SueCanaan's bookshelf: non-fiction en-US Fri, 02 May 2025 13:44:51 -0700 60 SueCanaan's bookshelf: non-fiction 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II]]> 210246743 An incredible true story of murder in a utopian community established on a remote Galápagos island by European refugees and the American industrialist who became embroiled in the investigation—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Ghosts of Eden Park

At the height of the Great Depression, Los Angeles oil mogul George Allan Hancock and his crew of Smithsonian scientists came upon a gruesome scene: two bodies, mummified by the searing heat, on the shore of a remote Galápagos island. For the past four years Hancock and other American elites had traveled the South Seas to collect specimens for scientific research. On one trip to the Galápagos, Hancock was surprised to discover an equally exotic group of humans: European exiles who had fled political and economic unrest, hoping to create a utopian paradise. One was so devoted to a life of isolation that he’d had his teeth extracted and replaced with a set of steel dentures.
As Hancock and his fellow American explorers would witness, paradise had turned into chaos. The three sets of exiles—a Berlin doctor and his lover, a traumatized World War I veteran and his young family, and an Austrian baroness with two adoring paramours—were riven by conflict. Petty slights led to angry confrontations. The baroness, wielding a riding crop and pearl-handled revolver, staged physical fights between her two lovers and unabashedly seduced American tourists. The conclusion was deadly: with two exiles missing and three others dead, the survivors hurled accusations of murder.
Using never-before-published archives, Abbott Kahler weaves a chilling, stranger-than-fiction tale worthy of Agatha Christie. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the march to World War II, with a mystery as alluring and curious as the Galápagos itself, Eden Undone explores the universal and timeless desire to seek utopia—and lays bare the human fallibility that, inevitably, renders such a quest doomed.]]> 352 Abbott Kahler 0451498658 SueCanaan 4 non-fiction, true-crime
]]> 3.75 2024 Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II
author: Abbott Kahler
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/02
date added: 2025/05/02
shelves: non-fiction, true-crime
review:
I loved this nonfiction book that is whackadoo in all the events which happened. So unbelievable, and the reason why history can be fun. If you have read Vincent Bugliosi's "And the Sea Will Tell", you'll enjoy the psychological similarities 40 years before that true story.


]]> <![CDATA[No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity]]> 214161655 From award-winning sustainability expert Ashlee Piper, a witty, no-nonsense guide to regaining control over your time, consumerist impulses, and financial and mental wellness

For nearly two years, Ashlee Piper challenged herself to buy nothing new. And in the process, she got out of debt, cut clutter, crushed her goals, and became healthier and happier than ever—all the things she’d always wanted to do but “never had time to” (because she was mindlessly scrolling, shopping, spending, and stressing). After a decade of fine-tuning, No New Things guides readers through the same revolutionarily simple challenge that has helped thousands of global participants find freedom and fulfillment in just thirty days.

The book follows the rise of what Piper calls “conditioned consumerism” and how it sneakily hijacks our time, money, and mental bandwidth, as well as harms the planet. From there, readers follow customizable daily action items that bring about the ease and richness of a life less bogged down by spending and stuff, without compromising on style, convenience, or fun.

Whether you’re a bona fide shopaholic or someone who just wants to buy less and live more, No New Things is the antidote to modern overwhelm.]]> 288 Ashlee Piper 1250382165 SueCanaan 5
This book started with such great information I regretted having the audio version. I kept listening, promising myself to remember that info, the next info came, and the first info left my brain (see my age mentioned in sentence 1, lol). Basically author Ashlee Piper spends a ton of time presenting interesting facts about why we are driven to consume, the history of us as humans who are subject to tricks that compel us to seek a dopamine high from the procuring of goods, and the most important fact - that high dissipates quickly and needs to be filled again with.....you guessed it.....another purchase.

The second half of the book is a 30 day starter kit on how to live a life where we avoid unnecessary purchases. Since I was reading to review, I did not start the 30 day challenge, but I did listen to get an idea of what to expect because you bet I'm in for the month of April. I may not make it more than one month, but I'm game to stop wasting precious resources including money, time, energy.....

]]> 3.86 No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity
author: Ashlee Piper
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.86
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/23
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: 2025-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:
There are seasons of life and as I've now entered my 60s, my current season is dispersal. I am dispersing as much of my junk as I can in order to make my passing easier on my kids. You've likely heard of this movement - Swedish Death Cleaning. Seeing No New Things as an audio arc, I was all in to hear more about a life with less consuming. I started my year watching a documentary called Buy Now, and this book is a great follow-up resource to reiterate the importance of not buying into the influencer generation. Stop overconsuming. Stop falling for the psych warfare we live with as MUST HAVE is being thrown at us in all facets of our life.

This book started with such great information I regretted having the audio version. I kept listening, promising myself to remember that info, the next info came, and the first info left my brain (see my age mentioned in sentence 1, lol). Basically author Ashlee Piper spends a ton of time presenting interesting facts about why we are driven to consume, the history of us as humans who are subject to tricks that compel us to seek a dopamine high from the procuring of goods, and the most important fact - that high dissipates quickly and needs to be filled again with.....you guessed it.....another purchase.

The second half of the book is a 30 day starter kit on how to live a life where we avoid unnecessary purchases. Since I was reading to review, I did not start the 30 day challenge, but I did listen to get an idea of what to expect because you bet I'm in for the month of April. I may not make it more than one month, but I'm game to stop wasting precious resources including money, time, energy.....


]]> <![CDATA[Under Cover of the Night: A True Story of Sex, Greed and Murder]]> 20949480 But even in the best-laid plans, evidence is left behind…

Jocelyn Branham Earnest was found dead on the floor of her living room in Forest, Virginia. By her side was a gun and a suicide note—typed, lacking a signature, and with one fingerprint on it. A fingerprint apparently belonging to Jocelyn’s estranged husband…

Wesley Earnest was a respected high school administrator, poised to restart his life in a new community. Parents entrusted their children to his care and believed he was above reproach. But the investigation into the life the couple once shared would reveal adultery, troubled finances, and shattered dreams—enough for one man with murder on his mind to travel hundreds of miles…

Under Cover of the Night
 
INCLUDES PHOTOS]]> 384 Diane Fanning 0425270238 SueCanaan 0 3.43 2014 Under Cover of the Night: A True Story of Sex, Greed and Murder
author: Diane Fanning
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: 2025-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans]]> 176443714
We’ve all heard of Amway, Mary Kay, Tupperware, and LuLaRoe, but few know the nefarious way they and countless other multilevel marketing (MLM) companies prey on desperate Americans struggling to make ends meet.

When factories close, stalwart industries shutter, and blue-collar opportunities evaporate, MLMs are there, ready to pounce on the crumbling American Dream. MLMs thrive in rural areas and on military bases, targeting women with promises of being their own boss and millions of dollars in easy income—even at the risk of their entire life savings. But the vast majority—99.7%—of those who join an MLM make no money or lose money, and wind up stuck with inventory they can’t sell to recoup their losses.

Featuring in-depth reporting and intimate research, Selling the Dream reveals how these companies—often owned by political and corporate elites, such as the Devos and the Van Andels families—have made a windfall in profit off of the desperation of the American working class.]]> 320 Jane Marie 1982155779 SueCanaan 5 3.74 2024 Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans
author: Jane Marie
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: 2025-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Daily Mindfulness: A 31 day guide to mental clarity]]> 223901071
Each day brings a concise 2-minute read or listen, grounded in research and focused on understanding your mind's natural patterns. Learn to navigate stress, improve focus, and build resilience through small, strategic changes that add up to lasting mental clarity.

Perfect for busy professionals, skeptics, and anyone seeking evidence-based methods for a clearer mind, this guide strips away the mysticism and delivers straightforward techniques you can start using immediately. Whether you're commuting, taking a break, or winding down for sleep, these daily insights help you build a more mindful approach to life, one day at a time.]]> 72 Alex Smith-Powell SueCanaan 4 4.14 Daily Mindfulness: A 31 day guide to mental clarity
author: Alex Smith-Powell
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: 2025-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:
Daily Mindfulness on audio is a hard book to rate. I started out at a 3 star, but when mulling it over I'm moving it up to a 4 star. Alex Smith-Powell has nice tips on how to reign in chaos in your brain through very short, concise assignments over the course of a month. Each days work, on audio, lasted about 2 to 3 minutes. Some things were new to me, most were not, but a nice reminder. My hesitation is the medium. This very brief hook of 'hey, in 2 minutes here's what you can do' probably works better in a printed form. For an audio book, I found the segments too quick. Just when my brain could shift to the topic, the topic was over. I started out taking notes, but that got old and felt like too much work. I would recommend this one, but not on audio. Interesting (to me) side point was as a listener I decided to find out more about the author and her credentials. I found this almost an impossible task and have very little idea if the person giving the advice is qualified in any way other than being able to write short bursts of wisdom.
]]> <![CDATA[The Ozempic Revolution: A Doctor's Proven Plan for Success to Help You Reverse Obesity, End Yo-Yo Dieting, and Protect Yourself from Disease]]> 219629945 The first comprehensive user guide to GLP-1s (such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound) including an overview of how they work, a breakdown of the physical and mental side effects, and companion recipes and exercise guidance to maintain lifelong health and keep weight off for good.

The newest class of weight loss drugs (GLP-1s) are complete game-changers in their potential to reverse obesity and its related diseases, with nearly 50% of Americans qualifying for the use of these drugs. Already 1 in 8 Americans say they’ve tried a GLP-1 medication—but with many acquiring their prescription from online pharmacies, med spas, and general practitioners, they face a huge gap between trying the drug and achieving their health goals with it long-term.

That’s where The Ozempic Revolution comes in. Dr. Alexandra Sowa, a leading obesity medicine specialist, shares her expertise on this much-discussed but largely misunderstood class of medica­tions, including information like:

What the GLP-1 experience really feels like
How to know if you’re a candidate for these medications
How to get a prescription and get it covered by insurance
How to manage and reduce unwanted side effects
Unique food plans and strategies for managing the mental challenges of losing weight
Simple, easy recipes for when you don’t feel like eating

Traditional and social media has been flooded with junk information and stigmatizing headlines about GLP-1s, and in this book, Dr. Sowa digs into all of it—the good, the bad, and the ugly—bringing the science to light.

If you’re curious about how GLP-1s might fit into your life, or want to optimize your experience while taking them, then Dr. Sowa’s clear-eyed, fully informed approach is a must-read. The Ozempic Revolution changes everything: these drugs finally provide a viable, healthy, and sane way to lose weight, avoid disease, and maintain your health gains for life.]]> 256 Alexandra Sowa 0063417006 SueCanaan 0 4.29 The Ozempic Revolution: A Doctor's Proven Plan for Success to Help You Reverse Obesity, End Yo-Yo Dieting, and Protect Yourself from Disease
author: Alexandra Sowa
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: 2025-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy]]> 211003817 A groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that investigates Munchausen by Proxy from the host and creator of the award-winning true crime podcast Nobody Should Believe Me.

No bond is more sacred than that between a mother and child. And no one is more sympathetic than a mother whose child faces a life-threatening illness. But what if the mother is the cause of the illness? What if the sympathy is the point?

Munchausen by proxy (MBP) has fascinated and horrified both professionals and the general public since this disturbing form of child abuse was first identified. But even as the public has been captivated by these tales of abuse and deception, there remains widespread misinformation and confusion about MBP. Are these mothers unfeeling psychopaths, or sick women who need help? And more important, how can we protect the children whose lives are at stake?

The Mother Next Door offers a groundbreaking look at MBP from an unlikely duo: a Seattle novelist whose own family was torn apart by it, and the Texas detective who has worked on more medical child abuse cases than anyone in the nation. Listeners ride along on three high-stakes MPB investigations; through riveting reporting and shocking stories from the family members, friends, and doctors caught in the blast zone of these unthinkable acts, a twisted portrait of motherhood and deceit is revealed.

With help from some of the top MBP experts in the world, Dunlop and Weber uncover the complex maze of psychological, systemic, and cultural issues that compound MBP and offer solutions for how we might find our way out.]]> 304 Andrea Dunlop 1250284279 SueCanaan 4
This one is written by a podcast journalist whose sister was a MBP mom. Of the several stories, that was the one which felt very authentic. Given her own experience with that case, author Andrea Dunlop writes from experience and, as a bonus, she narrates the audio. This combo of having lived it, and now telling it in her own voice, is chilling.

The co-author, Mike Weber, is a police detective with far too much experience in this vastly horrible crime.

I hate that MBP exists, but I’d recommend this book if you are interested in some well done research detailing cases.]]> 4.14 2025 The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy
author: Andrea Dunlop
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/29
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: 2025-book-challenge, audiobook, netgalley, non-fiction, true-crime
review:
I really have a hard time giving stars to books based on real life crime, but since The Mother Next Door was a Netgalley audio arc, it’s necessary. The theme of this one is Munchausen by Proxy (MBP) where moms inflict illness on their children for the satisfaction of medical, familial, and community attention. It’s disturbing, uncomfortable, and makes the reader/human dislike these women.

This one is written by a podcast journalist whose sister was a MBP mom. Of the several stories, that was the one which felt very authentic. Given her own experience with that case, author Andrea Dunlop writes from experience and, as a bonus, she narrates the audio. This combo of having lived it, and now telling it in her own voice, is chilling.

The co-author, Mike Weber, is a police detective with far too much experience in this vastly horrible crime.

I hate that MBP exists, but I’d recommend this book if you are interested in some well done research detailing cases.
]]> <![CDATA[Playing With Fire: The True Story of a Nurse, Her Husband, and a Marriage Turned Fatal (St. Martin's True Crime Library)]]> 55890609

A beautiful nurse. A lethal injection. A gruesomely charred corpse. Nothing could have shocked the sleepy community of Morgantown, West Virginia, more than the lurid details that surfaced after a house fire claimed the life of Shelly Michael’s husband Jimmy. Local authorities suspected possible arson. Then they discovered that Jimmy had been dead before the fire even started—paralyzed by a fatal dose of muscle relaxant…

Did Shelly Michael, a respected nurse and mother, kill her second husband and torch her own home? Were the rumors true that she’d had an affair with her husband’s employee only two weeks before the murder? Or did she kill Jimmy simply for the insurance money? Charged with first-degree murder and first-degree arson, Shelly would never stop claiming her innocence—even to this day

]]> John Glatt SueCanaan 0 3.22 2010 Playing With Fire: The True Story of a Nurse, Her Husband, and a Marriage Turned Fatal (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
author: John Glatt
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.22
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at: 2025/01/01
date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime, z-2024-book-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office]]> 55742925 Join the entire Dunder Mifflin gang on a journey back to here's the hilarious and improbable inside story behind the beloved series.

Based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with the cast and creators and illustrated with 100 behind-the-scenes photographs, here, at last, is the untold inside story of The Office, featuring a foreword by Greg Daniels, who adapted the series for the U.S. and was its guiding creative force, and narrated by star Brian Baumgartner (aka “Kevin Malone”) and executive producer Ben Silverman..

In Welcome to Dunder Mifflin, the entire Office gang reunite after nearly a decade to share their favorite inside stories, spill untold secrets, and reveal how a little show that barely survived its first season became the most watched series in the universe. This ultimate fan companion pulls back the curtain as never before on all the absurdity, genius, love, passion, and dumb luck that went into creating America's beloved The Office.

Featuring the memories of Steve Carell, John Krasinkski, Jenna Fischer, Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, Rainn Wilson, Angela Kinsey, Craig Robinson, Brian Baumgartner, Phyllis Smith, Kate Flannery, Ed Helms, Oscar Nunez, Amy Ryan, Ellie Kemper, Creed Bratton, Paul Lieberstein, Ben Silverman, Mike Schur, and many more.]]> 464 Brian Baumgartner 0063082217 SueCanaan 5
Thanks Brian Baumgartner for decades of laughter and letting us in on the behind the scenes love shared by all.]]> 4.27 2021 Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office
author: Brian Baumgartner
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/28
date added: 2024/12/28
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:
Fans, and I mean FANS, should read this book, and by read, I mean listen to the audiobook. I just finished, and I'm tearing up. I learned so much and wanted to share it with someone, but, sadly, my husband has zero sense of humor and never watched this show. How we have stayed married 34 years is the question.

Thanks Brian Baumgartner for decades of laughter and letting us in on the behind the scenes love shared by all.
]]> <![CDATA[Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State]]> 40407225 The Prison Break, the Manhunt, the Inside Story

The True Story of the Prison Escape That Inspired the Documentary “How It Really Happened”

In June 2015, two vicious convicted murderers broke out of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, in New York's North Country, launching the most extensive manhunt in state history. Aided by prison employee Joyce Mitchell, double murderer Richard Matt and cop-killer David Sweat slipped out of their cells, followed a network of tunnels and pipes under the thirty-foot prison wall, and climbed out of a manhole to freedom.

For three weeks, the residents of local communities were virtual prisoners in their own homes as law enforcement from across the nation swept the rural wilderness near the Canadian border. The manhunt made front-page headlines--as did the prison sex scandal involving both inmates and Joyce Mitchell--and culminated in a dramatic and bloody standoff.

Now Charles A. Gardner--a lifelong resident of the community and a former correction officer who began his training at Clinton and ultimately oversaw the training of staff in twelve prisons, including Clinton--tells the whole story from an insider's point of view.

From the lax ethics and sexual hunger that drove Joyce Mitchell to fraternize with Matt and Sweat, smuggle them tools, and offer to be their getaway driver, to the state budget cuts that paved the way for prison corruption, to the brave and tireless efforts to bring the escaped killers to justice, Dannemora is a gripping account of the circumstances that led to the bold breakout and the twenty-three-day search that culminated in one man dead, and one man back in custody--and lingering questions about those who set the deadly drama in motion.]]> 304 Charles A. Gardner 0806539240 SueCanaan 4 3.71 2019 Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State
author: Charles A. Gardner
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:

]]> A Tangled Web 45554640 In the tradition of her acclaimed mother, Ann Rule, author of The Stranger Beside Me, bestselling author Leslie Rule delivers a riveting true story for our time--as she exposes the years-long trail of a sadistic sociopath, identity thief, and killer at the dark heart of a real-life fatal attraction . . .

It was a bleak November in 2012 when Cari Lea Farver vanished from Omaha, Nebraska. Cari, thirty-seven, was a devoted mother, reliable employee, and loyal friend--not the type to shirk responsibilities, abandon her son, and run off on an adventure while her dying father took his last breaths. Yet, the many texts from her phone indicated she had done just that.

It appeared that Cari had dumped her new boyfriend, quit her job, and relinquished custody of her son to her mother--all by text. While Cari's boyfriend, Dave Kroupa, and her supervisor were bewildered by her abrupt disappearance, they accepted the texts at face value. Her mother, Nancy Raney, however, was alarmed and reported Cari missing. Police were skeptical of her claims that a cyber impostor had commandeered her daughter's phone and online identity.

While Nancy was afraid for Cari, Dave Kroupa was growing afraid of her, for he believed Cari was stalking him. Never seen or heard, the stalker was aware of his every move and seemed obsessed by his casual girlfriend, Shanna "Liz" Golyar, often calling her "a fat whore" in the twelve thousand emails and texts he received in a disturbing three-year deluge.

How did the stalker know Dave's phone numbers immediately after he changed them, the names of his lady friends, even what he wore as he watched TV? He and Liz reported death threats, vandalism, and burglaries, but the stalker remained at large. The threats were vicious, vile and often obscene, sent mostly via text and always in Cari's name. There was some truth in the messages, but all of them contained one big lie. The culprit was not Cari -- but had killed and planned to kill again.

With mesmerizing detail and compelling narrative skill, Leslie Rule tracks every step of the heart-pounding path to long-awaited justice--from a sociopath's twisted past to the deadly deception and the high-tech forensics that condemned the killer to prison, where the tangled web of manipulations still draws trusting souls into danger.]]> 304 Leslie Rule 0806539976 SueCanaan 2 3.83 2020 A Tangled Web
author: Leslie Rule
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wild Escape: The Prison Break from Dannemora and the Manhunt that Captured America]]> 37536721
After nearly three weeks on the run, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent Christopher Voss shot and killed Matt June 26, 2015. Two days later New York State Police Sgt. Jay Cook shot Sweat twice in the back. He survived. While we have come to learn how Matt and Sweat pulled off perhaps the most elaborate modern day prison break, no reporter, except Chelsia Rose Marcius, has talked directly to Sweat to ask perhaps the most important question in the case: Why?]]> 284 Chelsia Rose Marcius SueCanaan 4 4.00 2018 Wild Escape: The Prison Break from Dannemora and the Manhunt that Captured America
author: Chelsia Rose Marcius
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty]]> 210454076 Power, privilege, and blood—this is the definitive and thrilling true story of Alex Murdaugh’s violent downfall, from a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter who has become an authority on the case.
 
Alex Murdaugh was a benevolent dictator—the president of the South Carolina trial lawyers’ association, a political boss, a part-time prosecutor, and a partner in his family’s law firm. He was always ready with a favor, a drink, and an invitation to Moselle, his family’s 1,700-acre hunting estate. The Murdaugh name ignited respect—and fear—for a hundred miles.

When he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son Paul at Moselle on a dark summer night, the fragile façade of Alex’s world could no longer hold. His forefathers had covered up a midnight suicide at a remote railroad crossing, a bootlegging ring run from a courthouse, and the attempted murder of a pregnant lover. Alex, too, almost walked away from his unspeakable crimes with his reputation intact, but his downfall was secured by a twist of fate, some stray mistakes, and a fateful decision by an old friend who’d finally seen enough.

Why would a man who had everything kill his wife and grown son? To unwind the roots of Alex’s ruin, award-winning journalist Valerie Bauerlein reported not just from the courthouse every day but also along the backroads and through the tidal marshes of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. When the jurors made their pilgrimage to the crime scene, trying to envision Maggie and Paul’s last moments, she walked right behind them, sensing the ghosts that haunt the Murdaughs’ now-shattered legacy.

Through masterful research and cinematic writing, The Devil at His Elbow is a transporting journey through Alex’s life, the night of the murders, and the investigation that culminated in a trial that held tens of millions spellbound. With her stunning insights and fearless instinct for the truth, Bauerlein uncovers layers of the Murdaugh murder case that have not been told.]]> 480 Valerie Bauerlein 059350058X SueCanaan 5 4.45 2024 The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty
author: Valerie Bauerlein
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/11
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:
There are a bunch of books on Alex Murdaugh and I’ve read them all. If you only want to read one - this is it. I was surprised that, despite my extensive “knowledge” about this case I learned even more because of the level of research shared in this book. Well done.
]]> The Orchid Thief 228345 The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower—the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii—a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean—and the reader—will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion.
 
In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay.]]> 300 Susan Orlean 044900371X SueCanaan 3 3.66 1998 The Orchid Thief
author: Susan Orlean
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.66
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die]]> 61271940 Free yourself and your family from the f*cking clutter before you croak!

Inspired by The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, Nobody Wants Your Sh*t will light a fire under your untidy ass with humor and helpful organizing tips that you’ll actually want to use.

Like a delightfully foul-mouthed best friend, this book dishes out the funny, unpretentious advice you need to hear most. You’ll discover how to deal with your sh*t like there’s no tomorrow, live in the moment without the f*cking mess, and make your life and your eventual death a hell of a lot easier. With this witty guide, you’ll learn how to
- ditch the d*mn indecision
- get your sh*t together and feel fantastic
- give your busy family a f*cking breakand more!

Whether you’re getting ready to move in, move on, or just move your ass, Nobody Wants Your Sh*t will help you take control of your f*cking life.]]> 194 Messie Condo 1510775110 SueCanaan 4 3.64 2023 Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die
author: Messie Condo
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/02
date added: 2024/11/02
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Menendez Murders: The Shocking Untold Story of the Menendez Family and the Killings that Stunned the Nation]]> 36478323 Discover the definitive book on the Menendez case—and the primary source material for NBC's Law and Order True The Menendez Murders.  A successful entertainment executive making $2 million a year. His former beauty queen wife. Their two sons on the fast track to success. But it was all a façade.  The Menendez saga has captivated the American public since 1989. The killing of José and Kitty Menendez on a quiet Sunday evening in Beverly Hills didn't make the cover of People magazine until the arrest of their sons seven months later, and the case developed an intense cult following. When the first Menendez trial began in July 1993, the public was convinced that Lyle and Erik were a pair of greedy rich kids who had killed loving, devoted parents.  But the real story remained buried beneath years of dark secrets. Until now.  Journalist Robert Rand, who originally reported on the case for the Miami Herald and Playboy, has followed the Menendez murders from the beginning and has continued investigating and interviewing key sources for 28 years. Rand is the only reporter who covered the original investigation as well as both trials. With unparalleled access to the Menendez family and their history, including interviews with both brothers before and after their arrest, Rand has uncovered extraordinary details that certainly would have changed the fate of the brothers' first-degree murder conviction and sentencing to life without parole. In The Menendez The Shocking Untold Story of the Menedez Family and the Killings That Stunned the Nation, Rand shares these intimate, never-before-revealed findings, including a deeply disturbing history of child abuse and sexual molestation in the Menendez family going back generations, and the shocking admission O.J. Simpson made to one of the Menendez brothers when they were inmates at the L.A. County Men's Central Jail.]]> 376 Robert Rand 1946885274 SueCanaan 0 4.17 2018 The Menendez Murders: The Shocking Untold Story of the Menendez Family and the Killings that Stunned the Nation
author: Robert Rand
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at: 2024/10/24
date added: 2024/10/24
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder]]> 15791340
Cullen's murderous career in the world's most trusted profession spanned sixteen years and nine hospitals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. When, in March of 2006, Charles Cullen was marched from his final sentencing in an Allentown, Pennsylvania, courthouse into a waiting police van, it seemed certain that the chilling secrets of his life, career, and capture would disappear with him. Now, in a riveting piece of investigative journalism nearly ten years in the making, journalist Charles Graeber presents the whole story for the first time. Based on hundreds of pages of previously unseen police records, interviews, wire-tap recordings and videotapes, as well as exclusive jailhouse conversations with Cullen himself and the confidential informant who helped bring him down, THE GOOD NURSE weaves an urgent, terrifying tale of murder, friendship, and betrayal.

Graeber's portrait of Cullen depicts a surprisingly intelligent and complicated young man whose promising career was overwhelmed by his compulsion to kill, and whose shy demeanor masked a twisted interior life hidden even to his family and friends. Were it not for the hardboiled, unrelenting work of two former Newark homicide detectives racing to put together the pieces of Cullen's professional past, and a fellow nurse willing to put everything at risk, including her job and the safety of her children, there's no telling how many more lives could have been lost.

In the tradition of In Cold Blood, THE GOOD NURSE does more than chronicle Cullen's deadly career and the breathless efforts to stop him; it paints an incredibly vivid portrait of madness and offers a penetrating look inside America's medical system. Harrowing and irresistibly paced, this book will make you look at medicine, hospitals, and the people who work in them, in an entirely different way.]]> Charles Graeber 1611135524 SueCanaan 0 3.82 2013 The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder
author: Charles Graeber
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at: 2024/06/14
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer]]> 10231736 In 1994, Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson were brutally murdered at her home in Brentwood, California. O.J. Simpson was tried for the crime in a case that captured the attention of the American people, but was ultimately found not guilty of criminal charges. The victims’ families brought civil cases against Simpson, in which he was found liable for willfully and wrongfully causing the deaths of Ron and Nicole by committing battery with malice and oppression.

In 2006, HarperCollins announced the publication for a book in which O.J. Simpson told how he hypothetically would have committed the murders. In response to public outrage that Simpson stood to profit from these crimes, HarperCollins canceled the book. A Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the Goldmans in August 2007 to partially satisfy the unpaid civil judgment, which has risen, with interest, to over $38 million.

The Goldman family views this book as his confession, and has worked hard to ensure that the public will read this book and learn the truth. This is the original manuscript approved by O.J. Simpson, with additional insight from the Goldman Family, Pablo F. Fenjves, and Dominick Dunne.

]]> 0 The Goldman Family 1433242397 SueCanaan 1
]]> 3.21 2006 If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
author: The Goldman Family
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.21
book published: 2006
rating: 1
read at: 2024/05/08
date added: 2024/05/08
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:
If you can keep your eyes from rolling right out of your skull, sure, read this OJ Simpson penned book where he sits just below Jesus and Mother Theresa on the righteousness scale.


]]> Everything She Ever Wanted 10059570 WAS SHE A SWEET SOUTHERN CHARMER?
OR A COLD-BLOODED KILLER?
For their wedding portrait, petite Pat Taylor and handsome Tom Allanson posed as Rhett and Scarlett. Both came from fine Southern families, and dreamed of the Tara-like plantation where they would grow roses, raise horses, and move in the genteel circles of Atlanta society. Less than two months later, their dream exploded in terror and murder: their beautiful home mysteriously burned to the ground and Tom was convicted of the brutal slaying of his mother and father.
Pat's only brother had died in a puzzling suicide, her grandparents-in-law were poisoned with arsenic, and no one -- from her wealthy employers to her own children -- was safe when Pat Allanson didn't get her way. It took Georgia lawmen more than two decades to stop her for good -- if indeed they have.
In this fascinating account, Ann Rule delivers a tour de force: a whirlwind of misguided love, denial, guilt, and passions out of control; a series of brilliantly manipulated crimes; the bizarre and horrifying tale of two families brought to ruin; and, at the center of it all, the heartless, supremely selfish sociopath whose evil hid behind soft words and gentle manners, but who destroyed -- without mercy -- those who loved her.]]> 0 Ann Rule 0743567889 SueCanaan 0 3.32 1992 Everything She Ever Wanted
author: Ann Rule
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.32
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at: 2024/05/02
date added: 2024/05/02
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival]]> 6639819
Gianni Versace was at the height of his creative powers when he was murdered in Miami Beach. The story was front page news around the world and the manhunt for his killer a media obsession. His beloved sister Donatella demanded no less than a funeral befitting an assassinated head-of-state to be held in Milan’s magnificent cathedral. In what was the ultimate fashion show, the world’s rich and beautiful – Princess Dianna, Elton John, Carla Bruni, Naomi Campbell, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Anna Wintour and others – gathered to mourn a man already considered one of fashion’s great pioneers.   
      
Deborah Ball, a long-time Milan correspondent for The Wall Street Journal , conducted hundreds of interviews with Versace family members, Gianni Versace’s lovers and business rivals, models such as Naomi Campbell whom he helped shoot to international stardom and fashion industry icons, including Anna Wintour, the legendary editor of Vogue.  

Ball vividly recounts the behind-the scenes struggles – both creative and business – of Donatella as she stepped out of her brother’s long shadow and took control of the House of Versace. The book offers the first inside look at the enormous challenges Donatella faced in living up to Gianni’s genius, her struggle with a drug habit, her battles with her brother Santo and the mystery of why Gianni left control of his house to Donatella’s young daughter, Allegra. House of Versace is a compelling, highly readable tale of rise from obscurity, a painful fall and ultimate redemption as the Versace empire returned to health – for now. 

Bringing together fashion, celebrity, business drama, jet-set lifestyles, and a notorious crime, House of Versace is an old-fashioned page-turner about a subject of enduring fascination.]]> 352 Deborah Ball 0307406512 SueCanaan 3 3.93 2009 House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival
author: Deborah Ball
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/20
date added: 2024/04/20
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Vulgar Favors: The Assassination of Gianni Versace]]> 57379428 Read the true story of the manhunt that inspired The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, the latest chapter of the acclaimed FX series.

On July 15, 1997, Gianni Versace was shot and killed on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. But months before Versace's murder, award-winning journalist Maureen Orth was already investigating a major story on Cunanan for Vanity Fair. Culled from interviews with more than four hundred people and insights gleaned from thousands of pages of police reports, Vulgar Favors tells the complete story of Andrew Cunanan, his unwitting victims, and the moneyed world in which they lived . . . and died. Orth reveals how Cunanan met Versace, and why police and the FBI repeatedly failed to catch him. Here is a gripping odyssey that races across America—from California's wealthy gay underworld to modest Midwestern homes of families mourning the loss of their sons to South Beach and its unapologetic decadence. Vulgar Favors is at once a masterwork of investigative journalism and a riveting account of a sociopath, his crimes, and the mysteries he left along the way.

"The breadth and thoroughness of [Maureen] Orth's research are often staggering."—The New York Times

"Fascinating . . . ripe with chilling detail."—Entertainment Weekly]]> Maureen Orth 0525591982 SueCanaan 4 3.62 1999 Vulgar Favors: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
author: Maureen Orth
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/16
date added: 2024/04/16
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> To Catch a Predator 15786222
In his book To Catch a Predator, Chris Hansen, the on-air correspondent for one of Dateline’s most successful series, looks deeper into the world of child predators. The book expands beyond the Dateline series to include more commentary from psychological and criminal experts about the origins and methods of child predators, and includes substantive advice for both parents and children on how to protect kids who use the Internet from predators. Hansen also looks at the current methods for treating child predators. To Catch a Predator presents a strong analysis of what some feel is a child predator epidemic and a startling look at the shortcomings of our systems and society.]]> Chris Hansen 1400174376 SueCanaan 0 0.0 2007 To Catch a Predator
author: Chris Hansen
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2024/04/14
date added: 2024/04/14
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:
No review because the subject matter is.......icky. Important info for parents.
]]> Murder in Brentwood 15871396 visible fingerprint" Furhman saw on the Bundy back gate (and discussed with his partner at the time). Second, it reveals that Lange and Vannatter, the detectives from "downtown" who took over the case from Furhman, didn't check out the print that night or subsequently, and indeed never read Fuhrman's notes at all. That's why you didn't hear about the fingerprint during the criminal trial. (When authorities returned to sample blood from the back gate two weeks later, the print was gone.) In short, the main lesson of this book is an organizational one worth remembering: it doesn't matter if the grunts do a good job, if the big-shots don't follow up.]]> 0 Mark Fuhrman 1433273144 SueCanaan 1 2.67 1997 Murder in Brentwood
author: Mark Fuhrman
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 2.67
book published: 1997
rating: 1
read at: 2024/04/10
date added: 2024/04/10
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:
Mark Fuhrman is perfect, was the biggest victim in the OJ Simpson trial, and everyone else was inept or corrupt - according to Mark Fuhrman.
]]> <![CDATA[The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History]]> 52968046 The untold stories behind The Office, one of the most iconic television shows of the twenty-first century, told by its creators, writers, and actors

When did you last hang out with Jim, Pam, Dwight, Michael, and the rest of Dunder Mifflin? It might have been back in 2013, when the series finale aired . . . or it might have been last night, when you watched three episodes in a row. But either way, fifteen years after the show first aired, it's more popular than ever, and fans have only one problem--what to watch, or read, next.

Fortunately, Rolling Stone writer Andy Greene has that answer. In his brand-new oral history, The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, Greene will take readers behind the scenes of their favorite moments and characters. Greene gives us the true inside story behind the entire show, from its origins on the BBC through its impressive nine-season run in America, with in-depth research and exclusive interviews. Fans will get the inside scoop on key episodes from "The Dundies" to "Threat Level Midnight" and "Goodbye, Michael," including behind-the-scenes details like the battle to keep it on the air when NBC wanted to pull the plug after just six episodes and the failed attempt to bring in James Gandolfini as the new boss after Steve Carell left, spotlighting the incredible, genre-redefining show created by the family-like team, who together took a quirky British import with dicey prospects and turned it into a primetime giant with true historical and cultural significance.

Hilarious, heartwarming, and revelatory, The Office gives fans and pop culture buffs a front-row seat to the phenomenal sequence of events that launched The Office into wild popularity, changing the face of television and how we all see our office lives for decades to come.]]> Andy Greene SueCanaan 5 non-fiction 4.21 2020 The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History
author: Andy Greene
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/25
date added: 2024/02/25
shelves: non-fiction
review:

]]> Fatal Vision 333907 Fatal Vision is the electrifying true story of Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, the handsome, Princeton-educated physician convicted of savagely slaying his young pregnant wife and two small children, murders he vehemently denies committing. Bestselling author Joe McGinnis chronicles every aspect of this horrifying and intricate crime, and probes the life and psyche of the magnetic, all-American Jeffrey MacDonald, a golden boy who seemed destined to have it all. The result is a penetration to the heart of darknes that enshrouded one of the most complex criminal cases ever to capture the attention of the American public. It is haunting, stunningly suspenseful-a work that no reader will be able to forget. With 8 pages of dramatic photos and a special epilogue by the author]]> 684 Joe McGinniss 0451165667 SueCanaan 0 4.12 1983 Fatal Vision
author: Joe McGinniss
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at: 2024/02/17
date added: 2024/02/17
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> House 86697
In Kidder's "remarkable piece of craftsmanship in itself" ( Chicago Tribune ), constructing a staircase or applying a coat of paint becomes a riveting tale of conflicting wills, the strength and strain of relationships, and pride in skills. With drama, sensitivity, and insight, he takes us from blueprints to moving day, shedding light on objects usually taken for granted and creating a vivid cast of memorable characters in the process.

"The making of a house is a strange blend of dreams and mundane work, of heaven and earth, and Mr. Kidder has explained it."— New York Times Book Review]]> 352 Tracy Kidder 0618001913 SueCanaan 0 4.00 1985 House
author: Tracy Kidder
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at: 2024/02/12
date added: 2024/02/12
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:

]]> Cruel Doubt 1380751 464 Joe McGinniss 0671679473 SueCanaan 0 4.01 1991 Cruel Doubt
author: Joe McGinniss
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at: 2024/02/07
date added: 2024/02/07
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:
I won't give stars to a true crime book, but I'm here to say the audio of Cruel Doubt was absolutely painful. Narrated by Stacey Keach, an actor from my youth, I initially was excited to hear his once familiar voice. But, alas, just because you can act does not mean you can adequately narrate an audiobook and keep listeners awake. Zero attempt to bring the thing to life, and that, sadly, made me just want the whole thing to end. Thankfully, this true crime story was only 4 hours long.
]]> <![CDATA[The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter]]> 12442606 0 Mark Seal 1101483512 SueCanaan 3
The writing isn't particularly compelling, and perhaps in this era of fakeness and internet trickery I am jaded, but my number one takeaway is this guy got away with a lot because people let him. Seriously. I have allergies and need to buy Sudafed from the druggist. The hoops I have to go through to prove I'm not a criminal is insane. But, in the 1990s, apparently, you could fake an accent, wear boat shoes, proclaim yourself a Rockefeller and everyone was cool about it?????]]> 3.85 2011 The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter
author: Mark Seal
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/05
date added: 2024/02/05
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:
If you are unfamiliar with the Rockefeller imposter, this may be an interesting read for you. I had seen some things on television, and watched the well done 2010 movie starring Eric McCormack, Who is Clark Rockefeller, so I went in with some background.

The writing isn't particularly compelling, and perhaps in this era of fakeness and internet trickery I am jaded, but my number one takeaway is this guy got away with a lot because people let him. Seriously. I have allergies and need to buy Sudafed from the druggist. The hoops I have to go through to prove I'm not a criminal is insane. But, in the 1990s, apparently, you could fake an accent, wear boat shoes, proclaim yourself a Rockefeller and everyone was cool about it?????
]]> <![CDATA[The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter]]> 35398405 Listening length: 2 hours and 40 minutes

Funny, wise, and deeply practical, Swedish artist Margareta Magnusson offers advice on how to declutter your home and minimize your worldly possessions so your loved ones don’t have to do it for you.

In Swedish there is a word for it: Döstädning, “dö” means “death” and “städning” means “cleaning.” The idea behind death cleaning is to remove unnecessary things and get your home in order as you become older. But this word also can be applied whenever you do a thorough cleaning, to make your life easier and more pleasant. It does not necessarily have to do with age or death. If you can hardly close your drawers or shut your closet doors, it is time to do something about your stuff.

Margareta Magnusson death cleaned after the passing of her parents, then her in-laws, then her husband, and she happily downsized from a five-bedroom house on the West Coast of Sweden to a two-room apartment in the city. From the attic to the basement, kitchen to the bedroom, Margareta tackles the whole house in The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning and suggests what you can get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and what you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects). Digging into her late husband’s tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta brings humor and an element of fun to this potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea that “you can’t take it with you.”

A practical book based on personal experience, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, like Marie Kondo’s bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming. This charming and unsentimental approach to putting your life in order—years or even decades before it becomes urgent—is infused with humor and celebrates the importance of living.]]> 3 Margareta Magnusson 1508243824 SueCanaan 3
Was it great? Nope.
Did I walk away with a clear list of things to now do? Also nope.
Did I get anything from it? Maybe.

It reads more like words of wisdom from a wise woman between the ages of 80 and 100 who is passing on some life lessons. Things only have fleeting meaning. Enjoy them. Remove them when that joy has passed. Do not burden those who come behind you with an obligation to sort through and dispose of your belongings.

Now, I'm going to find some boxes and do this thing.]]> 3.36 2017 The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter
author: Margareta Magnusson
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/04
date added: 2024/01/04
shelves: z-2024-book-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction
review:
As many do, I've chosen the start of the new year to resolve a thing. Not weight loss. Tired of failing that one. Since I'm one year away from my 6th decade, and husband just entered his 7th, decluttering is my vibe. I have two grown kids in the era of apartment living, and a paired down life. They do not want my stuff. I do not want to burden them with my "treasures." I joined a Death Cleaning facebook group and the first assignment was to read this one. Grabbed it on audio and at normal speed it's not quite 3 hours. At a childhood spent in Jersey narration speed-up, I listened in 2.

Was it great? Nope.
Did I walk away with a clear list of things to now do? Also nope.
Did I get anything from it? Maybe.

It reads more like words of wisdom from a wise woman between the ages of 80 and 100 who is passing on some life lessons. Things only have fleeting meaning. Enjoy them. Remove them when that joy has passed. Do not burden those who come behind you with an obligation to sort through and dispose of your belongings.

Now, I'm going to find some boxes and do this thing.
]]> <![CDATA[Everybody's Best Friend: The True Story of a Marriage That Ended In Murder]]> 68450655
To Love, Honor-And Murder...Inside a beautiful house in Philadelphia's ritzy Main Line section lay the body of a young mother--dead of an apparent drowning in her bathtub. With no sign of a break-in, no history of marital problems, and the naïve belief that these things sometimes just happen, Stefanie Rabinowitz's family prepared to bury the 29-year-old wife and mother. But at the eleventh hour, because Stefanie was so young, and because there were no witnesses to her death, an autopsy was ordered. And what it revealed was unthinkable: Stefanie had been murdered-strangled in her home, then dragged into the tub to stage a fake drowning. Even more shocking was the suspected killer-Stefanie's 34-year-old husband, Craig: devoted family man, loyal husband, and "everybody's best friend."

When the astounding truth began to emerge, so did the tawdry double life of Craig Rabinowitz, a man so obsessed with a two-thousand-dollar-a-week exotic dancer, that his habit caused him to look to the insurance money he would get from murdering his wife. Now, with exclusive interviews and startling inside details, bestselling author Ken Englade blows wide open the shocking true account of a storybook marriage that ended in bone-chilling murder.

With Eight Pages of Haunting Photos
]]> 1 Ken Englade SueCanaan 1 3.20 1999 Everybody's Best Friend: The True Story of a Marriage That Ended In Murder
author: Ken Englade
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.20
book published: 1999
rating: 1
read at: 2023/09/18
date added: 2023/09/18
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Twisted: The Secret Desires and Bizarre Double Life of Dr. Richard Sharpe]]> 64438117 1 John Glatt SueCanaan 3 2.71 2003 Twisted: The Secret Desires and Bizarre Double Life of Dr. Richard Sharpe
author: John Glatt
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 2.71
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2023/08/05
date added: 2023/08/05
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders]]> 61884966
Among the lush, tree-lined waterways of South Carolina low country, the Murdaugh name means power. A century-old, multimillion-dollar law practice has catapulted the family into incredible wealth and local celebrity―but it was an unimaginable tragedy that would thrust them into the national spotlight. On June 7th, 2021, prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh discovered the bodies of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, on the grounds of their thousand-acre hunting lodge. The mystery deepened only months later when Alex himself was discovered shot in the head on a local roadside.

But as authorities scrambled for clues and the community reeled from the loss and media attention, dark secrets about this Southern legal dynasty came to light. The Murdaughs, it turned out, were feared as much as they were loved. And they wouldn’t hesitate to wield their influence to protect one of their own; two years before he was killed, a highly intoxicated Paul Murdaugh was at the helm of a boat when it crashed and killed a teenage girl, and his light treatment by police led to speculation that privilege had come into play. As bombshells of financial fraud were revealed and more suspicious deaths were linked to the Murdaughs, a new portrait of Alex Murdaugh a desperate man on the brink of ruin who would do anything, even plan his own death, to save his family’s reputation.]]> 320 John Glatt 1250283485 SueCanaan 4
This was a nice, succinct presentation of facts with little unexpected other than the introduction which included a lot of Murdaugh family ancestry and the fact that through and through the bloodline was/is filled with despicable, entitled people who monopolized the South Carolina justice system and have damaged the community in which they were overlords for a hundred years.

I listened to the audio arc narrated by Shaun Grindell and this is where my visceral, negative reaction must be shared. This is my third Glatt book in 2023 and Grindell has narrated all of them. Please, Tantor Audio, stop using him for Glatt's books. Just stop. He can read and he can talk, but he lacks any emotion or depth or ability to change his tone. Glatt is a British author but is it truly necessary to use a British narrator all the time? Especially for American based subjects? This Murdaugh book would have FELT so much more alive had the narrator been a Southern male - say a Michael Beck type voice. And why this guy was the narrator for Lori Vallow is beyond me. Should have been a woman. The problem with using a reader with a flat, distinctive British voice is he gets in the way of the story. He started speaking and it took me a while to think Murdaugh when I was thinking Chris Watts and Lori Vallow.

Rant over.]]> 3.76 2023 Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders
author: John Glatt
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/03
date added: 2023/08/03
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, xpired-2023-ng-group-challenge, audiobook, netgalley, true-crime, non-fiction
review:
Unless you've lived under a rock the past few years, you undoubtedly have heard of the notorious (infamous?) Murdaugh family of South Carolina. Whether through the son Paul's drunken homicide while driving a boat, to the dad Paul finding his wife and son murdered, to the mysterious death of the maid, a young man Stephen Smith killed on a Hampton County road......there is A LOT going on with this family. I've listened to podcasts, watched Dateline, seen documentaries so I went into this one knowing a lot. John Glatt has an amazing ability to present all the factual pieces chronologically in his true crime books, and Tangled Vines is no different.

This was a nice, succinct presentation of facts with little unexpected other than the introduction which included a lot of Murdaugh family ancestry and the fact that through and through the bloodline was/is filled with despicable, entitled people who monopolized the South Carolina justice system and have damaged the community in which they were overlords for a hundred years.

I listened to the audio arc narrated by Shaun Grindell and this is where my visceral, negative reaction must be shared. This is my third Glatt book in 2023 and Grindell has narrated all of them. Please, Tantor Audio, stop using him for Glatt's books. Just stop. He can read and he can talk, but he lacks any emotion or depth or ability to change his tone. Glatt is a British author but is it truly necessary to use a British narrator all the time? Especially for American based subjects? This Murdaugh book would have FELT so much more alive had the narrator been a Southern male - say a Michael Beck type voice. And why this guy was the narrator for Lori Vallow is beyond me. Should have been a woman. The problem with using a reader with a flat, distinctive British voice is he gets in the way of the story. He started speaking and it took me a while to think Murdaugh when I was thinking Chris Watts and Lori Vallow.

Rant over.
]]> American Black Widow 156956230
Colorado, 1976. When Reverend Mike Fuller and his beautiful wife Sharon arrive in the sleepy town of Rocky Ford, local residents think something’s off about the new couple. The God-fearing minister is gruff and cold, while charismatic Sharon has her husband wrapped around her finger.

It isn’t long before Sharon is charming her husband’s congregation, and finds herself in a tryst with local, married optometrist Perry Nelson . After the affair ends both their marriages, Sharon and Perry tie the knot. But shortly afterwards, Perry disappears. When his body is shockingly discovered the bottom of a canyon, his death is ruled an accident, allowing grieving widow Sharon to claim his substantial life insurance.

Trying to move on from the tragedy, Sharon soon remarries fireman Glenn Harrelson . But when the charred remains of Glenn’s body are discovered with two bullet holes in his skull, the police can’t help but question if both men dying in such mysterious circumstances is one coincidence too many…

Shocking, sensational and gripping, this is the true story of the black widow Sharon Nelson, a must-read tale of greed, sex and murder in a sleepy Colorado town that will have true crime fans of The Staircase , American Mother and Making a Murderer hooked from start to finish.

This book was originally published as Confessions of an American Black Widow and Bitch on Wheels .

Read what everyone is saying about American Black

“ Another winner from Gregg Olsen!!! If you really love a great, nail-biting true crime novel, THIS is it!! Once you start, it's darned hard to put down. Seriously. Mr Olsen again takes you on a twisty, narrow road… you just cannot put this book down .” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“You pick up this book and start to read. Suddenly you realize you cannot stop reading , you need to know what happened next… a page turner … this book deeply affected me and I eat true crime books for breakfast… amazing … one of Gregg Olsen's finest .” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ I read this book in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. ” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ I couldn't put it down. Brilliantly written. I just found my favorite author.” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Olsen is an incredible author. I couldn't put it down . Excellent read! … Bravo!! ” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ Amazing… WOW! Another winner for Gregg Olsen!” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ Amazing … I literally could not put the book down .” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ Kept me riveted from the very beginning to the very last page! I strongly recommend this book for any true crime fan.” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ I couldn't put the book down . The author made all the characters come alive.” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ Amazing … a must read .” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ Loved the book! … I could not ask for a better read!” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ Incredible. ” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ Amazing … A great page turner .” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“A true story that you just can't put down !” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Gregg Olsen always writes in a style that makes you want to read all night … keeps your attention until the end.” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ Outstanding true-crime .” Amazon reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐]]> 326 Gregg Olsen 1837904545 SueCanaan 2
I'm sad to say this one was not a winner for me, and, frankly I realized mid-way through, and later confirmed based on a small amount of web-based research - I'd read this already. The murder took place in 1976 so it was pretty dated considering this is a 2023 book, but it was actually a 1998 book. Originally published as Confessions of an American Black Widow, I had read this sometime in the pre-카지노싸이트 world. And, for whatever reason, it was published AGAIN in 2013 under the cringe worthy title, Bitch on Wheels, which, title alone, I would never have read.

I get that new readers who missed earlier books might want to read a current hit author's previous works, but re-publishing under new title and allowing readers to think it's new work feels wrong to me. You may have different opinions, but it feels cheaty. And, in the case of this book compared to current works, it's clear to see that the author got better as he aged.

That said, overall it was dissatisfying and felt incomplete. The biggest explanation over the main character, Sharon, and her ability to control men, was her sexuality and breasts. I know a lot more about this woman's breast than I care to know. It never felt believable, and I didn't care about the men murdered. Absolutely zero ducks given.

And, finally, as a former Christian, the tag line "The shocking true story of a preacher's wife turned killer" drew me in. Alas, this book does not present her as a preacher's wife in any sense that a good woman turned bad. She just happened to be married to a guy who preached. She was nothing but a busty gal (see, her breasts) who slept around and killed a couple guys. The end.

Will I read another Gregg Olsen? Absolutely. Will I check to see the history of the work and how many times it's been given a new name and new cover? Yup.

]]> 3.74 1998 American Black Widow
author: Gregg Olsen
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.74
book published: 1998
rating: 2
read at: 2023/06/27
date added: 2023/06/27
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, xpired-2023-ng-group-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime, netgalley
review:
I, weirdly, am a true crime fan. Ugh, what an awful thing to be. I grew up reading Ann Rule books left around the house by my mom. Vincent Bugliosi was a favorite in my teen years. Gregg Olsen is becoming this decade's prolific crime writer and I jumped at the chance to read American Black Widow knowing only that Olsen was the author.

I'm sad to say this one was not a winner for me, and, frankly I realized mid-way through, and later confirmed based on a small amount of web-based research - I'd read this already. The murder took place in 1976 so it was pretty dated considering this is a 2023 book, but it was actually a 1998 book. Originally published as Confessions of an American Black Widow, I had read this sometime in the pre-카지노싸이트 world. And, for whatever reason, it was published AGAIN in 2013 under the cringe worthy title, Bitch on Wheels, which, title alone, I would never have read.

I get that new readers who missed earlier books might want to read a current hit author's previous works, but re-publishing under new title and allowing readers to think it's new work feels wrong to me. You may have different opinions, but it feels cheaty. And, in the case of this book compared to current works, it's clear to see that the author got better as he aged.

That said, overall it was dissatisfying and felt incomplete. The biggest explanation over the main character, Sharon, and her ability to control men, was her sexuality and breasts. I know a lot more about this woman's breast than I care to know. It never felt believable, and I didn't care about the men murdered. Absolutely zero ducks given.

And, finally, as a former Christian, the tag line "The shocking true story of a preacher's wife turned killer" drew me in. Alas, this book does not present her as a preacher's wife in any sense that a good woman turned bad. She just happened to be married to a guy who preached. She was nothing but a busty gal (see, her breasts) who slept around and killed a couple guys. The end.

Will I read another Gregg Olsen? Absolutely. Will I check to see the history of the work and how many times it's been given a new name and new cover? Yup.


]]> <![CDATA[Unlock Your Menopause Type: Personalized Treatments, the Last Word on Hormones, and Remedies that Work]]> 61885066
This is not a one-size fits all solution. Unlocking Your Menopause Type features a helpful quiz to identify women's individual Menopause Type(s) such
–Premature
–Sudden
–Full-Throttle
–Mind-Altering
–Seemingly Never-ending
–Silent

Each type gets a full prescription for exercises, diet and strategies to regain mental focus and make menopause a regulation part of maturity rather than a rollercoaster ride of unexpected symptoms and discomfort.

The book also
–The last word on whether to replace declining hormones (the answer is custom-built)
–What to do if you’re a combination of types
–How to get on top of (as it were) changes in your sex life
–Crowd-sourced tips and tricks from Dr. Hirsch’s friend group and patients

Dr. Hirsch addresses the physical and emotional challenges of menopause and provides solutions from her years of practice. With knowledge, priorities, and a plan, you can feel great through midlife and beyond.]]> 374 Heather Hirsch 1250850827 SueCanaan 3
I am 58 and have been in perimenopause for 11 years. I have still not reached menopause and want to shout from the rooftop to all women that you are not alone. Our society should do better to normalize this life changing, health challenging passage for women. There should be no shame. There should be greater information available. Doctors should take seriously the complaints we raise. Honest books should be written. I eagerly requested Unlock Your Menopause Type hoping to gain some insight into my own situation, but, audio is wrong for this one. It is too hard to navigate to the parts of the book which would have been helpful. You cannot peruse and jump to info you need, which is always a plus with non-fiction.

Having earned my hard knocks PhD in this subject as I navigate the journey in year 11, I found much of the information to be repetitious and introductory. That said, this is a great book if you are at the beginning of your transition. If you have no foundational life experience, start here and learn from Dr. Hirsch as she explains what's coming down the pike.

Finally, as a 40 year listener to audio books, allow me to paraphrase Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart - I cannot describe what makes someone a good audio narrator, but I know a bad one when I hear it. The author read this book and it was not good. I found the delivery to be annoying and distracting from the important material. Frequently the tone and cadence were jarring, and I had to work to stay invested. A good narrator does not get in the way of the story and while Dr. Hirsch is likely very talented in many fields, audio narration is not one of them.]]> 3.97 Unlock Your Menopause Type: Personalized Treatments, the Last Word on Hormones, and Remedies that Work
author: Heather Hirsch
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.97
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/05/21
date added: 2023/05/21
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, xpired-2023-ng-group-challenge, audiobook, non-fiction, netgalley
review:
Aw, it pains me to leave a so-so review on a non-fiction book affecting half the population, but Unlock Your Menopause Type as an audio book just does not work.

I am 58 and have been in perimenopause for 11 years. I have still not reached menopause and want to shout from the rooftop to all women that you are not alone. Our society should do better to normalize this life changing, health challenging passage for women. There should be no shame. There should be greater information available. Doctors should take seriously the complaints we raise. Honest books should be written. I eagerly requested Unlock Your Menopause Type hoping to gain some insight into my own situation, but, audio is wrong for this one. It is too hard to navigate to the parts of the book which would have been helpful. You cannot peruse and jump to info you need, which is always a plus with non-fiction.

Having earned my hard knocks PhD in this subject as I navigate the journey in year 11, I found much of the information to be repetitious and introductory. That said, this is a great book if you are at the beginning of your transition. If you have no foundational life experience, start here and learn from Dr. Hirsch as she explains what's coming down the pike.

Finally, as a 40 year listener to audio books, allow me to paraphrase Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart - I cannot describe what makes someone a good audio narrator, but I know a bad one when I hear it. The author read this book and it was not good. I found the delivery to be annoying and distracting from the important material. Frequently the tone and cadence were jarring, and I had to work to stay invested. A good narrator does not get in the way of the story and while Dr. Hirsch is likely very talented in many fields, audio narration is not one of them.
]]> <![CDATA[The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple]]> 36604056 New York Times bestselling author of Manson, the comprehensive, authoritative, and tragic story of preacher Jim Jones, who was responsible for the Jonestown Massacre—the largest murder-suicide in American history.

In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially integrated, and he was a much-lauded leader in the contemporary civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California. He became involved in electoral politics, and soon was a prominent Bay Area leader.

In this riveting narrative, Jeff Guinn examines Jones’s life, from his extramarital affairs, drug use, and fraudulent faith healing to the fraught decision to move almost a thousand of his followers to a settlement in the jungles of Guyana in South America. Guinn provides stunning new details of the events leading to the fatal day in November, 1978 when more than nine hundred people died—including almost three hundred infants and children—after being ordered to swallow a cyanide-laced drink.

Guinn examined thousands of pages of FBI files on the case, including material released during the course of his research. He traveled to Jones’s Indiana hometown, where he spoke to people never previously interviewed, and uncovered fresh information from Jonestown survivors. He even visited the Jonestown site with the same pilot who flew there the day that Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered on Jones’s orders. The Road to Jonestown is the definitive book about Jim Jones and the events that led to the tragedy at Jonestown.]]> Jeff Guinn 1508231850 SueCanaan 5
I went into this 17+ hour book already pretty informed about Jim Jones and the Guyana Tragedy. The mass suicide occurred in 1978 when I was 13, and by high school I was a history fan and chose this topic for a class assignment. I ended up reading everything I could get my hands on and, at 16, was asked by my history teacher to give the same presentation to all her other classes because I'd amassed a ton of knowledge and was enthusiastic in sharing the topic.

Fast forward to 2023 where, as a now 58 year old woman, I stumbled onto a new book about the topic and thought I'd refresh my memory. Jeff Guinn not only refreshed my memory, but this extremely well documented book delves much deeper into all aspects of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. Stunning. So much information about his childhood, and personality, even before he reached adulthood, helped flesh out the man who considered himself a god.

The early church he created was actually more like a church than most. He preached in words and action. Black people were the backbone of his membership because for the first time many were not only hearing about the glory to come after, but had a white man actually helping them with the now. Services started not with songs and platitudes, but with congregants sharing their need for the electric company to fix faulty meters, landlords to repair ramshackle homes and restaurants to provide service. This was the late 60s/early 70s and there were not many resources to actually help the underserved and downtrodden people of color. His church grew, his followers brought more followers and he had a real opportunity to gain some political clout which gave him more power. Although not a highly educated man, Jones understood people. He knew what they needed and what they needed to hear. He understood politics and how to provide a service (nursing homes for blacks), get money (from the government, social security checks, donations from rich whites who felt guilt), how to employ parishioners in the church owned nursing homes (and get their undying devotion). He spoke to them not as a typical preacher but used curse words and the people liked that because "he speaks just like us and isn't afraid to say what he's thinking."

As a teen I read about Jones knowing the 70s were crazy town and this could never happen again. Aw, the unshakable wisdom of youth.

Now? I'm old and I live in the United States and by the time I finished this book I was sick to realize I am living through a much scarier, much more powerful Jim Jones type leader who has somehow managed to convince his followers of his greatness and incite them to violence and murder. And I do not know if there is an end date for that group. History does repeat itself.

Great book. If you know nothing about Jones, or if you are interested in history and cults, this is the book to read.]]> 4.07 2017 The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple
author: Jeff Guinn
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2023/04/04
date added: 2023/04/04
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, non-fiction, audiobook
review:
Wow. I am exhausted. I am deeply concerned.

I went into this 17+ hour book already pretty informed about Jim Jones and the Guyana Tragedy. The mass suicide occurred in 1978 when I was 13, and by high school I was a history fan and chose this topic for a class assignment. I ended up reading everything I could get my hands on and, at 16, was asked by my history teacher to give the same presentation to all her other classes because I'd amassed a ton of knowledge and was enthusiastic in sharing the topic.

Fast forward to 2023 where, as a now 58 year old woman, I stumbled onto a new book about the topic and thought I'd refresh my memory. Jeff Guinn not only refreshed my memory, but this extremely well documented book delves much deeper into all aspects of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. Stunning. So much information about his childhood, and personality, even before he reached adulthood, helped flesh out the man who considered himself a god.

The early church he created was actually more like a church than most. He preached in words and action. Black people were the backbone of his membership because for the first time many were not only hearing about the glory to come after, but had a white man actually helping them with the now. Services started not with songs and platitudes, but with congregants sharing their need for the electric company to fix faulty meters, landlords to repair ramshackle homes and restaurants to provide service. This was the late 60s/early 70s and there were not many resources to actually help the underserved and downtrodden people of color. His church grew, his followers brought more followers and he had a real opportunity to gain some political clout which gave him more power. Although not a highly educated man, Jones understood people. He knew what they needed and what they needed to hear. He understood politics and how to provide a service (nursing homes for blacks), get money (from the government, social security checks, donations from rich whites who felt guilt), how to employ parishioners in the church owned nursing homes (and get their undying devotion). He spoke to them not as a typical preacher but used curse words and the people liked that because "he speaks just like us and isn't afraid to say what he's thinking."

As a teen I read about Jones knowing the 70s were crazy town and this could never happen again. Aw, the unshakable wisdom of youth.

Now? I'm old and I live in the United States and by the time I finished this book I was sick to realize I am living through a much scarier, much more powerful Jim Jones type leader who has somehow managed to convince his followers of his greatness and incite them to violence and murder. And I do not know if there is an end date for that group. History does repeat itself.

Great book. If you know nothing about Jones, or if you are interested in history and cults, this is the book to read.
]]> <![CDATA[At Any Cost: A Father's Betrayal, a Wife's Murder, and a Ten-Year War for Justice]]> 56657387 'AT ANY COST' unravels the twisted story of Rod Covlin, whose unrepentant greed drove him to an unspeakable act of murder and betrayal that rocked New York City.

Wealthy, beautiful, and brilliant, Shele Danishefsky had fulfillment at her fingertips. Having conquered Wall Street, she was eager to build a family with her much younger husband, promising Ivy League graduate Rod Covlin. But when his hidden vices surfaced, marital harmony gave way to a merciless divorce. Rod had long depended on Shele's income to fund his tastes for high stakes backgammon and infidelity - and she finally vowed to sever him from her will. In late December 2009, Shele made an appointment with her lawyer to block him from her millions. She would never make it to that meeting.

Two days later, on New Year’s Eve, Shele was found dead in the bathtub of her Upper West Side apartment. Police ruled it an accident, and Shele’s deeply Orthodox Jewish family quickly buried her without an autopsy on religious grounds. Rod had a clear path to his ex-wife's fortune, but suspicions about her death lingered. As the two families warred over custody of Shele’s children - and their inheritance - Rod concocted a series of increasingly demented schemes, even plotting to kill his own parents, to secure the treasure. And as investigators closed in, Rod committed a final, desperate act to frame his own daughter for her mother’s death.

Journalists Rebecca Rosenberg and Selim Algar reconstruct the ten years that passed between the day Shele was found dead and the day her killer faced justice in this riveting account of how one man’s irrepressible greed devolved into obsession, manipulation, and murder.


A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.]]> Rebecca Rosenberg SueCanaan 0 3.94 2021 At Any Cost: A Father's Betrayal, a Wife's Murder, and a Ten-Year War for Justice
author: Rebecca Rosenberg
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at: 2023/04/02
date added: 2023/04/02
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, non-fiction, true-crime
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion]]> 57951917
The definitive inside story of WeWork, Adam Neumann (its audacious founder), and what its epic unraveling says about a financial system drunk on the elixir of Silicon Valley innovation - from the 'Wall Street Journal' correspondents (recently featured in the WeWork Hulu documentary) whose scoop-filled reporting hastened the company's downfall.

Peppered with eye-popping, never-before-reported details, 'THE CULT OF WE' is the gripping story of careless and often absurd people - and the financial system they have made.


©2021 Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell (P)2021 Random House Audio]]> 8 Eliot Brown SueCanaan 4
If I were able to give stars to the subject of the book, I’d give Adam Neumann less than 1. A horrible, selfish, fraudster who raked in billions while the employees who counted on stock options were scr*wed. All while he and his entitled, wealthy wife, Rebekah Paltrow Neuman, spoke in mantras about equality and consciousness yet thought people like the underpaid teachers in their 42k/tuition year for the PRESCHOOL they started were stealing bread from them when they lobbied for raises. All while the Neumann’s purchased 8 million+ dollar homes, owned a private jet, had morning/afternoon/evening nannies….. Ugh. I hate them.

Watching the extreme wealth given to him (1.7 billion dollar golden parachute) for being so bad for the company they paid him out to avoid going out of business …. while the proletariat work 2-3 jobs and gofundme healthcare and funerals….. This world is sad.]]> 4.10 2021 The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion
author: Eliot Brown
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/06
date added: 2023/04/01
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, audiobook, non-fiction
review:
Solid book. Facts presented in such a way it kept you listening. Great narrator.

If I were able to give stars to the subject of the book, I’d give Adam Neumann less than 1. A horrible, selfish, fraudster who raked in billions while the employees who counted on stock options were scr*wed. All while he and his entitled, wealthy wife, Rebekah Paltrow Neuman, spoke in mantras about equality and consciousness yet thought people like the underpaid teachers in their 42k/tuition year for the PRESCHOOL they started were stealing bread from them when they lobbied for raises. All while the Neumann’s purchased 8 million+ dollar homes, owned a private jet, had morning/afternoon/evening nannies….. Ugh. I hate them.

Watching the extreme wealth given to him (1.7 billion dollar golden parachute) for being so bad for the company they paid him out to avoid going out of business …. while the proletariat work 2-3 jobs and gofundme healthcare and funerals….. This world is sad.
]]> <![CDATA[Never Enough: The Shocking True Story of Greed, Murder, and a Family Torn Apart]]> 10615984
Never Enough is the harrowing true story of two brothers, who grew up wanting to own the world but instead wound up murdered half a world apart, and of Nancy Kissel, a modern American woman for whom having it all might not have been enough.]]> 10 Joe McGinniss Jr 0792752333 SueCanaan 4 3.00 2007 Never Enough: The Shocking True Story of Greed, Murder, and a Family Torn Apart
author: Joe McGinniss Jr
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/12
date added: 2023/04/01
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, audiobook, true-crime, non-fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork]]> 56350487
In its earliest days, WeWork promised the impossible: to make the American work place cool. Adam Neumann, an immigrant determined to make his fortune in the United States, landed on the idea of repurposing surplus New York office space for the burgeoning freelance class. Over the course of ten years, WeWork attracted billions of dollars from some of the most sought-after investors in the world, while spending it to build a global real estate empire that he insisted was much more than that: an organization that aspired to nothing less than "elevating the world's consciousness."

Moving between New York real estate, Silicon Valley venture capital, and the very specific force field of spirituality and ambition erected by Adam Neumann himself, Billion Dollar Loser lays bare the internal drama inside WeWork. Based on more than two hundred interviews, this book chronicles the breakneck speed at which WeWork’s CEO built and grew his company along with Neumann’s relationship to a world of investors, including Masayoshi Son of Softbank, who fueled its chaotic expansion into everything from apartment buildings to elementary schools.

Culminating in a day-by-day account of the five weeks leading up to WeWork’s botched IPO and Neumann’s dramatic ouster, Wiedeman exposes the story of the company’s desperate attempt to secure the funding it needed in the final moments of a decade defined by excess. Billion Dollar Loser is the first book to indelibly capture the highly leveraged, all-blue-sky world of American business in President Trump’s first term, and also offers a sober reckoning with its fallout as a new era begins.

Listening Length: 10 hours and 50 minutes.]]> 11 Reeves Wiedeman SueCanaan 4 4.00 2020 Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork
author: Reeves Wiedeman
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/17
date added: 2023/04/01
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, non-fiction
review:
I would not have guessed I’d have room in my brain for another accounting of Adam Neumann and his spoiled, entitled grifter lifestyle, but this book was excellent. Much more detail about events surrounding this uni-con, nope he was not a unicorn, but a conman. I had no idea how in-bed he was with Jared Kushner and modeling himself after T-ump. Now I hate him even more.
]]> <![CDATA[Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup]]> 40217960 The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face of pressure and threats from the CEO and her lawyers.

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup "unicorn" promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood tests significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at $9 billion, putting Holmes's worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn't work.

For years, Holmes had been misleading investors, FDA officials, and her own employees. When Carreyrou, working at The Wall Street Journal, got a tip from a former Theranos employee and started asking questions, both Carreyrou and the Journal were threatened with lawsuits. Undaunted, the newspaper ran the first of dozens of Theranos articles in late 2015. By early 2017, the company's value was zero and Holmes faced potential legal action from the government and her investors. Here is the riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a disturbing cautionary tale set amid the bold promises and gold-rush frenzy of Silicon Valley.]]> 12 John Carreyrou SueCanaan 5
That said, I was actually surprised the Hulu show was not based on this book given how closely everything seemed to match. I guess that’s history, though. Facts are facts.

]]> 4.36 2018 Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
author: John Carreyrou
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/01
date added: 2023/03/01
shelves: xpired-2023-book-challenge-group, non-fiction
review:
How do you rate true crime? Bad Blood is the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos and I was already a bit familiar from the Hulu show and some documentary shows. This book did an excellent job of presenting facts thoroughly and in a way that made the science (and the lies) understandable.

That said, I was actually surprised the Hulu show was not based on this book given how closely everything seemed to match. I guess that’s history, though. Facts are facts.


]]> <![CDATA[Waco Rising: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America's Modern Militias]]> 60741802 Named one of The New Yorker's "Best Books of 2023"

A news-making account of the war between David Koresh’s Branch Davidians and the FBI, and how their standoff launched today’s militias

In 1993, David Koresh and a band of heavily armed evangelical Christians took on the might of the US government. A two-month siege of their compound in Waco, Texas, ended in a firefight that killed seventy-six, including twenty-five children. America is still picking up the pieces, and we still haven’t heard the full story.

Kevin Cook, who revealed the truth behind a mythic, misunderstood murder in his 2014 Kitty Genovese, finally provides the full story of what happened at Waco. He gives readers a taste of Koresh’s deadly charisma and takes us behind the scenes at the Branch Davidians’ compound, where “the new Christ” turned his followers into servants and sired seventeen children by a dozen “wives.” In vivid accounts packed with human drama, Cook harnesses never-reported material to reconstruct the FBI’s fifty-one-day siege of the Waco compound in minute-to-minute detail. He sheds new light on the Clinton administration’s approval of a lethal governmental assault in a new, definitive account of the firefight that ended so many lives and triggered the rise of today’s militia movement. Waco drew the battle lines for American extremists—in Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh’s words, “Waco started this war.” With help from sources as diverse as Branch Davidian survivors and the FBI’s lead negotiator during the siege, Cook draws a straight line from Waco’s ashes to the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol and insurrections yet to come.

Unmissable reading for anyone interested in the truth of what happened in Texas three decades ago, Waco Rising is chillingly relevant today. Here is the spark that ignited today’s antigovernment militias.]]> 288 Kevin Cook 125084052X SueCanaan 4
The second part of the book ties in later events, and current history, to show the rise of the American militias. This rise of home grown terrorists include the current group of extremists who stormed the Capitol, endangered democracy and killed police at J6. It is scarily laughable to read other reviewers who are offended by the inclusion of J6 among the list of radicalized Americans. It is a scary place to live right now, and Cook has scared me even more.

The audio narration of this book was perfect. Kept me listening and his voice did not get in the way of the story. Well done. ]]> 3.85 2023 Waco Rising: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America's Modern Militias
author: Kevin Cook
name: SueCanaan
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/13
date added: 2023/01/19
shelves: audiobook, netgalley, non-fiction, xpired-2023-book-challenge-group
review:
Wow, Kevin Cook managed to take an event in history already examined in true crime documentaries and docudramas, and make it a compelling listen. While I went into Waco Rising with some knowledge of Koresh and the compound, I felt this deep dive opened my eyes to many behind the scenes facts. Firstly, no matter your opinion on Koresh, as Americans we need to police our own and ensure the people behind the power do not abuse it. I am conflicted about what I heard and how I feel. Koresh was a self entitled prophet and his cult were willing to give their children to him, turn a blind eye to pedophilia, and die with him. The FBI was willing to do or say whatever it took to end the stand off, even if that involved untruths and obfuscation.

The second part of the book ties in later events, and current history, to show the rise of the American militias. This rise of home grown terrorists include the current group of extremists who stormed the Capitol, endangered democracy and killed police at J6. It is scarily laughable to read other reviewers who are offended by the inclusion of J6 among the list of radicalized Americans. It is a scary place to live right now, and Cook has scared me even more.

The audio narration of this book was perfect. Kept me listening and his voice did not get in the way of the story. Well done.
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