This book is about Mary Kay Letourneau, a married mother and school teacher, age 34, who began a love affair with one of her students, age 13. Mary Kay has asserted from the beginning that she is not a child molester, and this has never occurred before with one of her students or any other child. She claims this was a meeting of two soulmates. This wayward couple wound up having two daughters together, and eventually ended up getting married. I believe that have since gotten divorced, but they were together through all of this, even the jail term, for a long time. I cannot imagine what her four children from her previous marriage and her ex husband had to go through, not to mention all the families from all sides. It cannot be easy to be in the media spotlight and the subject of conversation and controversy. I think people often overlook those involved outside of the immediate subjects. Greg Olsen is one of my favorite true crime writers. I enjoyed this book, and enjoyed learning about this case more in depth than what I had seen on tv. 

 This book was the "hypothetical" account of how O.J. Simpson would have killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman if he had actually done it. This book goes into how they met and what their relationship was like. It was a very bizarre book. Simpson was ultimately convicted of being liable for their deaths, but not convicted of murder. I strongly believe that Simpson did commit the murders, and this book certainly helped sway me in that direction. I remember watching this police chase on television when I was a child, of course I had no idea what the big deal was or why it was on all of the channels. This book is also featured on The Last Podcast On The Left reading list (Episode 129). 

 This book was featured on The Last Podcast On The Left reading list (Episodes 326-328). This book is an in depth look at Richard Kuklinski, also known as The Ice Man, who was a contact hit man for the Italian Organized Crime syndicate in New York. There are stories in this book that seem completely unbelievable, but there are so many stories in the news and on documentaries that I watch that seem insane and they actually happened too. Maybe he is making up some of these things, maybe he is not. He was certainly a violent person, and certainly responsible for plenty of murders and other violent acts. I think it is interesting to learn what makes people like this tick, what motivates them to do these things. It is astonishing how well they are able to hide it from their families, and also how families sometimes turn a blind eye to what goes on to keep themselves safe and as far removed from criminal activities as possible. This wasn't my favorite mob book, crime book, or biography, but it was interesting for sure. 

 This is pretty much a classic Ann Rule book, covering the case of Randall Woodfield. Woodfield is an American serial killer, robber, rapist, and weirdo who was active on the I-5 Interstate through California, Oregon, and Washington. He is suspected of being involved in as many as forty four murders. He is currently still alive and incarcerated. I thought Ann Rule presented the facts in a manner that was engaging and easy to follow. I usually enjoy her books that focus on a single case, and this was no exception. 

 Jennette McCurdy was born in California in 1992. She was raised in the Mormon faith, but is not a practitioner of the faith currently. In this book, she talks about her Mormon faith and how the teachings did not mesh with her acting career. I thought that was very interesting, because her Mom wanted her to be an actress so badly and also be a good little Mormon girl. It's the combination of two worlds. She appeared in several television shows, including CSI, Malcom In The Middle, Law & Order, Zoey 101, etc. She landed her first regular series role on the show iCarly, which was too young for me to watch. My cousin watched it, and Sam & Cat as well. I have seen a few episodes in passing, and she was a good actress. It was so wild to put that image of her on tv and what was going on behind the scenes together. She really went through it with her mother and her eating disorder. It just goes to show that you may think people have it "all" even when they really do not.

I usually am really reserved giving 5 stars to things, and I try to only give those books that I thoroughly enjoy that rating. I do love a memoir, so I thought I would like this one well enough, but I was not expecting to like it as well as I did. My best friend and my sister nagged me to read it, so I got it on Audible to listen to at night while I play my game on my phone, and I stayed up extremely late two nights in a row to finish this book. This was a horrifying picture of what life as a child star could be like, especially with a mother like the one she had. She was mentally and emotionally abused literally every second of every day. I cannot begin to imagine it. I also would like to note that the creator for her Nickelodeon shows was a gross creep. I highly recommend this book for fans of her shows, but also to anyone who has never considered what it is like for children in the entertainment industry. 

 I first became aware of this book when Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested for the murders committed by The Golden State Killer. He was 72 at the time of his arrest, and was linked via DNA submitted to an ancestry website by a relative of his. I have been wanting to read it for a while, and finally got around to it. The author was very methodical in her research of the crimes, and the police also credited her activity in the case with raising awareness of the crimes. The author wound up dying before the book was published and never got to find out who the killer was. The book was really interesting, and I certainly learned a lot about the cases. 

 I was actually very shocked at the writing of this book. I thought it would be terrible, but it was actually well thought out and engaging. I remember Jim and Tammy being on television and my grandmother watching them, but she never sent in any money...thankfully. I do not care what this man says, there is no way he actually forgave any of the people in this book for their parts in anything, real or imagined. He admits to a lot of things, but also tries to spin it where other people were the actual ones at fault or that everything was one silly misunderstanding. It was interesting to read about the life and times of someone who I had recalled seeing on television, and some of the other television preachers I remember my grandmother watching. I think I bought this book for about a dollar at one of the thrift stores here in town, so it was worth what I paid for it. 

 I really enjoyed this book. Hans Baur was not one of the most prolific names of the Nazi era, but I like learning about people who are frequently overlooked. A lot of people read about Himmler and Goering, all of the generals who were involved in some of the greatest battles, and Speer. In this book, we get to see an ordinary boy who grew to love planes and had a great desire to fly. He became a very accomplished pilot and had a very distinguished career as one. It is interesting to see how he was chosen to be a pilot for Hitler, and what he thought about the man and the events. I bought a few books in this category, and I hope to find some more. I enjoyed this book a lot. 

 I had never heard of anyone associated with Hitler with this name, but I got this book along with several others of people who had worked for him in some capacity. This book seems like complete and total nonsense, and, at best, a historical fiction. I can't remember how much I paid for this, but it was certainly a rip off. I was thoroughly disappointed in this book, and I do not recommend this at all. 

 This is the memoir of Erich Kempka, featuring moments from before and during the war. He was on Hitler's staff before the formal declaration of war, and drove him all over Europe. He was witness to the relationship between Eva Braun and their marriage, as well as the relationships between all the leading Nazis of the time. He was present for the suicide of Hitler and Braun, and helped to douse the bodies with fuel to burn them. He was also a witness at the Nuremberg trials. This was a very interesting book, and I think that memoirs from former Nazis and other Germans are so important. The perspective is so important.