Vampire Forensics

Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend
by Mark Collins Jenkins

In Vampire Forensics, Mark Jenkins probes vampire legend to tease out the historical truths enshrined in the tales of terror: sherds of Persian pottery depicting blood-sucking demons; the amazing recent discovery by National Geographic archaeologist Matteo Borrini of a 16th-century Venetian grave of a plague victim and suspected vampire; and the Transylvanian castle of "Vlad the Impaler," whose bloodthirsty cruelty remains unsurpassed.

Mark Jenkins’s engrossing history draws on the latest science, anthropological and archaeological research to explore the origins of vampire stories, providing gripping historic and folkloric context for the concept of immortal beings who defy death by feeding on the lifeblood of others. From the earliest whispers of eternal evil in ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome, vampire tales flourished through the centuries and around the globe, fueled by superstition, perversion, mystery, fear of disease and death, and the nagging anxiety that demons lurk everywhere.

Jenkins navigates centuries of lore and legend, weaving an irresistibly seductive blend of superstition, psychology, and science sure to engross everyone. Some parts were grotesque but I still couln't put it down. I was horrified and titilated.

Marilyn Monroe by Barbara Leaming

This was an interesting and detailed account of Marilyn's career in Hollywood (rather than her earlier life). The information is taken largely from primary texts and the information is incredibly detailed. The result is a retelling of events that occurred and an insight into the reasoning behind the events.

Even if you haven't seen a Marilyn Monroe movie, you know who she was and you are familiar with the iconic image from the movie The Seven Year Itch (white halter dress getup). The name is synonymous with beauty and charisma. But the real Marilyn-Norma Jean-struggled with depression, alcohol and substance abuse, self esteem, paranoia, and chronic fear that she would not be taken seriously. What came across in the book was that Monroe was needy and mentally unstable. Monroe surrounded herself with people who she thought would help her become a serious actress. It seemed that most people in her life wanted something from her, in particular her dramatic coaches.

 I felt quite sorry for her by the end. Marilyn, while bringing on much of the illness herself, did have a few very painful things to overcome. First, she was always living in fear that she would go insane like her mother who was institutionalized for most of Marilyn's life. Second, she suffered from endometriosis, a condition in which the lining of the uterus attaches to other stuff in the abdomen, and grow, causing pain, irregular bleeding, and, in severe cases, infertility. Several times Marilyn had to take time off to undergo gynecological surgery  Third, she had a series of emotionally and physically  traumatic miscarriages during her marriage with Arthur Miller. Not to mention the amount of pressure put on Marilyn to perform and do well from production companies, directors, and foremost, herself. Marilyn was a beautiful and troubled woman.

I would like to have had more details on Marilyn's constant sickness and early childhood. However the book is already more than 400 pages. So, I guess the early childhood and constant illness is another book completely.

Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez

Age: Grades 9-12

I heard about this book several years ago on NPR. I had wanted to read it right away, but here I am several years later...at least I remembered I wanted to read it. This is a true story about Debbie Rodriguez, an American who got out of an abusive relationship and went to Afghanistan to help with humanitarian aid. After several epiphanies, Debbie decided to open a beauty school in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Now when I think of a beauty school, I think of superficial things and negative aspects of being a woman. But really, a beauty school is empowering to women. It is a women centered organization, run, and staffed by women. In Afghanistan, men are not allowed in a beauty parlor because women have their heads uncovered (actually if men are caught in a beauty parlor it will hence forth be considered a whore house). In a beauty parlor, it is the one place where women can be themselves and be successful business women. What Debbie did was see that there was a need and work to fulfill it.

Anyhow, being that Debbie was a beautician and not a writer, I was concerned that the book wouldn't be well written. However, it is fabulous! I went on Amazon and saw that there was another writer listed, likely writer who could help Debbie organize her thoughts. Well, that other lady did a great job!

Debbie is a fighter. She barrels into Afghanistan and wants to help everyone. Later, she realizes that her American 'Can Do!' sensibility has often hurt other's feelings and she is able to reflect and accept why--which is hard for anyone to do. When she hears the horrible stories of the Taliban, she wants to jump to action. But that is not the way of things in Afghanistan.

One story, I LOVED and also HATED was when Debbie when to the market and a creepy man groped her. She did what an American woman would do. She punched him and yelled out that she was being assaulted. This behavior was so embarrassing to Debbie's Afghan friend who accompanied Debbie, that she vowed to never go to market with Debbie again. In Debbie's mind, she was protecting herself. In Debbie's friend's mind, Debbie was humiliating herself. This is a vast cultural difference that makes me furious, but at the same time, these women's perspectives are not any less valid than mine because they are different.

At one point Debbie visits a women's prison. The overall experience was utterly depressing. When she spoke with the women in prison, she found that many were in there for running away from abusive husbands or for being raped. Debbie herself had just escaped an abusive husband. According to Afghan law, she should be in prision for that offence. It was a very moving moment in the book.

I guess what I am trying to get at, is there are ways you can work within a system that is dysfunctional and make people's lives better. The women Debbie helps would be lost with American women's independence. Many women had never made a decision on their own before. It would be a trial to just pick out what to wear in the morning (having only had the decision between a blue burqa or a black burqa in the past). What Debbie did was go behind the lines and make a difference immediately. Sometimes you can't want for a culture or whatever, to change. How many of these women would have starved or been killed before the culture made a change allowing them to be independent? Who can wait for that?

It is an incredible book. It blows my mind. I was born in America. What if I had been born in Afghanistan? That could be my life.

The Time-Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer

Grades: 8-12
I have to confess that I am a little bit of a reality TV addict. I am just very interested in how people live. This interest spreads into a general interest in people and culture. I love books that are journal format (Dear America, Bridget Jones Diary, Ophelia, etc) because I feel like I get to eavesdrop. Isn't that like the most fun in the world?

Well, this book combines all those reality TV guilty pleasures with actual history. It is a "history" book but it is written like a travel guide. It breaks down every principle to the basic ideas and then expounds upon them. Very informative while being sooooo interesting!

Medieval England's social structure is completely different from the modern world we know and love. Even the basic "Christian" beliefs are different. Not only was deodorant not invented yet, it was thought that taking a bath could kill you. Think about life without indoor plumbing, toothpaste, band-aids, Advil. The average person lived to be 38. 38? That is not that old. How old are your parents right now. My Dad is 59. He likely would have been dead for the past 21 years.

I am always amazed that people could live at all without modern conveniences. I just don' t know how a person could even consider living without a microwave. Why would anyone WANT to do that. It just seems unfathomable. But that is history. Everyone has ancestors who were alive at that time. I don't know where mine were, but they very likely could have been in England not bathing and dying at age 38. Who knows?

This book used facts and historical events to capture my imagination more than Survivor EVER has.

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible By A.J. Jacobs

Grades: 9-12
From the bestselling author of The Know-It-All comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible.

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments etc. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes.

Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally and he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain. Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges.

I was really surprised I liked this book. I feel like even though Jacobs is a proclaimed agnostic he really gives the "Good Book" fair treatment.

Thou shalt not be able to put it down.