This book was not at all what I thought it was going to be. I was hoping for a book on the ecology of wolves. However, this book is written by a trial attorney and appears to be more focused on the relocation of wolves in the West. The author's opinion is that this is not a good thing.

While I enjoy reading Jane Austen's novels - this biography of the author was not my cup of tea.

Well, I gave this one a shot, but had to give up about 100 pages in. Sorry, Ali Smith. While I do enjoy your writing style, I simply feel as though I'm really missing most of what I'm reading.

I will definitely revisit these books now that I know what I'm up against.

I enjoy reading. I love a good story; one that takes me to a different place and/or time. I'll read just about any non-fiction title on a topic that sounds remotely interesting as long as the author's writing is compelling. According to Stephen King's own criteria for what is considered a good story is that, above all, it should be entertaining.

Stephen King has been my favorite writer ever since I read "It" when I was sixteen (trust me - that was a while ago). I have always thought that he was pigeonholed as the "King of Horror" when there is so much more to his writing. King is actually quite the wordsmith and I have recognized this from the beginning:

"In the hands of a master storyteller, we willingly suspend our disbelief and accept the impossible as the ordinary."

At first glance, I thought this book would be right up my alley; delve into what makes a Stephen King novel a Stephen King novel and why do I think they are so great. Well, the book started off well, the author explaining different theories of writing style that King uses and how they are applied in various of his works. Each chapter focuses on a different novel or short story (a couple of stories I had no memory of) and by using modern literary theory explores the depth of King's writing.

So, I am not an English major and could care less about the academic definitions and theories about various writing styles or techniques. This book became too bogged down in references from other academics of linguistic studies. There also came a point when the author's discussion became repetitive in his descriptions. Also, the ebook edition which I was reading was riddled with errors that were in need of some editing. Sort of ironic for a critical examination on writing. Anyway, this book just wasn't for me.

I had to shelve this one for now at page 49. I have far too many books in my "to-read" pile to keep going with this one.

There really isn't anything wrong with this book. It's a collection of unsolved murders; some of which I am familiar with and others not so much. I have read a lot of true crime books and have listened to a lot of true crime podcasts and this book just didn't grab me.

One thing it does have going for it is the format. Each unsolved murder is written in a precise detailed manner, no extreme or unnecessary details of the gory bits and each murder is approximately eight pages long. You can pick up the book and read it in any order you choose without missing anything.

So, even though I have shelved it for now, I would still recommend it for anyone who is into true crime but doesn't want to be bogged down by a full length book.

I enjoyed the first two books in this series, however, this one I just couldn't get into. I may give it another try someday.

I love Neil deGrass Tyson, however, astrophysics simply can't be dumbed down enough for me. I'll stick to watching his video podcasts.

I think that by the time I started to read this book I was completely burned out on political books. They were coming pretty fast and steady at the time. I still have no desire to read it.

"Oil is the excrement of the devil."

If you have ever watched Rachel Maddow's show on MSNBC you already have experience with her in depth reporting. You already know how she can go off on seemingly unrelated topics and then bring it all together at the end. This book is no different and , as is turns out, Rachel Maddow is quite the writer and she brings her dark sense of humor with her.

We always hear about "Big Oil & Gas" in the news; Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, etc. Oftentimes there is some sort of ecological catastrophe happening with tens of thousands of barrels of oil leaking into the ocean somewhere. These stories are generally followed up with people trying to clean up said oil from the beaches and local waterfowl. For a short while there is outrage and calls for regulations because oil companies bad.

But how does this global industry actually work? How does it seemingly get away with destroying the planet? And what in the hell can we do about it?

For me, this book was eye opening. Maddow takes us on a world tour from Oklahoma to Equatorial New Guinea to Russia to shed light on the deep corruption of governments, world leaders and the men who stand to make billions upon billions of dollars. The main focus is Exxon Mobil and Rex Tillerson's dealings with foreign governments - mainly Russia and the race to drill in the Arctic.

"The oil and gas industry - left to its own devices - will mindlessly follow its own nature. It will make tons of money. It will corrode and corrupt and sabotage democratic governance. It will screw up and - in the end - fatally injure the whole freaking planet. And yes, it will also provide oil and gas along the way! And jobs for the workers who produce those things for it. The end times battle that we're engaged in now is to figure out how to get along without oil and gas - and we're plugging away but still a ways off from that - and, in the meantime, commit to a whole new level of constraint and regulatory protection against this singularly destructive industry to minimize its potential harm."