Welcome to Litsy!

I‘ve finished Columbine by Dave Cullen today, it was a very difficult read, but I‘m glad I finally did it. Not just because it‘s my community where it happened 8 years before it became my home, but because turns out what I knew about it was mostly wrong. I also needed to read it especially now, as I watch most heinous deeds unfold, asking why. This book provided some answers, and it made me very sad. Because despite everything, horrors go on.

This book was incredible. I didn‘t know a lot about Columbine I wasn‘t even alive when it happened but I have been intrigued. This book gives you all the information but doesn‘t make it so gruesome that it‘s hard to read. It makes you sad and angry and frustrated about all things that happened and what could have gone better.

#DoubleSpin #BookSpin

I finished my DoubleSpin book for this month. It was an interesting read. A lot to process, but worth the read.

@TheAromaofBooks

For far too many nights during the last 22 years we have witnessed tragic school shootings that there are no words in my vocabulary to describe. Lighting a candle tonight for all those lives lost and those still struggling to survive. #teachersoflitsy

Starting this today but a little afraid of it….

I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday, work was nuts, but here are my totals from Sunday!

#Scarathlon #TeamSlaughter @clwojick #Screamathon @4thHouseontheLeft #ReadLikeHellathon @readlikehellathon #MurderTheyReadathon #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #WickedThon @StayCurious

I thought I knew the details of Columbine. I remember seeing it happen on TV and was shocked at what I saw. But what I knew was not what really happened. Truth of the incident developed over time and,of course, the media didn‘t cover what ultimately came out about this mass shooting. The author kept the story moving by going back to the troubled past of Eric snd Dylan. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a tough read, but an amazing, thorough, and empathetic piece of journalism.

Finally finished this one and I'm glad I waited to get the newest release copy! I really wanted to pace myself and I'm happy I did because it was a LOT. Very, very well researched. Incredibly detailed and just all around well done. I keep coming back to Columbine randomly over the years and this is by far the best I've read on it yet. This isn't a book to rush, though. Take it slow.

#bookspinbingo #NutsInMay
@TheAromaofBooks @Andrew65

This chapter on psychopaths is incredible but it begs the question "Where do we who DO feel emotions but find those events, subjects and people interesting and fascinating fall on this scale?" Are we just one emotion away from psychopathy ourselves? While I've never had an urge to end a life (well...maybe an ex or two ??? jokes) and my search history would put me as suspect number 1 in the event of a tragedy ⬇️

It's about that time

#LongDay #BookandBath #Captain #Relaxxxxx

I‘m so glad I got a chance to read this. What a well researched and eloquent book to inform people about a highly publicized traumatic event. It gave me goosebumps

Spending some quality time on a Saturday night 😅

Call of Duty for him and a book for me.

At least we're in the same room, right? 🤣

#justanothernightin #wildsaturday

Got my #BingoBoard set up and ready to go! Let's get this month started on the right foot 👍

#bookspin 📚 Lighthousekeeping
#doublespin 📚 Siege and Storm
#bookspinbingo
@TheAromaofBooks

It's been a month. Sickness through the house, crazy times at work, mental drain and a sick, sick baby. I'm ready for things to cool down and get back to my normal routine...starting with #BookspinBingo 😊

I made a list. Let's see how this goes!

@TheAromaofBooks

I was a senior sitting in my computing skills class when we heard the news from Colorado. I remember feeling so scared. I also remember feeling sure that the grownups would make it so this never happened again. Now 20+ years later, I‘m the grown up and mass shootings are as American as baseball and apple pie. I am heartbroken today on this most terrible of anniversaries. I highly recommend Cullen‘s examination of this tragedy. An important read.

Most of us remember the mass shooting at Columbine High School. But unless you read this book, you won‘t know the whole story of the two teen killers and why they did what they did. You won‘t know how inept the response was to the event by police and SWAT. You won‘t understand the heartbreak of losing a child or the immediate response of the local community. Well written and researched, infuriating in places. Five stars.

I have still not picked up a book this month. I've binged some this, played some games and just flat out taken a break but I want to want to read!

This has been on my list for a long time and a good true crime can normally pop me out of a rut. If I can get 100 pages down....I'm golden!

Wish me luck!

#AwesomeApril @Andrew65

Bk10 of March is done! I think I‘ll be adding this to my #TopFiveTrueCrime of all time @Cathythoughts It was well researched, it was personal & it focused at least half of the book on the victims instead of the shooters. It depresses me that 22yrs later, no lessons have been learnt by the government after seeing the latest mass shooting in Colorado.😢 #NonFictionBingo #PickYourPoison #ChunksterChallenge #NerdReading2021 #52BookClubChallenge

Currently 146pgs into this well researched true crime about the tragedy at Columbine High School, April20 1999. The author has definitely dug into the case, it‘s a very well balanced, non hysterical account of not just the shooters & the event itself, but also the victims, their families & the whole community that it impacted. I‘m Australian, I will never get the obsession with guns in the US, to me it seems simple, stricter gun control.🤷🏻‍♀️

It‘s on the rising 9th grade summer reading list and one of my pumpkins insisted I read it, lending me her copy

This book uses masterful reporting to tell the stories behind the hearts and souls involved in the 1999 school shooting. I have never read a book so vivid and nuanced that was non-fiction.

@AprilMae Thank you so much for the gift! Can‘t wait to read this one and dig into these tasty treats! Happy Valentine‘s Day! 💘

@candority Thanks so much for organizing!! ❤️

Write a 2-3 sentence summary of what you read today.

I can see why this is such a classic, hard but important to read. It‘s interesting reading after Parkland by the same author, and how in Parkland he made such a specific effort not to psychoanalyse or get into the killer‘s motives following doing that here. I can see both wise of why he moved away from doing that, afraid it would drive hero worship, but also why it was so fascinating and effective to do.

This was difficult to read even after all these years. 16 pts for #TeamSlaughter @Clwojick #bookspinbingo square @TheAromaofBooks
I read 4 hours today for #outstandingOctober @Andrew65

1. In Wisconsin they are starting to change and love the colors.
2. Pumpkin spice everything!
3. Tagged now and a bunch of books for #scarathlon2020
Thanks for the tag @Sace @MoonWitch94
@peaknit #thoughtfulThursday

Happy #scarathlon2020 ya'll! I work all day so not much reading but my first pick #TeamSlaughter @Clwojick 1 pt.

Read. This. Book.

Well, this was a tough one to listen to... but absolutely amazing.

The chronology of the book really worked, with sections looking back to before the shootings, then more current events, then back to the actual day, revealing new information each time.

I felt that Cullen did a great job in presenting a factual but sympathetic portrayal of what happened that day and why, and I really liked the narrator too.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Tough to come up with words for this one. I remember it when it happened, but so much of this was new information. I appreciated the extra insight even though it did give me the chills.

While this was a difficult and dark read — I think it is an eye opening and possibly even necessary one. My students really took to this book and so I knew I was going to have to read it eventually to see what drew students to it — especially considering they weren‘t even alive when this book happened! Book 4. #BookSpin #BookSpinBonanza

A seriously great piece of objective reporting with factual information. Cullen is truly a master of his genre and this book is so important. It couldn‘t be done any better. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my last read in Feb. for #Nonfiction2020. I graduated from high school in May 1999 and I can vividly remember when this took place. This book hit me harder than I thought it would and those anxieties I felt as a high school kid came flooding back as I read.

This is a difficult book, but an important book. Sadly school shootings are too common now. 😞 Cullen does a great job of handling a sensitive subject.

@Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Finished this one a couple of days ago and I‘m honestly still reeling a little bit. Well written, researched, and overall a perfect example of non-fiction. It is also the most important book I‘ve read in the last five years.

I feel like I‘ve been listening to this book for months. I haven‘t given 5 ⭐️s to this & 2 other books about gun violence, even though they‘re very good. I think it‘s just the subject matter & length. I learned more than I thought I would & can see why it‘s so popular. It gives facts & dispels the myths. I was bothered by several stories—how some churches “recruited” after, the police cover-up, the police leaving victims outside overnight, etc.

20 years later and the memories of Columbine are no less painful. This is an extensive report debunking many myths, misconceptions and reports that surfaced during and after the terrible tragedy. While we can never make sense from such a senseless and cruel act of madness it was inspiring to read some survivors stories of recovery & forgiveness. Every student, teacher and family member should be considered a survivor as this crime affected all.

I feel like I‘ve been put through the ringer with this one....I‘ve passed the 11 hour mark, 3 more to go but I‘m learning so much. Eric Harris really was a BAD SEED but poor Klebold family. So many tragedies 💔

Parts of this book are just heartbreaking 💔This book is so thorough but also sensitive and not exploitive. Twenty years later and it still so hard to comprehend.

Finally getting around to listening to this book 😭it‘s an interesting companion to Sue Klebold‘s memoir. And an #ImpulseRead

This book was so hard to read, I had to break between chapters to absorb and evaluate. I was 18, at a small Quaker school in Yorkshire when the Columbine Massacre happened, I couldn‘t comprehend; twenty years later and I still can‘t - why so much hatred, why weren‘t the signs spotted; why, even if Eric could hide his psychopathy so well, was Dylan‘s depression not seen? I am so afraid the lessons have not been learnt from this tragedy.

I‘m having to stop every chapter or two. Excellently written. I was in college when this happened...I remember it, but wasn‘t glued to the news, so I‘m taking the time to look up people in the book. In each of these school shootings, it‘s astounding how many signs were ignored. 😩

The final act of the killers was among their cruelest: they deprived the survivors of a living perpetrator. They deprived the families of a focus for their anger, and their blame. There would be no cathartic trial for the victims. There was no killer to rebuke in a courtroom, no judge to implore to impose the maximum penalty. ... Displaced anger would riddle the community for years.

It is an axiom of journalism that disaster stories begin in confusion and grow clearer over time. Facts rush in, the fog lifts, an accurate picture solidifies. The public accepts this. But the final portrait is often furthest from the truth.

So sad, but fascinating. I was a sophomore when Columbine happened. I had no idea how many misconceptions I‘d absorbed about the whole thing.

It‘s crazy how I‘ve believed incorrectly for 20 years, based on how things were reported in the immediate aftermath. #howjessreadsin2019

A really in depth look at what really happened at Columbine. It really opened my eyes and made me realise how much the press had built an image of the two killers that was completely incorrect. A very detailed, well written book that, if you want to know what happened, will give you the facts.

Day 2 #7Days7Covers #CoverCrush

I love the ominous simplicity of this one.

It‘s my month to pick for our book club. Who has already read this? It‘s been sitting on my shelf for three years! The discussion will be interesting for sure! 📚

I avoided this book for a long time and it was every bit as harrowing as I feared. The events of Columbine were tragic and the fact that we are still battling to keep kids safe in schools made me want to scream at times. Still there was so much that I did not know about Columbine and so much of what I thought I knew was wrong. Glad I listened to this well done audiobook.

4/5
Finally finished this goodie I got from the True Crime swap with @aprilpohren and it took me almost a month! It was hard to finish due to the emotional toll it took on me. Read like fiction, but knowing that it‘s not made this one hard to finish. Im glad I read it since it was clear that what little I remembered about Columbine was inaccurate.

(Also pictured: my senior pup, Dazzy & the beautiful bookmark from @Rissreads 😘)

#ReadHarder2019