A Review and a Conversation

I finally finished The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson....

This non-fiction book chronicles the development of the Chicago World's Fair (dubbed The White City -  all the structures built there were painted white) alongside the actions of a serial killer in Chicago during the same time frame.    Lots of interesting information about all the troubles associated with creating this World's Fair and the things that were introduced at or created for the World's Fair including Cracker Jacks, the Ferris wheel (designed by a guy named Ferris), the first zipper, Aunt Jemima's pancake mix, and Juicy Fruit gum.  There was also a giant map of the United States on display, made entirely of pickles!

Interspersed with the timeline of the creation of the fair is the story of a serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to him.  A very creepy portrait of this man is relayed and gets your spine tingling.  When I was reading these parts, I kept remembering, incredulously, that this is a non-fiction book.  This guy was horrible!

Overall, I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it, but it was a slow read for me.  While the parts about the World's Fair were interesting and I had lots of , "Huh!  I never knew that" moments, some of the sections were dry and I was losing interest, feeling bogged down in all the details.  I couldn't wait to get to the sections about the serial killer to see what was developing next.  I tend to like reading murder mysteries, so that's what was I was interested in.  

If you would like to purchase it click there:


Meanwhile, Paul and I had a conversation last night about "chick flicks" that went something like this:
Me (while watching tv): "Hey that's Hector Elizondo. He was the hotel concierge that was nice to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman."
Paul: (blank look)
Me:  "You haven't seen that movie ten million times?????"
Paul: " No.  It's a chick flick."
Me: "You've seen Legally Blonde ten million times.  That's a chick flick."
Paul: "No, it's not. Pretty Woman is a romantic movie.  Legally Blonde is a comedy."
Me: "Legally Blonde is a romance too.  She falls for the Wilson guy."
Somehow I wasn't convincing.  I think we silently agreed to disagree.

And, we're doing something here:

Hopefully to be completed by this weekend!
A quote to go along with a home improvement project:
"Ability is what you're capable of doing.  Motivation determines what you do.  Attitude determines how well you do it." - Lou Holz