Welcome to Litsy!

•I really liked this book! It‘s strong mix of history / air pollution issue coupled with true crime was really well done. 10/10 recommend!•

Kicking off the weekend with a new book!

The Ghost Club (not in the database so I had to pick another book by the author) is an audio only book about London's ghost club whose members included Dickens, Doyle, and Yeats. Stories of ghosts and premonitions ahoy!

Today in Amazon Deals in the US. KWD is a great story teller, weaving the stories of London‘s killer smog and a serial killer.

Interesting listening. It reminds me of Devil in the White City because of the history. Interesting and sad. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Chores and a new audiobook! 😊🎧

This is a narrow pick for me, as I‘m rounding up to account for my mood. There‘s some interesting information here about both the killer smog in London in 1952 and a serial killer who operated at the same time, and the politics and errors that enabled both. But, this felt like two different stories that were tossed together because of proximity in time and place, which did a disservice to both events. Neither got the focus they deserved.

I have found it impossible to pick an audiobook to listen to while I work over the last two weeks. I have picked up and put down a variety of books, from new fiction to old favorites, books that do and don‘t work for challenges, and I just can‘t stick with anything. I‘m trying out a nonfiction book that‘s been on my Libro.fm wishlist since it came out and hoping that if I post about it, I can stick to it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Kate Winkler Dawson is a good story teller, and I enjoy this style of narrative non-fiction. She weaves together two threads from the same point in London history: the Great Smog of 1952 (responsible for the death of 12,000 citizens) and that of serial killer John Reginald “Reg” Christie (responsible for the death of - at least - 8 women).
My #bookspin for January 2022

“It did seem ridiculous to many. Another committee?”

I get this vibe at work, too. A committee for the committee… 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

My #WeekendReading will consist of Kate Winkler Dawson‘s narrative nonfiction about London‘s 5 days of deathly smog…and murder. She is a fantastic storyteller…fans of Erik Larson & true crime would enjoy. She also hosts a podcast, Tenfold More Wicked. This is my January #bookspin pick. 👍🏼

"Reg was very intelligent but 'a sad, unhappy, rather inadequate, anxiety-ridden little man'"

Quite the catch, wasn't he

"Here comes the boogeyman dressed in black, carrying children in his Sack on his back."

Parenting has always been weird ?

"The teenager carefully avoided broken shards of glass, barely held together by cracked window frames, as the mist dampened her hair."
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

"A criminal could make quite a lot of devilry in that kind of weather."

Devilry = a new favorite word

New book and a wip ... doesn't get better than that

A little dry in parts, but entertaining enough to listen mostly on audio. Hard to believe somewhere around 12,000 Londoners were killed by the great fog of 1952 😵

#doublebookspin ✅

So-So to Low Pick. This was an interesting story. Told in a similar vein to The Devil in the White City. One plot line follows a serial killer, the other follows a killer smog that descended on London around the same time the killer was operating. Sometimes repetitive with no real resolution for one of the plot lines, this was interesting enough to hold my attention, but other than that it was just fine. #bookspinbingo #bookspin

Enjoying this so far. Classes started for me again today so we‘ll see how the rest of my reading goes for the next few months. For the rest of the evening I‘m going to relax, (or try 🙄) get some reading in and get caught up on reviews that I‘ve been neglecting on here.

Lucked out for #bookspin this time around! I‘m back up at my parents dog sitting and of course brought a ton of books with me, not knowing what I would be in the mood for or what #bookspin would choose. Thankfully I brought the tagged book which is my #bookspin for the month with Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (not with me) as my #doublespin. @TheAromaofBooks

Book Outlet order. Tho I was upset that one came all bent up and the other came torn. And their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Reminds me part of why I haven‘t ordered in awhile.

#bookoutlet #customerservice #nonfiction #truecrime #parody #humor #twitwit #fiction #youngadult #ya #mystery #thriller #scifi #sciencefiction #frankenstein #londonfog #bookoutlethaul #haul #bookoutletorder #newbooks #books

Utterly engrossing and fascinating, Dawson deftly combines the story of a depraved serial killer with an environmental catastrophe. Both stories were mesmerizing and infuriating. Another one I highly recommend.

Much needed mental health day.

This was my #sciencewrittenbyawoman choice for #booked2021. While it‘s a bit of a stretch, it DOES include science about weather and air pollution.

The Great Smog of London killed thousands of people in 1952. Blanketing the city for days, it made breathing difficult, and seeped into homes so that residents couldn‘t escape. At the same time, a serial killer was targeting young women in the city.

I can‘t recommend this book enough. 5 ⭐️

Confession: Sunday is my day for a good lie in. Brian and the girls let me sleep obscenely late, and once I wake, I take to my bed with coffee and a book.

This Sunday I‘m reading the tagged book and it is absolutely riveting. @Cinfhen ‘s review compared it to The Devil in the White City, and I agree, although I think it could be even better!

I chose it for #booked2021, science book written by a woman. I see now that it‘s a stretch. 😂🤷🏼‍♀️

@Cinfhen Look what I got yesterday! Thanks so much. I can‘t wait to dig into this one. The bookmarks went right into my collection. Thanks!

A fascinating look at the simultaneous killings of a serial killer in London and the Great Fog.

Today‘s #audiowalk

#ThankfulThursday
The tagged book is partially about another time when the air around us was dangerous.

1. Not really a hobby but it is stress relief to watch Great British Bake Off or Escape to the Country. UK reality shows are much nicer than ours in the US.
2. Thankful that I was able to take the week off from work to disconnect from email and projects. It has been a difficult year!

@britt_brooke and @TheAromaofBooks do you want to play?

Today‘s #audiowalk was hot and humid even at 7am.

This was a fascinating time in recent history with incredible consequences with the fatal smog particularly in London, the burning of cheap coal, the politics of the time with slow recovery from WWII. Then you have this heinous serial killer at the same time. While at first I didn‘t think this worked as well as Devil in the White City it came together and both sides were fascinating. Ultimately, clean air efforts and death penalty reform came.

After 3-4 weeks of not reading, I am finally feeling normal enough to pick up a book. Working on this one about the 1952 London smog. Plus bonus image of my current Baby Yoda puzzle.

If you enjoyed Devil in the White City then this is a MUST READ!!! A wonderfully researched and gripping read about two simultaneously silent killers plaguing London in December 1952. One a heavy fog containing enough poisonous fumes that would kill 12,000 people & the other; a depraved serial killer. A true crime thriller mixed with an environmental disaster that changed both the death penalty in the UK & the coal industry. Riveting!!!

I know...that title 🥺🙄This book is vividly evocative/ feels like living in the middle of a Dickinson novel but it‘s 1952 London in the midst of a silent killer. Beginning today at 3pm the entire country will be on a forced mandatory lockdown. NO STORES or roadways will be open for 48 hours. So my darling husband went out early this morning to bring me home flowers for Passover 🌷🌸🌷

An odd choice given the current world situation but I‘m completely captivated by this nonfiction narrative. A strangling fog coupled with a serial killer makes for the perfect storm. This true account of an environmental disaster happened just 68 years ago. Evocative & atmospheric. Do any Londoner‘s recall learning about this incident in December 1952???

I wanted to learn about the poisonous smog that I first heard about in an episode of The Crown. The author weaves that with the story of a serial killer operating at the same time. In the UK his story is well known but the death toll from the fog, which was much, much, greater, has been nearly forgotten. It was unsettling to read this account of another environmental killer when we‘re all at home because of a pandemic. This was my #BookSpin pick.

I finished my #BookSpin choice for March. I‘ll post a review later today but just want to celebrate getting one book off my TBR. I have also been reading my #DoubleSpin choice so I hope to finish both.

I‘m not going to make it the full #24in48 bc I had trouble getting in much reading yesterday, but I made good progress today on my #BookSpin choice for March (tagged). It‘s kind of disturbing to read this right now but still really interesting.

Here we go! I finished a book last night so my lunch reading is my #BookSpin pick!

I‘m excited to read this book for #BookSpin After I posted my list I suddenly became really interested in all the books on my TBR! I am going to try to do #DoubleSpin too, which is Black Man in a White Coat.

A great storytelling style narration from this 'new to me' author. The woven story of the west London serial killer, Christie, shouldn't of worked - but for the most part it did! That part of the story is so well known that it was more interesting to read about it against the backdrop of everything else that was happening in the capital at the time. So often true crime books strip all that away and focus on the crime in isolation.

Burning through the pages on this one!

I want to read every book on this list!!! https://bookriot.com/2019/08/15/historical-true-crime-books/ @EadieB @Cinfhen have you read any of these? Any other true crime fans out there? Have you read any of these?

I loved this book! I‘ve read about the London smog in 1952, but it‘s still fascinating. Add in an active serial killer during that time, and you‘ve got a great (tho horrific) read. I had a hard time putting it down. Even the politics was interesting!

It‘s 6.30am Friday here in Sydney & I‘m off to my comfy bed to listen to an audiobook for awhile before sleep. Managed 5hrs so far in #HSreadathon and finished one book. This was fascinating about an almost forgotten phenomenon that claimed so many of London‘s residents, not to mention the women that John Christie buried under his floorboards & in his garden. Highly recommend to any history buff. #NonFiction2019 #SomethingWithHistory #readathon

I almost forgot that I signed up for this month long #readathon It‘s an easy one to join, you can still sign up I think. For the whole month of August, you just have to try and read as much of your #TBR as you can, using the hashtag #HSreadathon across all social media. I‘m kicking off mine with this non-fiction about the killer smog that hit London in 1952, along with the serial killer John Christie Of 10 Rillington Place. Link to sign up 👇👇👇

Death in the Air by Kate Winkler Dawson brings people‘s lives and struggles to life on each page creating a compelling book difficult to put down about the deadly smog and serial killer of 1952 London. I don't normally like books about serial killers, but I do love books about London and history. If you're looking for a book filled with dark and creepy details, this is definitely a good one.

https://onthebl.org/2019/07/13/death-in-the-air

Interesting

The infamous staircase at 10 Rillington Place.

Kate Winkler Dawson discussing Death in the Air at Collin College, Frisco Campus