Recent Reads: Non-Fiction, True Crime | Part One

What does a cute self help book about a woman who started a dog-related business AND a horrible true crime novel about a woman who tortured people have in common? Absolutely nothing. Except that I read them both within a few days of each other. So, here are my random recent reads!

In the last month, I cozied up to four different books. I typically don’t have that kind of time, but I was a little sick recently (nothing major) and used the time to catch up on some books. Three of these books were on Prime Reading at the time that I read them, so that’s why I chose them! What’s better than free and I didn’t even have to go out and buy them (and thank goodness, see the aforementioned illness).

The first book that I read was…

#SavvyBusinessOwner: A Book for Small Business Owners!

by SAVY Leiser. This book wasn’t on Prime Reading, but I had pre-ordered it before it’s release in September. I don’t really follow the author closely, but I had heard about her book after watching a YouTube video where she talked about Rachel Hollis. I also don’t follow Hollis really, but I was still pretty surprised to hear about her divorce. Anyway, I pre-ordered the book because I was interested in her perspective on running a small business.

I didn’t need her advice for how to set up an LLC, but it was still interesting. I wish I had read it before I started my first business last year. It might have made the process less intimidating. She talks about setting up a business bank account in her pajamas. So, that at the least feels accessible.

The only part about the book that I didn’t like is that she does refer to herself as “sounding like a bitch” at one point and I thought it was completely unfounded. Looking at the statements objectively, I didn’t think she sounded like a bitch at all. She sounds confident. And if she was a man, I don’t think that statement would have crossed anyone’s mind (maybe not even her own). So, that bothered me a little. I felt like saying, “WHAT are you talking about?? You’re allowed to know things, and to share your knowledge, and to have a confident voice! And you know it because you’ve said as much in this book!”

Here’s the blurb from Amazon:

WARNING: This book is NOT for BossBabes who want to build an empire. This book will NOT teach you how to get rich, especially not quickly. This is a book of SPECIFIC tips for SMALL business owners! This book is not going to motivate you. If you need SAVY, who’s likely a stranger you met on the internet, to tell you that “you can do it,” then you might not be ready to start a business. This is more than a self-help book targeted at entrepreneurial women. In this book, SAVY tells the full story behind the award-winning book and toy business The Furever Home Friends: from raising the money to start it , to registering and LLC, and more. You’ll learn how to craft a sales pitch, how to generate startup capital, and more, all while SAVY gushes about cute dogs. If you hated Girl, Stop Apologizing, you’ll love #SavvyBusinessOwner.

The next book I read which was completely unrelated was one that I found for free on Prime called…

If You Tell

by Gregg Olsen. I’ve never read a book by this author and I don’t typically read True Crime, but it sounded interesting and I had never heard about the story.

I feel like Gregg approached the story with a great sensitivity to the victims that are still living. It’s really well told, and I finished it in one weekend because I couldn’t put it down. The story is almost unbelievable, there’s so many horrific details about what Michelle Knotek put everyone through. The most insane part of it all is that she managed to serve only 20-something years for 4 murders (at least 3, probably 4). She will be released in 2022, which is pretty shocking.

I realized this post might get really long, so I’m going to post more about the other two books that I read this month tomorrow!