Updates & book review
Apr. 9th, 2008 10:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pbrayNot dead yet, though today is the 10th consecutive work day, which is one of the reasons I've been posting infrequently. And speaking of dead, yesterday I finished reading the first of my birthday loot: NEVER SUCK ON A DEAD MAN'S HAND: Curious Adventures of a CSI by Dana Kollmann.
Overall I liked the book, but its strengths are also its weaknesses. Reading this book feels like taking Dana out for coffee (or a few drinks) and listening as she tells tales from her days as a CSI. It's a fascinating insight into the non-glamorous parts of the job, and what doesn't get shown on TV. But there's not a lot of structure to the book--stories wander, break off at odd points, there's entirely too much detail in some spots and too little in few. Every now and then she hints at a story but then wanders off in another direction, leaving the reader unfulfilled. If I were listening to her in person, I could prompt her to go back to fill in the missing blanks, but as it is, I kept reading and only when I reached the end did I figure out that she wasn't ever going to finish that story.
And as a warning, the gross out factor is high. Very high. As in do not attempt to eat or drink during or after reading certain sections, and be prepared to gag. I'd thought the full-color photographs of decomposing bodies from my Criminal Investigations textbook would have inured me to such things, but if you have a vivid imagination, the word pictures that Dana paints are even more gag-inducing.
Overall recommended, if you're a CSI junkie, or simply enjoy reading about someone who thinks burying roadkill in the front yard is an acceptable hobby.
Overall I liked the book, but its strengths are also its weaknesses. Reading this book feels like taking Dana out for coffee (or a few drinks) and listening as she tells tales from her days as a CSI. It's a fascinating insight into the non-glamorous parts of the job, and what doesn't get shown on TV. But there's not a lot of structure to the book--stories wander, break off at odd points, there's entirely too much detail in some spots and too little in few. Every now and then she hints at a story but then wanders off in another direction, leaving the reader unfulfilled. If I were listening to her in person, I could prompt her to go back to fill in the missing blanks, but as it is, I kept reading and only when I reached the end did I figure out that she wasn't ever going to finish that story.
And as a warning, the gross out factor is high. Very high. As in do not attempt to eat or drink during or after reading certain sections, and be prepared to gag. I'd thought the full-color photographs of decomposing bodies from my Criminal Investigations textbook would have inured me to such things, but if you have a vivid imagination, the word pictures that Dana paints are even more gag-inducing.
Overall recommended, if you're a CSI junkie, or simply enjoy reading about someone who thinks burying roadkill in the front yard is an acceptable hobby.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-10 04:55 am (UTC)The gross-out factor definitely starts with the title! Which is a great one, by the way LOL
Man, am I intrigued. Good grief.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-10 01:29 pm (UTC)