Not a great bedtime story

I don't like reading about just one thing. This helps explain why we go from earthquakes to...*cue dramatic music*...serial killers! Yes, this last book I finished has a review that reads "If you like to have nightmares, this is the book for you". And that's from Tom Towler, the "screenwriter of movies on Ted Bundy and Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer" -and both killers are in this book. The book in question is I, Monster by Tom Philbin. Well, Philbin is the one who put the book together. The book is really written by about 20 or so famous serial killers. It's a compilation of their thoughts, court records and terrifying, disturbing accounts of their crimes. 

This is a great book for those who love crime novels and thrillers. The only thing is, you have to remember that the accounts described are not fiction. These twisted things actually happened. I've read my fair share of horror novels, and there were places in the book that I just had to put down this book and concentrate on something happier. There were also times where I started crying. This book describes awful things but you are also compelled to finish it, for two reasons. One, to bear witness, in a sense, to what the victims went through. And two, to prove that you aren't scared of the darkness, that you can face the worst of humanity and shudder and cry but still walk away. Of course, I proceeded to have nightmares for the last few nights and there are some shocking photos that if you're not expecting, really freak you out and make you want to throw up. I recommend this book only for those who have extremely strong stomachs and don't mind the  nightmares (neither of which accurately describes me). If you can make it through it, the book makes you think about the worst parts of humanity which can be quite interesting- horrifying but interesting.

The end of the world!...Or at least the Western Seaboard

So, I recently finished this book called Cascadia's Fault by Jerry Thompson. Here's a pretty little picture of it for you:

Now, being a bit of a natural disaster aficionado, I have read quite a few books about megathrust earthquakes, tsunamis, supervolcanos, tornadoes, and the like. And most of them have one major thing in common (besides their subject): They get very, very, EXTREMELY boring. You wouldn't think that something about the death of thousands of people and extreme destruction could become boring but they manage it. Usually they'll suck you in with a dramatic preface and then the rest of the book is just like " And the force of the wave is calculated by dividing negative one by zero and then completing the formula with a quadratic equation..."

(A quadratic equation. Disclosure: I don't understand math.)

But, this book was a very pleasant surprise. Not only did it have an interesting preface, the whole book was interesting! There was some science and math involved, but it didn't take up multiple chapters and Thompson simplifies it so the average everyday reader can understand what the heck he's talking about. Now, the book describes how the Cascadia Fault was found and how scientists went about determining how dangerous it will be when it releases all its energy. For those of you who don't know where it is, the Cascadia Fault is located in red: 

Basically, if this earthquake decides to happen anytime soon, the upper half of the Western coast will first suffer a devastating earthquake that will be followed by a tsunami powerful enough to wipe out whole coastal towns. Thompson does a wonderful job of detailing the scientist's journey of discovering just how powerful this fault really is, as well as what will happen when the fault slips. I really recommend this for anyone looking for some interesting nonfiction.