KJK Reads

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Essays, Horror Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is an interesting collection of essays, as someone who was late to horror (I wouldn’t actually watch horrors in the millennial frame but am catching up now) I found this book very informative. I found the book being separated into three parts made it feel less daunting (especially with the gruesomeness of some of the books covered and thought that remakes getting their own section at the end was cool. I thought that the way in which the last chapter of one chapter leaded into the title/topic of the next was a great touch that made it feel even more cohesive. I also liked the fact that the Saw films and final destination films had their own chapters with them having so many films under the franchise. Finally, the 6 degrees of saw-peration list and graphic at the end was interesting for me to see the way so many horrors can connect and a...

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Poetry  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was an interesting collection of poems that takes you on a rollercoaster. There’s both poems that are happy and lighthearted and some that take a darker route, even with some quite touching deliberations on suicide being included. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Comic, Non-Fiction, Biography Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great little book on Vincent van Gogh. It is very detailed containing pieces of his life such as changing careers and failed love interests that are often not considered when we think of van Gogh, instead favouring his art and mental health. The illustrations were really well done and at times helped to bring levity to the story which isn’t often the happiest of lives. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Comic, Non-Fiction, Psychology, Therapy Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book was a great introduction to music theory. It isn’t to content dense or utilising too much jargon but still manages to teach us the key concepts of music theory allowing us to understand the practice. It is has a helpful section on dispelling myths and the history of music theory which was really interesting to learn.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Children's Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a cute little book that helps teach children the importance of empathy and compassion, helping them consider problem solving for themselves in the future. I liked how Ezekiel and Joel both had different problems in regards to their playing American football but they worked together and found that the same tactic can help them both. 

Rating: DNF Themes: Non-Fiction, Essays Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. It felt like the author was using long and complex words just to show off his own intelligence and ability but making it tedius for me to read and must make it impossible for some others (which I tested by reading out 2 sentences to someone and they couldn't make head nor tail of them. I also thought it was unfair to focus soley on male authors when so many were offered and there are also female authors who show excellent wit and ability too despite the prejudices in the time period.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Short Story, Psychological Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was an interesting short story which managed to keep me on my toes all along. I appreciated the pronunciation below the characters name for part 1 as it wasn’t one I’d have managed to correctly guess and appreciated the hints of Haitian culture and tradition throughout (black for a year, views on cremation, food, ect). Saga’s character felt sad and complex and in a twisted way I could understand her motivations more than those of Celienne’s character, but I didn’t really understand the changes occurring to Dieufely.  Favourite Quote: "It was also when I learned that it wasn’t enough to be nice. People were the most comfortable with individuals that were just like them."

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Thriller, Audiobook Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I found this book interesting but a little hard to get into. I struggled to get my head around the book at first, I’m not sure whether I missed it with listening to the audiobook or just that the distinguishing wasn’t clear but I found it difficult to tell when flashbacks were happening at first. After I figured it out it did make sense and I can kind of understand the motivations behind most of the characters actions. It ends on a cliffhanger and I was absolutely gutted it ended there as I can’t wait to find out what happens to the characters next. 

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Self-Help, Mental Health, Psychology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I loved this book. Although I have studied a lot about mental illnesses, I have only ever covered OCD on a surface level so this book being dedicated to it is a great addition to my knowledge. I liked how Kristan was able to weave the balance between providing factual evidence and personal experiences throughout as it taught me more than I usually get from just reading one or the other and I’m sure it will help those with OCD who may not see their own experiences depicted often feel more seen. This was especially helpful with the guided meditation bit as I know myself I struggled to get the hang of it at first so her talking through her struggles as well as stating the benefits is great to encourage perseverance. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Self-Help, Non-Fiction, Psychology, Teens Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great little book for both teenagers and those trying to help them. I know emotions, specifically anger can be difficult through the teenage years with hormones becoming more active but it can often be taken for granted that without understanding and guidance we don’t know how to handle them. This book takes the time to properly explain anger, even dispelling some myths behind it, before it dives into practical management solutions that can be used making it a more in depth and useful book.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Spirituality Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I picked this up because despite not being religious, I want to explore my own spirituality more and this book was a great start. The questions were helpful and really made me think about my own life and beliefs, and there are great exercises and anecdotes throughout as well. 

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Thriller, Mystery, Christmas, Fiction  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The mystery kept me guessing till late on which was quite fun and I liked some of the characters (and hated others with equal measure) as they felt well thought through and fleshed out individuals. However, I felt like the beginning of the book was overly long and a lot of it didn’t add much substance to the overall plot of the book and the romance at the end felt like it was shoved in and was unnecessary aside from saying look there’ll be a happy ending. I was also left with some questions at the end which was surprising given the fact I’d been listening to it for 10 and a half hours. The audiobook was overall well narrated with a good array of voices and accents for characters, but she mispronounced Bowie which did personally grate on me a little.  Favourite Quote: "Fear and excitement are twins; they live on opposite ...

Rating:  5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Memoir, War, Estonian History Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book was a truly amazing read. I didn’t know anything about Estonia’s history, especially not around the Second World War and this was a great place to start. I appreciated the way in with Kaia weaved her own personal family history with her aunt and Bruno with the factual evidence about the times for the rest of her country. Kiiri Sandy did a wonderful job narrating and her voice really put me at ease in a compassionate type of way which was great for the context of the book (as opposed to a harsher voice putting me on edge the whole way through). I also appreciated the masculine voice used for the speech when required like when a nazi or soviet leader was being quoted directly as it helped emphasise where the quotes began and ended without seeing the quotation marks.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thai is an interesting book with a lot of really good point such as committing to people, embracing failure, TV in moderation, and the benefits of building relationships. The anecdotes weaved throughout are great, especially with the format having them indented further across the page to make them easier to distinguish from the factual parts of the book. The presence of a conclusion, summary and quote at the end of each chapter are great for reinforcing what has been taught in it and the building blocks are a good way to help us put into practice out learning. 

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: User Manual, Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great little guide full of things I didn’t even know I was missing such as Xodo and adding stickers to journals. 

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Reading Journal, Non-Fiction, Activity Book Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is an amazing digital reading journal. There are loads of customisable pages dedicated to your preferences and your own personal library as well as the monthly journal pages and even a place to save stickers. There’s also a few challenges at the end which look great to work my way through. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a really good book that encourages us all to check our own privilege and think about how power is used for and against others. I appreciated that the book also considered intersectionality and disability which I hadn’t expected going into this book as they aren’t too often covered in mainstream books on power, instead favouring race and gender. I liked the black and white illustrations throughout which gave a contemporary feel as this is still such a contemporary issue, regardless of some people’s beliefs. I also really appreciated the interrogate and reflect sections as it encourages us to apply our learning straight away and things like the check your privilege table will really help put things into perspective for a lot of people.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The chapters are concise and the graphics and illustrations throughout the book are very aesthetically pleasing. There was a great collection of exercises to work with and try and the list of further reading and resources is also great. I think I’ll be looking at more of the little book series to come as they have some more on great topics. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Children's Non-Fiction, Art, History Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is the first Little People, Big Dreams but I absolutely love van Gogh so I couldn’t resist picking this on up. It sncompasses the key points in his life from being a child to late in his life. I like the art timeline at the beginning and that the illustrations have thick strokes like he was known for. I personally loved the presence of the A Starry Night images used twice (since it’s my personal favourite and the sunflowers throughout as its what he’s most well known for is a great touch. Favourite Quote: "And though it took time for the world to recognize his talent, little Vincent continued to express his feelings with every single brushstroke. He proved that even when we feel a bit lost-we can find ioy by doing the things We love most."