American Animals

This book has everything I could ever want.

It's true crime about college kids robbing their library, AND Evan Peters is in the movie adaptation.

I usually don't talk about movies here, but I watched American Animals years before I read it. It's a quick read, less than 200 pages. Eric and two of his friends, Warren and Spencer concocted an elaborate heist that they believed might actually work. The idea was simple, they were going to rob the Rare Books Room at the Transylvania University Library. They had a contact in Amsterdam who was willing to purchase The Birds of America and several other rare books. If they would have gotten off with all the books they intended on stealing, they were looking at a 12 Million Dollar payout.

It boggles my mind that these 19 and 20 year old kids really tried to pull this off. It's even crazier to think that authorities believed it could have been a professional hit. It took roughly two months before the boys were caught with the books unharmed and still in their possession.

I know this feels like a weird thing to enjoy but I've began collecting rare books myself. Just the thought of holding something worth so much gives off such a powerful feeling. I can only imagine the power, the rush, and the terror of pulling off a heist like this.