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juushikaThe last audiobook from Wilsonville, bizarre now to think that I would listen to them while doing such prosaic things as gaming; and the first of books listened to while painting. So many audiobooks while painting, and many (books, walls) still to come. These were from painting my bedroom Queen Anne Lilac and Turkish Coffee.
Title: Don't Call It a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM
Author: Sarah Berman
Narrator: Ewa Wolniczek
Published: Steerforth Press, 2021
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 320
Total Page Count: 393,920
Text Number: 1489
Read Because: more true crime on audio while gaming, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: This isn't the first book I've read about cults, but it certainly gave me the most complete picture of them, particularly the overlap between cult and MLM—who and how they recruit; the relationship between pseudoscience and social manipulation; how they operate, how they escalate. The sheer scale of this case, both in timescale and number of players, got a little away from me, but that's not uncommon on audio. But on the whole a great reading experience: thorough and thoughtful but rooted in compassion; comprehensive, with a fascinating subject matter.
Title: The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing
Author and narrator: Sonia Faleiro
Published: Random House Audio
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 335
Total Page Count: 394,810
Text Number: 1493
Read Because: listening to true crime while painting walls, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: After the bodies of two girls were found hanging from a mango tree in rural India, their family insisted they remain there until political attention had been brought to their deaths. I appreciate how exhaustive this is; I didn't know much about the politics of rural India going in, and context is everything in understanding why these girls died and how the investigation into their deaths was conducted. An insightful, wide-reaching, heartbreaking, and productive book.
Title: Amy: My Search for Her Killer: Secrets and Suspects in the Unsolved Murder of Amy Mihaljevic
Author and narrator: James Renner
Published: Tantor Audio, 2018 (2006)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 250
Total Page Count: 395,060
Text Number: 1494
Read Because: reviewed by Katherine Addison/listening to true crime while painting walls, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A journalist investigates a cold case from his childhood and turns up no answers—an inauspicious but deceptively interesting premise, albeit not necessarily for good reasons. Renner discloses his personal investment and openly explores the thin line between investigative reporting and obsession while still keeping Amy's story centered. But an investigator's investigation/obsession does not touch them alone, and the way that Renner approaches interviews is frankly unpleasant to read: he reopens the case for those who knew Amy, he badgers previous suspects, in a way that frequently feels insensitive and retraumatizing. Does the pursuit of answers justify this? I'm not sure! (And would this seem like an easier question to answer if Renner had found the perpetrator?) Renner cherrypicks feedback rather than asking himself this question. An insightful look into the work of investigation, but it leaves a bad taste.
Title: Don't Call It a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM
Author: Sarah Berman
Narrator: Ewa Wolniczek
Published: Steerforth Press, 2021
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 320
Total Page Count: 393,920
Text Number: 1489
Read Because: more true crime on audio while gaming, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: This isn't the first book I've read about cults, but it certainly gave me the most complete picture of them, particularly the overlap between cult and MLM—who and how they recruit; the relationship between pseudoscience and social manipulation; how they operate, how they escalate. The sheer scale of this case, both in timescale and number of players, got a little away from me, but that's not uncommon on audio. But on the whole a great reading experience: thorough and thoughtful but rooted in compassion; comprehensive, with a fascinating subject matter.
Title: The Good Girls: An Ordinary Killing
Author and narrator: Sonia Faleiro
Published: Random House Audio
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 335
Total Page Count: 394,810
Text Number: 1493
Read Because: listening to true crime while painting walls, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: After the bodies of two girls were found hanging from a mango tree in rural India, their family insisted they remain there until political attention had been brought to their deaths. I appreciate how exhaustive this is; I didn't know much about the politics of rural India going in, and context is everything in understanding why these girls died and how the investigation into their deaths was conducted. An insightful, wide-reaching, heartbreaking, and productive book.
Title: Amy: My Search for Her Killer: Secrets and Suspects in the Unsolved Murder of Amy Mihaljevic
Author and narrator: James Renner
Published: Tantor Audio, 2018 (2006)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 250
Total Page Count: 395,060
Text Number: 1494
Read Because: reviewed by Katherine Addison/listening to true crime while painting walls, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A journalist investigates a cold case from his childhood and turns up no answers—an inauspicious but deceptively interesting premise, albeit not necessarily for good reasons. Renner discloses his personal investment and openly explores the thin line between investigative reporting and obsession while still keeping Amy's story centered. But an investigator's investigation/obsession does not touch them alone, and the way that Renner approaches interviews is frankly unpleasant to read: he reopens the case for those who knew Amy, he badgers previous suspects, in a way that frequently feels insensitive and retraumatizing. Does the pursuit of answers justify this? I'm not sure! (And would this seem like an easier question to answer if Renner had found the perpetrator?) Renner cherrypicks feedback rather than asking himself this question. An insightful look into the work of investigation, but it leaves a bad taste.
