three years (1973-1975) to travel from Alfred, New York to New Orleans, Louisiana.  Along the way, he learned from a mountain hermit, bonded with an African American family, risked losing limbs working in a veneer mill, got drunk off moonshine, and found religion and love.  It's an amazing story, and an inspiring one.

Why I Chose to Read It: I've always wanted to travel across the country to discover rural America.  Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon is my favorite book.

Notes About the Book:

1. I don't think I could have done what Jenkins did.  The moment it started snowing on the trail, I would have said, "Screw this!"  Then I would have checked myself into a nice hotel room with a TV set so I could watch VH1's I Love Money.  Isn't that terrible?   
2. It was heartbreaking reading about Cooper's death even though I knew beforehand that he was going to die.  I had a hard time picking the book back up after that.
3. This book reminded me a lot of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. 
4. One of the most interesting parts of the book was when Jenkins met George Wallace, the pro-segregation governor of Alabama.  He was dreading going to Alabama because he feared that he would encounter a lot of bigotry there.  The opposite turned out to be true.  The people were very warm and friendly towards him.

Do I Recommend It?  Yes.  You can tell that he was an inexperienced writer when he wrote this (the cliches get kinda annoying after a while).  However, the people he met during his journey make it a worthy read. 

Links:

• Exploring with Peter Jenkins

The Walking

"He's still down there," he said.  "And he's walking."

-Garden, from The Walking

Title: The Walking

Author: Bentley Little

Publisher/Publisher Date: Signet/2000

Library/Bookstore: Encore Books

Date Borrowed/Bought/Read: June 2008

Rating: ***

What It's About: Around the country, people are dying in gruesome, inhuman ways and turning into walking zombies.  For some unknown reason, they are compelled to walk towards a man made lake in Arizona.  After his father becomes one of the walkers, private detective, Miles Huerdeen, becomes obsessed with finding out who (or what) is behind these bizarre deaths. 

Why I Chose to Read It: It's a book about zombies and witches!!  Why wouldn't I want to read it?  I love that stuff!  Besides, if it's good enough for Stephen King & Dean Koontz, it's good enough for me.

Notes About the Book:

1. I like the idea of having an army of zombies at your disposal.  However, I was extremely disappointed with how they were wasted in this book. 
2. Now I know how to perform an autopsy on a zombie that can't stop walking. 
3. Isabella is a bad-ass evil villain.  I can't get the image of her gleefully playing with a little girl's entrails out of my head.  She's very creative when it comes to murder.

Do I Recommend It?  Yes, despite the fact that the ending felt rushed and was a little anti-climatic.  I only recommend this book because it's so awesomely gory. 

Links:

• The Horrifying World of Bentley Little

 

In the Heart of the Sea

"First they saw bones--human bones--littering the thwarts and floorboards, as if the whale boat were the seagoing lair of a ferocious man-eating beast.  Then they saw the two men.  They were curled up in opposite ends of the boat, their skin covered in sores, their eyes bulging from the hollows of their skulls, their beards caked with salt and blood.  They were sucking the marrow from the bones of their dead shipmates."

-Nathaniel Philbrick, from In The Heart of the Sea

Title: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Author: Nathaniel Philbrick

Publisher/Publisher Date: Penguin Books/2000

Library/Bookstore: Encore Books

Date Borrowed/Bought/Read: June 2008

Rating: *****

What It's About: In the Heart of the Sea tells the tragic story of 20 Nantucket whale-ship sailors whose boat, the Essex, gets attacked by an enraged sperm whale (some say on purpose).  Instead of risking being eaten by the cannibals of the South Sea islands, the crew decides to set sail for South America, which is almost 3,000 miles away.  After 2 months at sea, the members of the crew slowly die of starvation and dehydration.  With provisions running low, the men begin to eat their dead shipmates in order to survive. 

Why I Chose to Read It: Um, I have a morbid fascination with true-life horror survival stories.

Notes About the Book:

1. The story of the Essex was the inspiration for Moby-Dick and Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordan Pym of Nantucket.
2. I thought it was interesting how the abolitionist Quakers of Nantucket kept the story of cannibalism quiet because they were embarrassed by the fact that the first four men eaten by the crew were African American. 
3. I liked how Philbrick talked compared the Essex to other shipwrecks and tales of cannibalism. 
4. Captain Pollard was one unlucky bastard.  The shipwreck of the Essex was the first recorded incident of a whale attack.  Believing that lightening couldn't strike twice, Captain Pollard gathered another crew and decided to try his luck at whaling again.  His command of the whaling ship Two Brothers also ended in disaster when it ran into rocks off the Hawaiian Islands.

Do I Recommend It?  Yes.  It's an excellent book!  Philbrick does a great job of narrating the horrific wreck and its aftermath.  It gets pretty gruesome in some places, but you'll want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

Links:

Ships on Stamps - Moby Dick History & Lore

Nantucket's Curious Coffins

Project Gutenberg's Thrilling Stories Of The Ocean--Features a lot of great information and illustrations of life at sea.

The Piano Tuner

 "I am Edgar Drake," he said.  "I am here to repair a piano."

-Daniel Mason, from The Piano Tuner

Title: The Piano Tuner

Author: Dainel Mason

Publisher/Publisher Date: Vintage/2002

Library/Bookstore: Encore Books

Date Borrowed/Bought/Read: May 2008

Rating: ***

What It's About: A quiet, British piano tuner named Edgar Drake has been sent to Burma to tune an 1840 Erard grand piano belonging to an eccentric military doctor stationed at a jungle outpost in colonial territory.  Surgeon-Major Anthony Carroll is extremely important to the British Army because he has somehow managed to successfully negotiate and maintain peace in his outpost through music and non-violent means.  After becoming enchanted by the people of Burma and Doctor Carroll, Edgar is no longer sure if he ever wants to return home.

Why I Chose to Read It: I read that Werner Herzog was going to turn it into a movie.  It's like Fitzcarraldo meets Heart of Darkness.

Notes About the Book:

1. The author does a great job describing the history and beauty of Myanmar.  However, I think it would have worked better as a non-fiction book.  To be honest, I didn't really care about the characters in the story because they weren't really fleshed out enough.  When Drake finally met the great Doctor Carroll, it was kind of a let down. 
2. Can you imagine writing a novel while going to medical school?  That's impressive!  Daniel researched malaria for a year at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine at Mahidol University, in Bangkok, Thailand.  Learning about the history and culture of Burma inspired him to write the book. 
3. Did you know that Dmitri Mendeleev, the father of the periodic table, met with the Burmese consul in Paris?  No one knows why.
4. Now I know how to transport a piano through the jungle in the middle of a war.

Do I Recommend It?  Yes.  The story isn't perfect, but it's still a beautiful read. 

Links:

Sebastien Erard

Vintage pictures of colonial Burma

Cold Skin

"We are never very far from those we hate.  For this very reason, we shall never be truly close to those we love.  An appalling fact, I knew it well enough when I embarked.  But some truths deserve our attention; others are best left alone."

-Albert Sánchez Piñol, from Cold Skin

Title: Cold Skin

Author: Albert Sánchez Piñol

Publisher/Publisher Date: Canongate/2006

Library/Bookstore: Encore Books

Date Borrowed/Bought/Read: May 2008

Rating: ***1/2

What It's About: Soon after WWI, a young weather official travels on a steamship to a remote, unpopulated island near the Antarctic Circle in order to log the intensity, direction, and frequency of the winds for the next 12 months.  The other weather official he was sent to replace is nowhere to be found.  The only other person on the island is an insane lighthouse keeper named Gruner.  He is completely alone.  When night falls, the narrator finds himself being attacked by relentless sea monsters with  "eyes like eggs, pupils like needles, holes instead of noses, no eyebrows, no lips, a huge mouth."  Then things start to get weird. 

Why I Chose to Read It: It's a book about sea monsters and isolation.  How could I resist?

What I Found Interesting/Liked About the Book:

1. I liked how the book makes you think about what makes us human. 
2. The author is also an anthropologist!
3. This is probably one of the strangest, most disturbing books I have ever read.

Do I Recommend It?  If you're into horror stories, this would make a great summer read.  It's H.P. Lovecraft meets Edgar Allan Poe.  However, there are some parts involving interspecies erotica that are a little umcomfortable to read.  (It gets lonely on that little island.  So very, very lonely.) 

Links: 

• Vintage Images of Sea Monsters
• Kid in a cute sea monster Halloween costume that won Most Original Costume in 1978.  This has nothing to do with the story; I know.

Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls

"To turn a whole rose garden back into a single rosebush takes more than just fitting and gluing; it requires pruning and uprooting and discarding as well, and what you end up with when you're done isn't the original rosebush, but a Frankenstein parody of it. And you may not even get that far: little rosebushes don't always react well to being cannibalized for parts."

-Matt Ruff, from Set This House in Order

Title: Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls

Author: Matt Ruff

Publisher/Publisher Date: Harper Perennial/2003

Library/Bookstore: Inklings

Date Borrowed/Bought/Read: April?

Rating: *****

What It's About: Andy Gage has Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) and shares his body with hundreds of other souls.  They all live together in an imaginary house inside Andy's head.  His new coworker, Penny Driver, also has MPD, but she isn't aware of it.  After being harassed by her other souls, he reluctantly agrees to help her take back control of her chaotic life.  What happens next threatens to put his own "house" into chaos.

Why I Chose to Read It: I've always been fascinated by people with MPD.

What I Found Interesting/Liked About the Book:

1. I like how Ruff wrote an ending that wasn't sugar-coated.
2. Maledicta is now one of my favorite literary characters.  I loved how well she got along with Aunt Sam, of all people.
3. After finishing the book, I felt as though I understood multiple personality disorder a little better.

Do I Recommend It?  Definitely.  It's very well-written and the characters are fascinating.  I couldn't put it down because I really wanted to find out more about Andy's dark past.

Links:

• HBO documentary about MPD
• FAQ about Set This House in Order

The Know-It-All

A.J. Jacobs/2005/Nonfiction/Buy it/Rating: ***1/2

• Jon Stewart said this was "a hilarious book," so I figured I'd give it a shot.  He was right.  It is pretty funny. 
• You gotta love a person who goes on a quest to read the ENTIRE Encyclopaedia Britannica from Ato Z; all 33,000 pages of it. 
• I didn't know there were crossword puzzle tournaments.  You can even compete online!  Well, I'll be damned.  Why aren't they shown on ESPN?
• After reading this book, I don't feel so bad that I'm not smart enough to join MENSA.
• I can relate to the author's lame attempts to impress others with his newfound knowledge of pointless trivia.  I once tried to use Mary Toft in an everyday conversation about reality TV (don't ask).  It didn't go over so well.  My friends stared at me as though I were insane.  Um, in fact it kind of creeped them out.  This is why I'm still single.
• I kind of wished that he had spent more time talking about the encyclopedia instead of his family life.