Book clubs are generally thought of as the domain of ladies who lunch, but it turns out that if you love reading books, you’re no different than some very infamous murderers. If you’re a reader, chances are that you can point to a book that has greatly influenced your thinking and your life. Some people you have this in common with: the United Healthcare CEO murderer, the Unabomber, and John Lennon’s assassin. In honor of nonfiction November, read on to learn about the killers who love books.
Luigi Magione, the United Healthcare CEO murderer, was no ordinary villain. This guy was well-read. Magione co-founded a book club while living in Hawaii in 2023. This book club, which he helped lead, brought together members who shared ideas and engaged in thoughtful discussions. The book selections included Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, as well as fellow book lover and Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski’s manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future. Talk about taking your literature seriously—too seriously.
There’s Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, who actually kept a copy of The Turner Diaries—a racist manifesto disguised as a novel—close at hand when he blew up a federal building. That book supposedly inspired his vision of violent white supremacy, letting fiction bleed into real-world horror with deadly consequences.
Subscribe to The Florida Jolt Newsletter!
Then we have Ted Kaczynski, the aptly named Unabomber, who found a twisted muse in Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent, a novel about radical anarchists throwing bombs. Kaczynski’s library was a who’s who of subversive literature, but instead of inspiring deep discussions, it drove deadly manifestos and carefully crafted bombs.
And of course, the iconic case of Mark David Chapman, John Lennon’s assassin, who identified with Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. The line between teenage rebellion and fatal obsession is thin, but Chapman took it from angst to actual murder, carrying Salinger’s classic with him as his dark talisman.
When one goes down the internet rabbit hole, one finds that killers often read numerous books. They’re literary junkies. Even Stephen King’s Rage is infamous in true crime circles. The horror writer didn’t just sell scares; his novel about a school shooter allegedly inspired multiple real-life copycats, so King pulled it from publication. Talk about unintended consequences from literary creativity.
Note: Florida Jolt’s Editor at Large Tracy Caruso’s favorite book is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, and The Catcher in the Rye is in her top ten. Read what you will into this.
These “well-read murderers” demonstrate that book smarts don’t necessarily equate to moral clarity. In fact, some individuals become more adept at crafting their own nefarious narratives.
So the next time you hear about the guy who cites Dostoevsky before a rampage or quotes Camus before a crime, don’t just roll your eyes—realize we’ve got a whole subgenre of criminal profiles out there, perfectly capable of discussing existentialism one minute and existential threat the next.
Back to Maginoni’s book club: it’s reportedly “taking a break.” Probably a good idea. Who says book clubs can’t be deadly serious?
Other stories you may want to read:
Best Cartoons: Schumer’s Cliff, Commies Everywhere, and Pelosi
- Cloud Dancer: Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year Is… White - December 9, 2025
- Mike Barnett Appointed to Palm Beach County Court by Gov. DeSantis - December 3, 2025
- Palm Beach County’s Bold Push to Lure New Yorkers South - November 19, 2025