
Kristen Barenthaler
Bio
Curious adventurer. Crazed reader. Librarian. Archery instructor. True crime addict.
Instagram: @kristenbarenthaler
Facebook: @kbarenthaler
Stories (370)
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“The Cat Operator’s Manual: Getting the Most from Your New Cuddle Unit” by Queen Olivia III (4 stars)
*I received an e-book copy of this book from Edelweiss Plus in exchange for review.* I really only downloaded this book because I immediately went ‘CAT’ in my brain! It’s a problem that I’m working on…okay, not really. I’m one of those crazy cat people and it’s best you know that now before reading any further. We’ll only go further down the rabbit-hole. I have two cuddle companions currently, named Boots and Pia who are my everything, even though to them I am often simply a way to get more food or a clean litter box. Which I realize is completely normal after reading this, so I don’t feel so bad about it now…
By Kristen Barenthalerabout a year ago in Geeks
“Chasing Headlines” by J. Rose Black (2 stars)
*I received an e-book copy of this book from Hidden Gems Books in exchange for review.* Amazon markets Chasing Headlines as “A steamy, new adult, enemies to lovers comedy series” (Amazon.com), but it wasn’t steamy (they had dreams about each other, but hadn’t even agreed to date by the end of the book). New adult just means that it can’t be too steamy because it’s being marketed for a younger audience and as for comedy, I didn’t laugh once. The only thing being correctly marketed is that it’s an enemies-to-lovers (who aren’t yet actually lovers) romance. I felt disappointed in what I had built this book into based on that marketing, but it barely met the minimum I would’ve expected for this tagline.
By Kristen Barenthalerabout a year ago in Geeks
“Homicide: The Graphic Novel, Part One” by Philippe Squarzoni (4 stars)
Here’s how we got here: I run a True Crime Book Club, so I’m always looking for new and interesting ways to represent the subject matter. We’ve read interpretations, watched documentaries, and researched the typical true crime literature. Someone on a message board suggested this graphic novel (which is broken into two parts, but we’ll get to that later). Intriguing that I’d never heard of a graphic novel rendition of a true crime book. Apparently there are a few and I’m looking forward to giving a few of them a try with the club in the future. I figured I’d give this one a try since it came so highly recommended. So I ordered a copy from my public library and away I went.
By Kristen Barenthalerabout a year ago in BookClub
“Lay Them to Rest: On the Road with the Cold Case Investigators Who Identify the Nameless” by Laurah Norton (5 stars)
I have to start off by saying that Laurah Norton is my new superhero! She is a “Writer and former academic with 15 years in the fields of literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and archival and primary research.Practiced podcast showrunner and host with experience in serial and single-episode formats. Work includes creation, writing, research, and hosting of podcasts One Strange Thing and The Fall Line” (Laurah Norton). She has collaborated on many of these projects with top-ranking scientists, artists, and forensic anthropologists.
By Kristen Barenthalerabout a year ago in BookClub
“Cross the Line” by Simone Soltani (4 stars)
I’d never read a formula one romance before, but when I saw this on Audible, I thought “what the heck” and I’m so glad I did! Who knew racing was such a sexy sport? Friends-to-lovers is also an automatic win in my book (pun intended), so I knew immediately that I was going to adore the hidden romantic shenanigans of Willow and Dev. I now have quite a few racing romances being suggested on my feed and I wasn’t aware it was such a big part of the sports romance genre.
By Kristen Barenthalerabout a year ago in Geeks
“Temple of Swoon” by Jo Segura (5 stars)
To be fair, I’ve loved both of Jo Segura’s books so far, so I’m a tiny bit biased in saying that this was a five star read. However, it’s a great romance read that is quick and easy for any fans looking for a romantic rendezvous in the Amazon rainforest. Might seem a bit niche maybe, but it’s also completely perfect for a lazy afternoon read. If you’re a fan of enemies-to-lovers, hidden agendas, third act plot twists, or even just enjoy some searing sexual tension, this is the book for you.
By Kristen Barenthalerabout a year ago in Geeks
"The Road to Jonestown" by Jeff Guinn. Content Warning.
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.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
"A Serial Killer's Daughter" by Kerri Rawson. Content Warning.
What is it like to learn that your ordinary, loving father is a serial killer In 2005, Kerri Rawson opened the door of her apartment to greet an FBI agent who shared the shocking news that her father had been arrested for murdering ten people, including two children. That's also when she first learned that her father was the notorious serial killer known as BTK, a name he'd given himself that described the horrific way he committed his crimes: bind, torture, kill. As news of his capture spread, the city of Wichita celebrated the end of a thirty-one-year nightmare. For Kerri Rawson, another was just beginning. In the weeks and years that followed, Kerri was plunged into a black hole of horror and disbelief. The same man who had been a loving father, a devoted husband, church president, Boy Scout leader, and a public servant had been using their family as a cover for his heinous crimes since before she was born. Everything she had believed about her life had been a lie. Written with candor and extraordinary courage, A Serial Killer's Daughter is an unflinching exploration of life with one of America's most infamous killers and an astonishing tale of personal and spiritual transformation.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
"Why They Do It" by Eugene Soltes. Content Warning.
What drives wealthy and powerful people to white-collar crime? Why They Do It is a breakthrough look at the dark side of the business world. From the financial fraudsters of Enron, to the embezzlers at Tyco, to the insider traders at McKinsey, to the Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, the failings of corporate titans are regular fixtures in the news. In Why They Do It , Harvard Business School professor Eugene Soltes draws from extensive personal interaction and correspondence with nearly fifty former executives as well as the latest research in psychology, criminology, and economics to investigate how once-celebrated executives become white-collar criminals. White-collar criminals are not merely driven by excessive greed or hubris, nor do they usually carefully calculate costs and benefits before breaking the law. Instead, Soltes shows that most of the executives who committed crimes made decisions the way we all do-on the basis of their intuitions and gut feelings. The trouble is that these gut feelings are often poorly suited for the modern business world where leaders are increasingly distanced from the consequences of their decisions and the individuals they impact. The extraordinary costs of corporate misconduct are clear to its victims. Yet, never before have we been able to peer so deeply into the minds of the many prominent perpetrators of white-collar crime. With the increasing globalization of business threatening us with even more devastating corporate misconduct, the lessons Soltes draws in Why They Do It are needed more urgently than ever.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
"Hell's Princess" by Harold Schechter. Content Warning.
In the pantheon of serial killers, Belle Gunness stands alone. She was the rarest of female psychopaths, a woman who engaged in wholesale slaughter, partly out of greed but mostly for the sheer joy of it. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana "murder farm." Some were hired hands. Others were well-to-do bachelors. All of them vanished without a trace. When their bodies were dug up, they hadn't merely been poisoned, like victims of other female killers. They'd been butchered. Hell's Princess is a riveting account of one of the most sensational killing sprees in the annals of American crime: the shocking series of murders committed by the woman who came to be known as Lady Bluebeard. The only definitive book on this notorious case and the first to reveal previously unknown information about its subject, Harold Schechter's gripping, suspenseful narrative has all the elements of a classic mystery--and all the gruesome twists of a nightmare.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub
"Miracle on 34th Street" by Valentine Davies
About the Book/Movie: For a little girl named Susan Walker, Christmas could be any other day. She doesn't believe in Santa Claus or magic or miracles of any kind. But when she meets Kris Kringle and tells him what Christmas gifts she most wishes for, Susan finds herself hoping that maybe, just maybe, he is the real thing. Based on the original holiday classic, Miracle on 34th Street is a timeless, heartwarming children's book about generosity, imagination, and the spirit of Christmas... if you just believe.
By Kristen Barenthaler2 years ago in BookClub











