Forensic Anthropology-Book List

 Hey guys! I have mentioned before that in college I studied anthropology with a concentration in forensic anthropology. Over on my YouTube channel I did a list of some of the books that I read for courses as well as some that originally got me into the topic. 

On the list I would recommend numbers 1, 2, 3, and 7 most for someone who is casually interested or is not as sure of some of the technical terms. They are the most beginner friendly as they are more memoirs that instruction manuals. They keep everything moving nicely with a story telling element. 

Number 6 is great if you are a little more comfortable and really helps put terms into context.

Then we have numbers 4 and 5. These ones are the true textbooks that are the most technical on the list. If you are determined enough I would say these are pretty accessible even for a more beginner level student. Just be patient and keep your glossary handy.

If you're curious about bones check out the video below and the book list! Happy reading! 💀📖

1. Death's Acre by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson
2. Teasing Secrets from the Dead: My Investigations at America's Most Infamous Crime Scenes by Emily Craig
3. Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by William R Maples and Michael Browning
4. Forensic Recovery of Human Remains: Archaeological Approaches 2nd ed. by Tosha L Dupras, John J Schultz, Sandra M Wheeler, and Lana J Williams
5. Forensic Anthropology Training Manual 3rd ed. by Karen Ramey Burns
6. Hard Evidence: Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology 2nd ed. by Dawnie Wolfe Steadman
7. The Bone Woman: A Forensic Anthropologist's Search for Truth in the Mass Graves of Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo by Clea Koff

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

 Title: Tunnel of Bones 

Author: Victoria Schwab

Page Count: 304
Rating: C
Format Read: Kindle
Genre: Middle Grade
Keywords: Ghosts, Travel, Hauntings
Kid Appropriate: Yes

Cassidy Blake is a unique kid. She nearly died, but was saved by her best friend Jacob. Who happens to be a ghost. Now she travels the world with her parents who 1) have no clue she can see ghosts, 2) don't know Jacob is tagging along, and 3) just happen to be the hosts of a ghost hunting show. In the second book of this series we pick up right after they have left Edinburgh and are arriving in Paris. While in the infamous catacombs, Cassidy and Jacob discover a poltergeist. Can they make the boy remember who he was in life before he destroys the city?

So this is the second book in this series, and much like the first I love the premise. A kid who can see ghosts traveling the world with her parents that are basically hunting out ghost stories. It sounds like an amazing good time. It should be nice and spooky. But just like the first book, this one somehow fell flat for me.

I will admit that the perceived shortcomings I keep experiencing with the series could simply be that I am too old to be reading these. At 26 I am probably twice, if not more, double the age of the intended audience. An elementary or middle school student might enjoy these far more, and that is totally okay. What I experience each time I have read one of these books is wanting more. I want the characters to feel more fleshed out, like individual people. A bigger build up to the closing pages. A more graceful closing that is not quite so abrupt. Digging deeper into the lore of the veil and how spirits do and do not move on. Fleshing out these locations where the ghosts are just a bit more with descriptors and history beyond the snippets we get now. 

For what I did like, the continued friendship and the introduction of conflict caused by Cassidy not sending Jacob on into death started to grow more complex and interesting. I could see that in future installments this will grow into a bigger issue that will challenge the concepts of friendship and when it is the right time to say goodbye. It is never really clear if they will be able to continue on into forever as they have been or if there will need to be a time that they part ways. 

Overall, I definitely recommend this one for the intended age bracket. It is creepy but stays less scary than Katherine Arden's Small Spaces series (a favorite of mine). With each book I could see these getting a bit better as well. As for adults, try it out but try not to forget that it definitely feels geared towards younger readers without some of the enjoyment that other middle grade series tend to have.

Check out my video review below and happy reading!

Capturing the Devil by Kerry Maniscalco

Title: Capturing the Devil 
Author: Kerri Maniscalco

Page Count: 453

Rating: B

Format Read: Audio via Libby

Genre: Young Adult

Keywords: Serial Killers, Love, Weddings

Kid Appropriate: Teens and older

In the fourth installment in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series Audrey Rose finds herself in a world of drama. Will she be able to marry her one true love? Is Jack the Ripper still alive? Did he follow her to America? 

If you are new to this series, then I recommend starting at the beginning as these books should not be read solo. The main character is Audrey Rose Wadsworth and she is a teenage girl living in Victorian London when Jack the Ripper begins his killing spree. But Audrey Rose is no ordinary girl cowering from the monster hunting the streets. She is apprenticed to her uncle, as a medical examiner performing autopsies. She must work with his other apprentice, Thomas Cresswell, to hunt out the fiend before it is too late. My review for Stalking Jack the Ripper can be found here. I do not have review up for book two (Hunting Prince Dracula...which is amazing by the way) but I do have a video review up for book three, Escaping from Houdini. You can check that out below.

Now following book three, Audrey and Thomas have landed in America. Murder and love intertwine in this series finale...though it is not necessarily the most balanced union. Nearly half of the book is focused on these two characters professing their love for one another ad nauseum, wondering if their families will approve of aforementioned love, can they possibly get married, oh no drama about getting married, and debating just becoming lovers. Which is fine. I adore them as a couple and have happily followed them for three previous books. However, there just was not enough murder.

Towards the last 10% of the book we do start to get some snippets of mystery and murder and less internal turmoil. I genuinely enjoyed this part and was wanting to pay more and more attention...but it ended really quickly. Spending more time with the creepy, intense moments and the murder hotel would have really made this book a more solid finale.

If you're already a fan, then this series does wrap up nicely enough with enough hints at the couple's future that you are left intrigued. If you are new, then I definitely recommend reading at least the first two books. I adored them! 

Check out my video review for Capturing the Devil below and happy reading!

BookTube: New Videos

Hello! I took a quick break from making videos last week but there will be a new video this Thursday talking about more writing books since this month is indeed National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. Then following that there will be a book review posted every Thursday with occasional other videos being released on Tuesdays for the rest of November. 

Also, thank you to all of my subscribers! I was thrilled to see, and happily surprised, that the channel has hit 100 subscribers! Thank you for all the positive comments and I look forward to sharing more books with all of you. Check out below for my most recent videos and happy reading!

Review for The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy (a memoir):

https://youtu.be/6sC5oXVAQxU

Review for Capturing the Devil (a YA Victorian mystery):

https://youtu.be/c0QlmpkANr8

My October currently reading with some fall reading recs:

https://youtu.be/eXwV7D_PqBU

And finally my Harry Potter themed birthday haul!

https://youtu.be/D9myfUr18Y4

September Book Haul

 Hello! Last month I celebrated my 26th birthday and my family definitely spoiled me with books and bookish presents. Check out my haul below and happy reading!

On My Shelf: Spooky Season Reads for Adults and Teens

 Check out five (maybe six) horror books from my bookshelf below! Happy reading!

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

Title: Cycle of the Werewolf
Author: Stephen King

Page Count: 101

Rating: B

Format Read: Kindle via Libby

Genre: Horror 

Keywords: Werewolves, Small Towns, Spunky Kid

Kid Appropriate: No

A small town is plagued by a monster every full moon for a year. Some say it's a maniac. Others say it's a crazed animal. One boy knows it's a monster. And he plans to do something about it.

This novella comes out to just over a hundred pages, including illustrations, making it a fast read you can get through in a single sitting. The premise might sound familiar if you are a fan of the 1985 movie Silver Bullet starring Gary Busey since this is the inspiration. I watched the movie as a kid and was excited to read the story by one of my favorite authors.

Each 'chapter' is a month in the year leading up to our finale and follows the full moon of that month where some mysterious attack is being discussed or we even witness it. King did take some liberties with the full moon's timing so that it would coincide with a holiday or major day in the month, so try not to let that bug you too much while you are reading. We get glimpses of people seeing the monster or the man before he transforms, but not until nearly the end is it revealed who the werewolf is.

Overall, I really enjoyed this quick tale of a town battling a monster and the spunk of a kid who just knows what he needs to do. It is classic King but with a fraction of the page count. Definitely pick this one up for a quick escape.

Check out my video review below and happy reading!