Monday, April 27, 2009

ON BOOKS ~ The Devil In The White City...

MizB asks you to:
  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
  • Share the title of the book the teaser comes from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

From pg. 109 of THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY by Eric Larson (non-fiction)...

"I was born with the devil in me," he wrote. "I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing."

I don't remember where I first heard about this book but I think it was in a newspaper review. I am a fan of non-fiction that reads like fiction and that is how this one is moving along. Andy read it first and wasn't sure if I would like it because of all the architecture talk, but I have read other such books ("The Architect of Desire: Beauty & Danger in the Stanford White Family" was a juicy biography/memoir) that were very entertaining. In this book, the architecture is an important character, along with the architect and the serial killer. Except they aren't characters - they were real. That part is hard to forget since the writing is so good, your forget it isn't a story.

9 comments:

Erika Powell said...

love the teaser, sounds like a great book.

Sandy Nawrot said...

This is one of my favorite books of all time. And, I am not a big architecture person, nor a non-fiction person. I do love Chicago. After I read this book, and on what is an annual trip to Chicago for me, I was like a kid in a candy shop, with all the knowledge I now had. This book is simply amazing.

Caspette said...

This teaser really cuts the to the core of lots of human behavior around the nature vs nurture. He/she clearly thinks they were born that way.

Good teaser.

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed this book, and I've read one of his others as well. Glad you're enjoying it!

Anonymous said...

Kind of a scary quote, no? GLad you like it :)

Sadako said...

Oh man, I have this book! ...somewhere, I think it's lost in all my piles of books. But you've reminded me I really need to actually read it. So many books, so little time!!

Wanda said...

Hmmm ... I do wonder if murderers are born or raised and whether or not saying "I was born with the Devil in me" is actually a cop out for making a choice.

Suzanne said...

Your teaser is good, but not sure I could get into this.

Here's mine: http://storytimewithtonya.blogspot.com/2009/04/where-are-you-and-teaser-42909.html

Lin said...

Uh, I hate to admit that I did not like this book--at all. I found it a heavy read, bogged down in minute details and tangents that distracted me from the story line. I trudged through it, knowing how everyone "loved" it, but I did not. Sorry to be the buzzkill.

Love the blog--CardioGirl sent me! And anyone who loves baseball is a friend of mine!