Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

I know there are a lot of books in this genre, but it isn't one I typically read so I will be reading through everyone's suggestions here for sure.

I used true crime for my "best-seller in a genre you don't usually read" prompt this year. I read Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, which was excellent.

I also read, years ago, People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate of Lucie Blackman and liked it. And I don't think you can have a true crime list without In Cold Blood.

A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy is what I want to read.

It's one of my favourite genres and I haven't read much this year because it didn't fit many of the categories so I'm excited to check at least one off my list. I really want to read the stranger beside me by Ann rule.

In Cold Blood

I don't read much in this genre, but last year I enjoyed reading Tangled Vines: Greed, Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California by Frances Dinkelspiel.

For this year's prompt I may try American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin.

I recently read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI and highly recommend it. I think I might do American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road for this one.

The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America's First Serial Killer

Black Dahlia, Devil in the White City, Helter Skelter, green river running red, zodiac, and for anyone who liked the Netflix series Mind Hunter is fantastic!!

Yay, I can finally get around to reading The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Anna wrote: "I used true crime for my "best-seller in a genre you don't usually read" prompt this year. I read Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, which was excellent.

I also read, ..."

I think I will read Ghettoside for this. It's been on my TBR for a while now!

I read Columbine a few years ago and thought it was really good.

American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit the crime was stealing, nothing too exciting if you’re looking for a murder type story

Would All Involved work for this prompt? I've been wanting to read that one for a while.

Or The Black Dahlia ? I mean it was based on a true crime right?

A Great Fall - only true crime I ever read that I really liked. Will be asking my sister for suggestions; she loves true crime. Or I will finally read In Cold Blood

This is by far my favourite genre so I am really happy as have quite a few on my TBR for this prompt!:

Newtown: An American Tragedy
A Murder Without Motive: the Killing of Rebecca Ryle
Columbine
Ian Brady: The Untold Story of the Moors Murders
Death Comes Knocking: Policing Roy Grace's Brighton
Shantaram
Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail
Catching a Serial Killer: My hunt for murderer Christopher Halliwell
The Shark Net
The Prison Book Club
Avery: The Case Against Steven Avery and What Making a Murderer Gets Wrong
The Mystery of the Lone Wolf Killer: Anders Behring Breivik and the Threat of Terror in Plain Sight

I have People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo - and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up on my tbr for the longest.

In Cold Blood
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
The Monster of Florence
Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan
Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche

One of the two alternating stories in Thunderstruck is about the Crippen murder case

I think I had a false notion of what this genre included. There are a ton of good looking options. My initial reaction was a bit negative.

What exactly does "True Crime" genre include? I have a book written by a historian about historical crime cases but I guess it has more of a historical and jurisdictional point of view. (It might be better for microhistory but still.) Another that I have found interesting tells about several, more modern crime cases, not just one.

I think I'm going to read Greentown: Murder and Mystery in Greenwich, America's Wealthiest Community for this.

Tytti wrote: "What exactly does "True Crime" genre include? I have a book written by a historian about historical crime cases but I guess it has more of a historical and jurisdictional point of view. (It might b..."

That sounds like it fits the description very well.

Think I'm going to read The Monster of Florence for this one. I'm italian and I've heard something about this, of course, so I'm quite curious.

I just finished Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town which would work well.

I love true crime. I think I'm either going to read Helter Skelter or one of the many Lizzie Borden books out there.

For those who don't want to read about serial killers/murderers, I would recommend Heist: The Oddball Crew Behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft about the Loomis Fargo robbery that happened in the late 90s in NC.

Would autobiographies by the people that were abused count in this category?

I would count something like Amanda Barry's memoir or Jaycee Dugard.

Anything by Ann Rule!

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil came up when I searched, I think that is my tentative pick for this category. This isn't a category I read much.

Some of Helen Garner's books would probably fit this category. And she writes beautifully, for those who like their true crime a bit more towards the literary/creative non-fiction end of the spectrum.

They aren't cheerful books (obviously!) but This House of Grief and Joe Cinque's Consolation, A True Story of Death, Grief and the Law were both excellent. I'm a fan of pretty much everything she's ever written, although I do think she's an author people either love or hate. She tends to divide people.

Looking through these suggestions, I realized that one of the books I read this year would fit: One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway. It's a fascinating book and provides a great deal of context for Norway (which was helpful to me). Please be warned, though, it does include a bullet-by-bullet description of the massacre itself, which may be too intense for some readers. I had trouble eating for a couple days after reading it.

This is one of my favorite genres to read!

Some of my favorites that I haven't seen mentioned yet:

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases

Shannon wrote: "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil came up when I searched, I think that is my tentative pick for this category. This isn't a category I read much."

It's true crime "light" so that's not a bad pick if the genre isn't your cup of tea. The crime is a big part of the book, but there are a lot of other subjects in it too.

A number of books have been written on Germany's most famous cold case, the Hinterkaifeck murders:

Der Mordfall Hinterkaifeck: Spuren Eines Mysteriösen Verbrechens
Hinterkaifeck: Autopsie eines Sechsfachmordes
Hinterkaifeck: Weihnachten 1921
Ereignisse Hinterkaifeck

And even one in English:
Footsteps in The Attic: A true account of the slayings at the Hinterkaifeck Farmstead

I read one a couple of years ago, and it was really creepy.

Another True Crime book I read years ago was
When a Child Kills

And my own pick for the category will be
The Murder of Tutankhamen

I have NEVER read True Crime before, nor have I ever been interested in reading it. I am tentatively planning to read In Cold Blood, because, CLASSIC. Plus everyone seems to say it's good?

In another thread a few of us talked about doing a group read of The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule; this is about her friendship with Ted Bundy before knowing who and what he was. I'll start a thread for it when we decide who wants to be in and when people want to do it! Feel free to join us!

Nadine wrote: "I have NEVER read True Crime before, nor have I ever been interested in reading it. I am tentatively planning to read In Cold Blood, because, CLASSIC. Plus everyone seems to say it's ..."

I definitely thought it was good.

Nadine wrote: "I have NEVER read True Crime before, nor have I ever been interested in reading it. I am tentatively planning to read In Cold Blood, because, CLASSIC. Plus everyone seems to say it's ..."

I thought it was a slog completely lacking in suspense, and I didn't appreciate Capote's "oh, my, look at the quaint farm folk" attitude.

I think my nonfiction book club is planning to read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI next year, so that will probably be my pick.

Theresa wrote: "A Great Fall - only true crime I ever read that I really liked. Will be asking my sister for suggestions; she loves true crime. Or I will finally read In Cold Blood"

I thought In Cold Blood is fantastic!!!

'Black Dahlia, Red Rose' by Piu Marie Eatwell.

Elena wrote: "Anything by Ann Rule!"

My friend just told me she has all of Ann Rule's books, so I can borrow them from her. Where should I start? At the beginning with the Ted Bundy book? Do any stand out as your absolute favorites?

I've never ready any true crime - which is odd because I love true crime movies/shows. I'm going with Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI since it's on my TBR. But I'm loving all the suggestions here!

I think the one she wrote about Ted Bundy (she WORKED WITH HIM!) is particularly chilling. It's called The Stranger Beside Me. Insane.

Shasta wrote: "Elena wrote: "Anything by Ann Rule!"

My friend just told me she has all of Ann Rule's books, so I can borrow them from her. Where should I start? At the beginning with the Ted Bundy book? Do any s..."

A few of us are going to do a group read of stranger if you are interested in waiting, haven't decided when yet :)

Shasta wrote: "Elena wrote: "Anything by Ann Rule!"

My friend just told me she has all of Ann Rule's books, so I can borrow them from her. Where should I start? At the beginning with the Ted Bundy book? Do any s..."

Everything She Ever Wanted

You'll want to reach in and strangle her!

Tara wrote: "A few of us are going to do a group read of stranger if you are interested in waiting, haven't decided when yet :)"


I am in for a read along of this! Ted Bundy is probably the most "normal" serial killer. It's just fascinating
I should track down that TV Movie with him played by Marc Harmon!

I'll be reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I see there are a few others who will be reading this so look forward to being able to discuss the novel. I don't typically read true crime novels as frankly, I am a bit of a chicken! Don't get me wrong, I find them entirely fascinating and enjoy the inner psychology that comes with trying to understand why people commit crimes. I just get spooked very easily, but think I'll be able to handle Capote (hopefully!!). I chose 'In Cold Blood' because 1). It been on my TBR and actual bookshelf for close to eight years now (was given to me as a graduation gift but I'm not going to use it for that prompt) and 2). I have seen a bit of the biopic about Capote and his methods of writing and found it captivating (although I had to turn it off during the hanging scene. Again, I am a big chicken).

Looking forward to future discussion with those who have/will be reading it!

For those of you who, like me, are not really interested in reading about murderers and serial killers I think this book could fit the bill:

The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage