Poll: Have you read Truman Capote’s book, “In Cold Blood”? / LJWorld.com

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Response		Percent	Votes
Yes		59%	447
No		40%	301
Total	748

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AreUNorml (anonymous) says…

88 people responded and nobody had a single word to say about it?
November 10, 2009 at 7:01 a.m.
davidsmom (anonymous) says…

It's one of those books that's on my "to read" list.
November 10, 2009 at 7:26 a.m.
Solomon (anonymous) says…

I read it when it first came out. I started one evening after dinner and read it straight through.
November 10, 2009 at 7:48 a.m.
justbegintowrite (Ronda Miller) says…

It is one of my favorite books for many reasons.

As a child living on a farm in rural Kansas it introduced an entirely new type of fear into my life.

It is written in a format that was new and different from anything I'd ever read before.

Later a cousin of the Clutter family moved to our town for a short time so I felt somehow closer and connected to the incident than I might have otherwise.

Truman Capote absolutely rocked as an author.

I highly recommend it for everyone. Just make sure you have good locks on your doors before you crack the book! :)
November 10, 2009 at 8:11 a.m.
Soup2Nuts (anonymous) says…

A great book and a fairly quick read, drawing the reader in more and more as it progresses. I imagine Capote's presence in the little community while researching his book was quite a scene.
November 10, 2009 at 8:24 a.m.
mjwgoku (anonymous) says…

I saw the movie, does that count? I need to get around to reading this book soon. My oldest daughter read it and liked it.
November 10, 2009 at 8:39 a.m.
consumer1 (anonymous) says…

I saw the movie. I watched it from the beginning to the end, "Straight through".
I have the book in my bucket to read.
That, and Alice in Wonderland.
November 10, 2009 at 8:42 a.m.
sunshine_noise (anonymous) says…

I'll never read it again.
November 10, 2009 at 8:59 a.m.
MacHeath (anonymous) says…

The book is extremely well-written, as are several of Mr. Capote's works. "A Christmas Memory" is flawless.
I used to see him on the talk shows, when I was younger.
What a character! He would have been an interesting man to know. Too bad he alienated so many of his friends by writing about them, later in life. Made for some interesting short stories though!
November 10, 2009 at 9 a.m.
Irish (Leslie Swearingen) says…

I have read most of his books. He is of the same ilk as Faulkner and Tennessee Williams.
Writers like these are making themselves vulnerable when they tell the truth in their books and plays and hope that not only do people understand, but someone who has experienced what the character has will find solace in knowing that someone has spoken for them.
November 10, 2009 at 10:11 a.m.
BABBOY (anonymous) says…

No way. Not meant as comment on the writer. Just the subject matter is disturbing. I do not read books or watch movies to be disturbed.

(I got this site for that)
November 10, 2009 at 10:15 a.m.
artful_dodger (anonymous) says…

I read it in high school and found it to be absolutely creepy. I don't know how I'd feel about it almost 25 years later. Hopefully the same.
November 10, 2009 at 11:14 a.m.
honeychild (Mel Briscoe) says…

i saw the movie capote. that was good enough for me.
November 10, 2009 at 1:31 p.m.
shorttrees (anonymous) says…

I grew up in that area and know/knew some of the people mentioned in the book. My grandparents knew the Clutters. It's not something people out there will talk much about, even still, it brings up too many fears and anger.
November 10, 2009 at 1:50 p.m.
cntrygrl (anonymous) says…

I, too, grew up in that area. Short is right. They don't like to talk about it.

I know that for a short time, someone had purchased the Clutter home and was offering tours. I, even as a child, thought that it was awful.

I read "In Cold Blood" in Jr High, but already knew the story well. It saddened me to read it.

I didn't sleep for weeks after reading it. I lived on a small farm in the middle of nowhere and I was terrified that something like that could happen to my family.
November 10, 2009 at 2:14 p.m.
3crookedhearts (anonymous) says…

I can never forgive Capote for undermining Harper Lee's contribution to that book. Such a shame. And a sham.
November 10, 2009 at 3:03 p.m.
RonHolzwarth (Ron Holzwarth) says…

I was way to young to really understand what had happened.

I do have a couple very clear memories though.

I can remember my parents trying to lean a chair against the door, so they could hear if someone was trying to get in. See, we didn't have a key for the front door, so it was obviously always left unlocked.

Later, my mother was alone with my and my younger brother to tell us something Very Serious.

I still remember the look in her eyes as she gave us Very Clear Instructions, and that look meant that this was:

Very Serious.

"If you hear anyone in the house, and it sounds like they're going to shoot H. or me, you boys are to climb out the window and hide, out in the trees."
November 10, 2009 at 3:46 p.m.
Celeste (anonymous) says…

Wow. I really must read that book. I'm always glad we have big dogs in the house. At least they are somewhat of a deterrent, if someone wants to break in. At the very least, it might buy my family some time if we really needed to get out of the house.
November 10, 2009 at 3:51 p.m.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…

I read it in high school. My step mom grew up around Holcomb, Kansas, and knew the family, but she can't talk about it.
November 10, 2009 at 4:32 p.m.
bad_dog (anonymous) says…

mom of three:

You sound like your family might be related to autie or his cuzzins, when you use that "but she can't talk about it" phrase ;-)
November 10, 2009 at 4:42 p.m.
Gootsie (anonymous) says…

I also grew up near that area, and knew their maid. It is the only time I remember that we locked our doors and were afraid after dark. Once they caught them, we were still nervous. It was a very scary time. I was five then and we lived in the country.
November 10, 2009 at 4:52 p.m.
H_Lecter (anonymous) says…

Gootsie,
Do you still lock your doors?

H_L
November 10, 2009 at 6:29 p.m.
persevering_gal (anonymous) says…

A very disturbing story, but a very well-written book.
November 10, 2009 at 6:37 p.m.
Machiavelli_mania (anonymous) says…

Members of my family assisted in college-educating the surviving daughters.
November 10, 2009 at 9:03 p.m.
puddleglum (anonymous) says…

read the first couple of chapters-then fell asleep.
girlfriend read me the rest while he was on his flying carpet
November 10, 2009 at 9:32 p.m.
purplesage (anonymous) says…

. . . The snap of a rope-broken neck, the neck of a guy who maybe had something to contribute.

I read all this about how disturbing the book is; how about how disturbing humanity can be. It makes us uncomfortable because in the dark recesses of the soul, ordinary men and women are capable of unthinkable cruelty and horror.

Theologically, it is the sin nature - and no one knows the depts of darkness of which they are capable. Capote details a tragic story of lost lives and their impact on others.
November 11, 2009 at 6:48 p.m.