An Open Letter on Devil in the White City

Dear everyone,

I’m sorry to say that the month of February has not been kind to my reading time.  I am about 20 pages into Devil in the White City.  March is shaping up to be far less crazy.  I have picked it back up, am enjoying it, and plan to have it done in the next week or two.

Which, I suppose, technically makes it the book for both February and March.  Which, if you’ll recall, I mentioned it might be.

A few things we can be doing -

1) Finishing up any last thoughts about Waiting (okay, this is me again – I still have a few things to say, which I will post soon.)

2) If you’ve finished Devil in the White City, you can go ahead and start a discussion thread (though I’d appreciate it if you don’t spoil anything in the main post.)

3) Start coming up with ideas for the book for April.  Let William and I know.

How are you all doing with the book?  Am I the last slacker, or has February been crazy for others as well?

Sincerely,

Kate

Book Selection #3: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

So, as we are starting our discussions on Waiting in earnest, I know that everyone is wondering, ‘what’s next?’  Well, for the month of February (and probably a little later, since we are starting a week into the month) we will be reading The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson.  This selection comes from Kay, a new contributor to the book club.

A finalist for the National Book Award in 2003, The Devil in the White City tells a paired story – the construction of the Chicago World’s Fair, and the serial killer that lurks in its shadows.  I kind of have a thing for the Chicago World’s Fair, and I have previously read and enjoyed Larson’s book about the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (Isaac’s Storm), so I look forward to getting started with this one.  I’m going to buy my copy today, and look forward to our discussions.