Review: I'll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

Title: I'll be Gone in the Dark

Author: Michelle McNamara

Publisher: Harper

Publishing Date: February 27th, 2018

Pages: 352
Audio Length: 9 Hours and 45 Minutes

Genre: Non-Fiction True Crime

Series: Stand Alone

Source: Audio

 

Introduction by Gillian Flynn
Afterword by Patton Oswalt
A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer—the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade—from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case.
"You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark."
For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area.
Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called "the Golden State Killer." Michelle pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was.
At the time of the crimes, the Golden State Killer was between the ages of eighteen and thirty, Caucasian, and athletic—capable of vaulting tall fences. He always wore a mask. After choosing a victim—he favored suburban couples—he often entered their home when no one was there, studying family pictures, mastering the layout. He attacked while they slept, using a flashlight to awaken and blind them. Though they could not recognize him, his victims recalled his voice: a guttural whisper through clenched teeth, abrupt and threatening.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark—the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death—offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind. It is also a portrait of a woman’s obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and an afterword by her husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by Michelle’s lead researcher and a close colleague. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic—and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.

What made me pick this book up: 

I needed to find a non fiction book with a building on the front. And this one said it was about a killer. 

What did I like about the cover: 

It's definitely creepy and dark. I think it fits the book well.

What made me read this book: 

Like I said, I needed a non fiction book with a building on the cover, and this one sounded really awesome. I have a thing for serial killers.

What did I like the most:

I really liked listening to the murders (in a totally normal, sane, not creepy way) But also the clues that the author found and the way she found it was really interesting.

I found myself completely into this book, staring off into space, completely wrapped up in it.

I don't really have much to say about this book, except it really was interesting. I wanted to do a review so more people could find it.  

What didn't I like: 

Well, the way it's written it goes back and forth in time. So the stories of the murders and how she found what she did, she kept bouncing back and forth between them and it just got really confusing.

Also she died before she could finish it. And that's sad.

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
Sure... if there was more.

Really interesting to read about the murders and the killer. I enjoyed it.

“But then you hear a scream and you decide it’s some teenagers playing around. A young man jumping a fence is taking a shortcut. The gunshot at three a.m. is a firecracker or a car backfiring. You sit up in bed for a startled moment. Awaiting you is the cold, hard floor and a conversation that may lead nowhere; you collapse onto your warm pillow, and turn back to sleep. Sirens wake you later.” 
― Michelle McNamara, I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

Michelle McNamara was a screenwriter, journalist and true crime writer. She was the founder of the website True Crime Diary. The site covers lesser-known crimes and cold cases. In 2005, she married comedian Patton Oswalt. They had one daughter together, born in 2009.

Review: You're Never Weird on The Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day

Title: You're Never Weird on The Internet (Almost)

Author: Felicia Day

Publisher: Touchstone

Publishing Date: August 11th, 2015

Pages: 272
Audio Length: 6 Hours and 48 Minutes

Genre: Memoir

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

From online entertainment mogul, actress, and “queen of the geeks” Felicia Day, a funny, quirky, and inspiring memoir about her unusual upbringing, her rise to Internet-stardom, and embracing her individuality to find success in Hollywood.
The Internet isn’t all cat videos. There’s also Felicia Day—violinist, filmmaker, Internet entrepreneur, compulsive gamer, hoagie specialist, and former lonely homeschooled girl who overcame her isolated childhood to become the ruler of a new world... or at least semi-influential in the world of Internet Geeks and Goodreads book clubs.
After growing up in the south where she was "home-schooled for hippie reasons", Felicia moved to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming an actress and was immediately typecast as a crazy cat-lady secretary. But Felicia’s misadventures in Hollywood led her to produce her own web series, own her own production company, and become an Internet star.
Felicia’s short-ish life and her rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influential creators in new media. Now, Felicia’s strange world is filled with thoughts on creativity, video games, and a dash of mild feminist activism—just like her memoir.
Hilarious and inspirational, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should embrace what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now—even for a digital misfit.

What made me pick this book up: 

The title definitely caught my eye on this one. A book about being weird and the internet!? That's like, my life!

What did I like about the cover: 

Well Felicia Day is adorable and gorgeous. And I love how all of the colors go really well together. All blues and stuff. 

What made me read this book: 

It sounded hilarious to be honest. It was something that's right up my alley, since I'm also a geeky gamer girl. 

I needed a book for a task in the challenge (Duh) And it had to be a non fiction with something else I think. I'm not usually too big on non-fictions, but this one looked great

What did I like the most: 

Well Felicia Day in general is hilarious. I love when people read their own biographies on audio. They know what they were trying to say and how they were trying to say it and it's just that much better.

With that being said, she was amazing at reading it. She added sound effects, giggled through out it and it was just awesome.

I loved hearing about all the geeky things she loves. Like World of Warcraft. I knew exactly what she was talking about when she brought up spending hours playing in dungeons and raids. I lived that life.

She made everything that much more funny. 

Also, she was homeschooled for a while, I was homeschooled my whole life. So I relate.

She's also just as awkward as I am, and the fact that she's that awkward and is kind of famous, gives me hope for geeks everywhere, especially me

What didn't I like: 

Uhhh, nothing. I loved the entire book.

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I would love to read a fictional book by her. I think she'd be great at writing a sci-fi book. 

And I just found out she has a graphic novel for the Guild. Oh my I need to read these!

I loved this book. It had me cracking up so much!

“It’s hard being weird. No—it’s hard living in a culture that makes it hard.” 

― Felicia Day, You're Never Weird on the Internet

Actress, New Media Geek, Gamer, Misanthrope. Voracious reader of Fantasy and Sci-Fi, especially with a romance twist. Has a book club on Goodreads called Vaginal Fantasy to celebrate the smuttier side of genre literature. Join in if you dare!


Felicia is the creator of The Guild and producer of the web series network Geek and Sundry.

Review: We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist

Title: We Should Hang Out Sometime

Author: Josh Sundquist

Publisher:  Little Brown Books

Publishing Date: December 23rd, 2014

Pages: 326

Genre: Nonfiction Humor Memoir

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

A bright, poignant, and deeply funny autobiographical account of coming of age as an amputee cancer survivor, from Josh Sundquist: Paralympic ski racer, YouTube star, and motivational speaker.

Josh Sundquist only ever had one girlfriend.
For twenty-three hours.
In eighth grade.
Why was Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down the girls he had tried to date and asked them straight up: What went wrong?
The results of Josh's semiscientific, wholly hilarious investigation are captured here. From a disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), to a misguided "grand gesture" at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love--or at least a girlfriend--in all the wrong places.

What made me pick this book up: 

I needed a non fiction to read for the challenge, and Jenn had read it before and said it was funny.

What did I like about the cover: 

Eh, it's okay. Nothing special to me. I don't really have much to say about it.

What made me read this book: 

Like I said, I needed a non fiction books for a task, and I'm not usually big on non fiction, but Jenn had read it and said it was really good, and funny. So yeah.

What did I like the most: 

I'm really not sure how to review a non fiction book, not gonna lie. But, the author is funny. He told the stories really well, made me laugh, and he was incredibly self deprecating, in the best way possible. And I listened to it on audio, and let me tell you, that was so great. I thought it was cool that he narrated his own book, it made it that much better. I also could definitely relate to the awkwardness...

What didn't I like: 

I did feel myself zoning out a few times, but I think that has less to do with the book, than it does the fact that I was extremely tired. I can't think of anything I didn't really like, except that it wasn't full of action, and thrills, and fantasy like I'm used to. At no fault of his own of course, but I really think dragons would just take this book over the top. (Kidding... mostly) 

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
Love and First Sight actually looks pretty good, so maybe?

Definitely had me giggling at a few parts. So pretty good to be honest.

“Side benefit of dating me: free motivational speeches. It's like friends with benefits where the benefits are inspirational.” ― Josh Sundquist, We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story

JOSH SUNDQUIST is a Paralympian, author, motivational speaker, and Halloween enthusiast.