Hello,
Early on this year, in a fit of either productivity or self-improvement, I decided I’d aim to read 50 books before the end of 2017. I was most likely inspired to do it because I knew I already had a healthy head start; in January I’d already managed to read seven. As the year went on, I noticed a defined inverse relationship between the weather getting nicer and the book totals barely budging. So this week’s two editions of Blotter will both focus on good reads to inspire me to hit the magic, arbitrary number (13 more to go). Some are books, some are book-adjacent, some are long form articles (both old and new). All are better than refreshing Twitter.
- Group Therapy is Saving Lives in Chicago | How slowing down racing minds is (hopefully) slowing down violence.
- Who is watching the watchers? How one man is fighting back against government surveillance.
- An update on the 10-year old boy who killed his abusive, neo-Nazi father.
- Hundreds of people have gone missing on cruise ships in the last decade. One reporter looked at the case of Rebecca Coriam’s disappearance and tried to figure out why this keeps happening.
- A Decomposing Body, 10 Duped Girlfriends and the Saga of the ‘Alien’ Con Man in Hollywood’s Backyard
- From 2014, a tale of friendship on social media turned toxic.
Or, you can get excited about the many true crime books coming soon:
- Read a free excerpt of a forthcoming professional memoir by Dt. Joe Kenda, of Homicide Hunter fame called I Will Find You.
- Sophie Hannah’s new book, Keep Her Safe, is a novel but centers on the idea of a woman’s obsession with a case that sounds a lot like Madeline McCann’s.
- When the Devil Comes to Town tells the story of the hundred year-old “Man from the Train” serial killer. And it involves an axe. A lot of axes.
That’s it for today. I’ll be back on Tuesday with more reading recs!
Featured Image: 20th Century Fox
