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October 17, 2004
#38, #39, #40 Down, 12 To Go
#38: I have great respect for Birmingham's own Denis Covington as an author. I count his Salvation on Sand Mountain as one of my favorite pieces of non-fiction, so I had high expectations for Redneck Riviera. The book is an excruciatingly honest account of Covington's attempt to claim his inheritance, a piece of worthless Florida land. Like all of Covington's work, though, events cannot be anticipated, and the book takes unexpected turns. Gripping and heartfelt, this was a quick read yet fascinating.
#39: When we recently adopted a kitten, my sister-in-law sent us Cat Speak: How to Communicate With Cats by Learning Their Secret Language, by Bash Dibra and others. Overall, I found the book insightful into the language of cats, their body language especially. I expected more in-depth analysis, but found this an excellent entry-level book on how to understand your feline.
#40: My fortieth book of the year was Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer by Ann Rule. I am a huge fan of true crime, and this book is one of the best examples of the genre I have read in several years. Rule manages to respect the victims by recounting their lives with dignity, while shocking the reader with the abnormal psychology of the killer and the horrifying details of the crimes.
My next book will be Wilco : Learning How to Die by Greg Kot.
