Impish_Impulse said:

Hmm, I'm currently reading a fictional novel based on the Dyatlov Pass Incident, which really happened. The basics of the story are here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D…..s_incident,

but somehow, nine Russian skiers/hikers died under mysterious circumstances in 1959. Something happened to cause them to slice their tent open from the inside to get out faster and then ran outside into -30° C weather, many under-dressed (some in just their underwear), and several in socks or even barefoot. All of their supplies were left behind. Some seemed to have died from hypothermia, while others had extensive rib and skull fractures with no outward evidence of trauma. Some of their clothes were radioactive, and oh, yeah – one of them had their tongue and all the soft tissues of their oral cavity missing (and before you suggest predation, this body was buried in the snow, while others not buried weren't touched).

And the name of the mountain they died on (Kholat Syakhl) translates to “mountain of the dead”, whilst the mountain they were trying to reach (Otorten) means “don't go there”.

This novel is about a group of people who went to investigate on the 50th anniversary, and only one came back. He's being questioned by a psychiatrist to try and find out what happened. Did he go nuts and kill the others? Is he sane or insane? Is his story believable or not? The novel can be read online here:

http://www.completelynovel.com…..ead-online

 

I like freaky, mysterious stuff like this.

Oh my gosh!  That sounds like an awesome book!  I might have to read that.  

On a related note, I've been looking around for a good nonfiction book on the Donner Party.  If anyone has read any that they thought were good and somewhat thorough, could you pass that info my way?

MegC said:

Oh my gosh!  That sounds like an awesome book!  I might have to read that.  

On a related note, I've been looking around for a good nonfiction book on the Donner Party.  If anyone has read any that they thought were good and somewhat thorough, could you pass that info my way?

I admit to being morbidly obsessed by the Dyatlov Pass Incident. I don't think any of the theories proposed completely explain it. It just gives you the creeps, but you're fascinated at the same time.

Ooh! The Donner Party! Not as mysterious, but creepy and compelling at the same time. I'll keep an eye out for a good book, and if you find one, pass on the recommendation, OK?

Just started reading “Elizabeth and Mary” by Jane Dunn after it has been on my bookshelf for awhile!

DuchessofBrittany said:

I finished reading the third book by Elly Griffiths. Her lead character is a female archaeologist living and solving murders in Norfolk. They're quite good.

I started reading the most recent Jefferson Bass book based about an forensic anthropologist from the real-life Body Farm in Tennessee.

I used to have Dr. Bass's old desk from UT when I was teaching.  I miss that desk…it was a good desk. 🙁  But I just couldn't haul it with me in addition to everything else.  I also got to meet Dr. Bass once…such a cool guy!

Anyway, I finished my book on the Donner party.  It's called Desperate Passage:  The Donner Party's Perilous Journey West by Ethan Rarick.  It's not exceptionally long, and I felt like the author did a good job of simply stating the facts of the Donner party.  It was very easy to tell where he was drawing assumptions and where factual research was being chronicled.  If you want to cross-reference, all of his sources are listed in the back.  It's a good starter book for the Donner party. 

MegC said:

DuchessofBrittany said:

I finished reading the third book by Elly Griffiths. Her lead character is a female archaeologist living and solving murders in Norfolk. They're quite good.

I started reading the most recent Jefferson Bass book based about an forensic anthropologist from the real-life Body Farm in Tennessee.

---

I used to have Dr. Bass's old desk from UT when I was teaching.  I miss that desk…it was a good desk. 🙁  But I just couldn't haul it with me in addition to everything else.  I also got to meet Dr. Bass once…such a cool guy!

---

Wow, cool fact, MegC. I would love to meet Dr. Bass someday. He's done amazing work with the Body Farm and its contributions to forensics and academic anthropology. I love his series of books. They're a fun read, but always interesting and real to life.

I've just finished The Shakespeare Secret (or Interred With Their Bones for US posters). I found it a great turn paging thriller, even if by the end of the book I was a little confused with what was happening in the 'intervals' between the 'acts'. I also got a bit confused with who discovered which clue and what they were trying to hide or show. But this may be put down to the fact that I was reading it for 20 minutes a day which led to some disjointedness. I'm sure if I read it again, I will be better able to remember who's who from the past and what they were contributing to the chase. I enjoyed all the little references to Shakespeare's plays and there were a number of good solid twists that I didn't see coming, while other twists I did see. I do recommend this book and you don't need to be a Shakespeare fan to enjoy it. And I think I know what conclusions were drawn in the end about Shakespeare's play. And personally, I think it would also make a good movie,

Now it's time to start reading Weir's Innocent Traitor.

I've started reading A Game of Thrones  by George R. R. Martin, so I'm on book 1 A Song of Ice and Fire.  If you've been following the series on HBO, I have to say I've been quite pleased with the book so far.  The book is lengthy, and I was concerned that it would drag–especially since I've been watching the series.  The series follows the book pretty closely–I haven't really come across any huge, glaring differences between the book and the series, but you do get more information about the families and the houses and the Seven Kingdoms and the history of the country and I like that kind of thing.  It's one of the things I like about the fantasy genre–that authors create whole worlds that, though they resemble ours, are clearly distinct with their own geographies and histories and I like to see how authors handle that responsibility.  Do they embrace it (like JK Rowling and Tolkien did) or do they shy away from it and fail to fully develop it the way they could have?  I haven't felt like it's been dragging at all, though I'm only 36% of the way through the book (thus saith the Kindle).  There is a great deal of book left to get bogged down in.  I will let you know how it all turns out when I get finished.

Then I really do recommended The Shakespeare Secret to you all, as it revolves around that theory. And presents all the possibilities with each pros and cons. And the best thing is that the Author's Notes at the end clearly spell out the facts from her fiction. Where she admits the stuff she made up. But even then the real stuff is still very thought provoking.