The Wisdom of Psychopaths

I know what you're thinking.

"The Wisdom of Psychopaths, how does that make sense?"

Well let me tell you, it makes SO MUCH sense.

So my senior year I took a Social Psycho-Physiology class.

Reading this book made me reminisce about all the things I learned in that class and how grateful I am to have been able to follow along with books like this without being weighed down by the technicality of it all.

The Wisdom of Psychopaths is based on the idea that maybe we are all capable of having psychopathic traits, it's just a matter of context. How we use these traits are a definitive aspect of our personality. Dr. Kevin Dutton write about how many people of power have the same traits as many career criminals. The idea is that their endgame is the same, but how they carry themselves and get to that point is what truly differentiates a psychopathic inmate from a successful CEO.

The way I learned to think of these traits is by imagining it as a switchboard. We have ability to either flip the switch on or off depending on the situation and Dr. Dutton discusses that immensely in this book. He also uses image of a mixing board to describe psychopathic traits. He explains it as psychopathy being turned up louder than other traits, such as empathy. By using this description, he allows us to see psychopathy in a new way, one that shows how these traits can be beneficial in some careers. 

Overall, this was an incredibly interesting read. 

Huge shout out to my friend Tommy for loaning me his copy of The Wisdom of Psychopaths!

Rage (The Bachman Books)

For those of you who don't follow my bookstagram page (a_readers_diary), I have been DYING to read Rage, the only problem is I could only find copies for $400. Luckily enough, the library had an older copy of The Bachman Books, meaning Rage was included!! So needless to say, I'm not planning on reading all four books, just Rage.

 

Now, Richard Bachman, aka Stephen King, pulled Rage off the shelves and out of publication in the late 1990's because it was associated with several school shootings. Since the book was about a teenager holding his class hostage after shooting two teachers, King decided enough was enough and pulled it.

So, lets meet Charlie Decker.

Honestly, I liked him.

He had a hard time growing up. He was always picked on for one reason or another, whether it be at school, the playground, or at home. That's right, parents can be bullies too. But one day, he snapped and by snapped I mean, assaulted a teacher with a wrench. When he finds out he's set for expulsion, he knows now is the time. It's now or never. He sets his locker on fire, shoots the teacher, and begins taking over the class. Another teacher gets in the way?

*bang*

Not anymore.

Charlie's in charge now and he wants everyone to know it.

Once his classmates realize what's going on, they're unsure of what to do.

Take him down?

Fear for their lives?

Or maybe just go along with his plan?

When the class begins chatting, they learn just how many secrets their little town has.

They find ways to hurt each other without Charlie having to pull he trigger again.

It's not hard to lay everything out in the open, but what's going to happen after this?

I think that's why I enjoyed this book so much.

It's not heart in your throat traumatic.

It's not graphic at all.

It's almost as if you're a bystander just taking it all in.

Which is how I imagined Charlie felt, I think the idea was he didn't realize what was happening until it happened. He didn't want to do these things, but something inside of him wanted that power. He wanted people to know he was just along for the ride, whatever happened was truly up to the class. He even says at one point that he knows he's lost control over them. I think that's when the fog cleared and he realized he was hurting. 

I also feel obligated to say that I wanted to read this book 30,000 times more once I realized it was out of print. Something about telling me I can't have a book just makes me want it even more.

I Don't Want to Kill You

It's been a very, very long time since a book has made me mad, but I loved every second of it.

Read at your own risk, spoilers ahead.

We met John Cleaver, demon hunter, two books ago.

Book three, I Don't Want to Kill You, takes place because John called a demon. I mean, he literally picked up a phone and called a demon.The problem with his plan? He doesn't know what she's going to look like, what she's capable of, or how he's going to find her. 

After his last run in with a demon, his relationship with Brooke is nearly nonexistent. But suddenly her friend Marci is interested in him.

What could a popular girl like Marci want to do with a sociopath like John?

Their dynamic is FANTASTIC, by the way.

Their budding relationship almost gives John a type of hope; hope that maybe he can be himself with Marci. She understands him, helps him, and honestly she's flirting with him.

But anyway, let's get back to the darker side of things.

John has almost abandoned his rules entirely. He knows a demon is coming, so he's investigating everyone who makes a drastic life change. He starts to borderline stalk members of his community to try to find "Nobody". He has to find her before she starts killing, but he knows the only way he can actually find her is waiting for the first death. That's when a suicide epidemic washes over the teenage girls in his class AND a string of murders that resemble The Handyman begin. Could his new demon the the Handyman? 

Now he has to get into the killer's mindset, but his time he has help. His mother has finally accepted that the demons are real, he's confided in Marci, and he's employed the help of a Catholic priest. All of these people are vital to the story and honestly it's brilliant.

I love where author, Dan Wells, takes us in I Don't Want to Kill You.

He pulled out all the stops and quite literally ruined my day. 

If you are anything like me, you'll want to read the ending first.

I'M TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES READ THE ENDING UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY GET TO THE END.

But seriously, go get this book, best in the series.

Looking for the rest of the series?

I Am Not a Serial Killer (John Cleaver #1)

Mr. Monster (John Cleaver #2)
Next of Kin (John Cleaver #3.5)
The Devil's Only Friend (John Cleaver #4)
Over Your Dead Body (John Cleaver #5)
Nothing Left to Lose (John Cleaver #6)

Anthologies:
Life Inside My Mind