KJK Reads

Rating:  5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Psychology, STEM Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. It was great to learn about the women behind the theories and research in a historically male dominated field with a broad range of theories covered. I liked the brief portraits chapters, both for the early twentieth century and modern age, mixed in with the specific researchers and their work/theories. I also liked the photos at the end of some of the researchers, especially Anna Freud and Melanie Klein who I had read a lot about previously but never had a face to put to the name. Finally, the glossary is very helpful and I found the title entertaining (So … what does that mean? A glossary of frequently used but kind of weird terms).

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Self-Help, Teen, Digital Detox, Well-Being, Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The guide is spread out monthly over a year which was a nice surprise as it helps break up the information and increases the likelihood of the reader forming the habit (since it takes 66 days to form a habit on average). I thought that presenting offline heroes is a great idea to help promote digital health to kids more, especially using people they may look up to like Billie Eilish as well as those who did amazing things like The Everest Twins. I liked the monthly checklist and the exercises throughout as well as the sketches provided.

Rating:  2.5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I found the formatting terrible and made it really difficult for me to read but I’m not sure if that’s just because I had a digital ARC copy and that could have been addressed before publication. I did like the smart moves bit provided at the end of each chapter, as it's a good way to look at applying the bits in the chapter and decide if it was for me or not. Also the appendix showing the careers that rely on referrals the most was quite interesting.

Rating:  4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I loved the dedication, it was a heart touching start to the book which gives a great balance between information with questions and practical applications. I like the way in which the book places more control back in our hands with what we can control such as different meditation practices, body scans, critical reflection, transformative movements, and practising generative conflict as the things that we often need to work towards liberation for typically feel completely out of our control. I thought it was interesting to see who wrote each bit, seeing the way in which the collaboration worked, as it's not something I’m used to seeing with other collaborations I’ve read.  I appreciated the helpful resources at the end such as yoga, and somatics websites and how the notes have been split up into introduction and the 3 parts instead of ...

Rating: 2.5 Stars Themes: Self-Help, Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I liked the way in which the topic was split up and appreciated the cartoons throughout. This book is a great one to read if you constantly feel like you’re running out of time or don’t have enough hours in a day. However, I found the formatting terrible and made it really difficult for me to read but I’m not sure if that’s just because I had a digital ARC copy and that could have been addressed before publication. 

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Parenting, Self-Help, ADHD, Mental Health, Psychology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I thought that the topics were split up quite well into sections and chapters and found that the neurology section was written in an easy to understand manner. The chapter takeaways helped as there is a lot of information to take in in each chapter and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. I loved the sections on strengthening self-image as it’s an important thing to teach all young girls and the one on resilience and adaptability as they’re essential skills we should all learn growing up. Finally, I thought that the free gift was a nice touch, especially for those parents who still feel a little out of their depths raising a child with ADHD after this guide.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, NLP, Self-Help Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great short guide to help you decide if NLP is for you and spark further learning if you think it is. It covers all the essential points (I knew from reading a book on NLP a year or so back) without being too jargon dense. I liked the fact that the book showed the history of NLP dates back to the 1970s to help show readers that it's not just some newfangled millennial thing like many things discussed today are claimed to be.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Awareness, Mental Health  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I liked the way in which the book has been split up with a part on myth-busting, one on addressing stigma and a final part on living well to address many different elements of psychosis. I appreciated the chapter Language Matters for addressing the stigma in using words such as psychotic, mental, delusional which needs to be addressed more often as with the availability of social media many mental illnesses and symptoms have become used in a slang like way more often which is harmful to many and lightens the seriousness those who live with them face. I also appreciated the paragraph For People Who Want to Help as I myself don’t experience psychosis but am always open to learning different ways I can help and support those around me. I liked the short paragraph on the interviewees with a mini biography and their socials where ...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Medical, Cancer Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book taught me so much about the medical applications of cannabis. I liked the mix of anecdotal and factual evidence presented in each paragraph so it’s not just all facts and figures but they are used to back up the author's lived experiences. I think that this is important for anyone with cancer to read, especially the older generations since, like the subtitle states, doctors don't tend to suggest cannabis but it could be beneficial to them. The book also makes me think it could be a good idea to do some further research into any medical effects of cannabis for chronic pain since I haven’t gotten any rescue/emergency meds yet. 

Rating:  3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Meditation Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The premise of this book is an awesome idea that offers new forms of mindfulness to those who find traditional mindfulness to be newfangled nonsense, too girly or for hippies and like sports since some of the elements can be applied to other sports not just golf. I also liked the sketches which were a great touch to the book. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Nature Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I really enjoyed this book. I am always open to new ways to get in touch with, or closer to nature and there are lots of great ideas in here, such as journaling in nature, container gardening, and the 54321 technique. I appreciated the section on nature activism to help inspire those who read it into doing more to protect the nature around them and combat climate change such as making the countryside more inclusive, reducing food waste, planting more flowers and trees, and saving water. I also loved the illustrations throughout with them being simple but beautiful just like nature itself. 

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Educational, Finance Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great book that I’m afraid to say taught me a thing or two about money management such as cashback and negotiating. The book is broken down in a way that's easy to digest and while staying professional and mature enough not to feel like it’s talking down to the audience which is important, since it’s written for teens and they’re more likely to check out if they feel they’re being talked down to. I liked the sketches as they helped break up the text a little more and also liked the action points at the end of each chapter to help me put some of the newer things into practice.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Witchcraft Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I have to admit, I’m still not sure how much stock I put in modern day witchery and spells but this was an interesting read nonetheless. The way in which it was broken up makes it easier to read or locate the type of assistance you need and some of the spells/recipes were interesting, like the tea for better connections and the bath soak to reduce anxiety. I do think that some of these may be able to help somewhat, as the ingredients in the tea magick for calm have been researched as some form of calming scent or mild tranquilliser so they should help calm an individual regardless of any incantation.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Education, Child Development Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is great and I definitely need to use the bibliography at the end to look more into Froebel and his work/theories in the future. I found having the information broken up into the foundations, at home and at school to contextualise the theory in a more direct way, especially with things like the role of sports being in the school section and building character at home. I also found the preface and who was Froebel bits right at the beginning of the book cool as it's always interesting to learn a little bit about the person behind critical theories. 

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Religion  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I found this book really enlightening. I have seen from documentaries, the news and some films that God and religion is deeply ingrained in many Black women’s lives but never took too much time to think about it, not being so myself. But this book not only explained the general link but goes more in depth such as through prayer, hospitality, and scripture. I liked the combination of theory alongside little quotes by different women and girls, as well as an age to contextualise it more in terms of stages of life.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Disability, Exercise, Fitness Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is great, as a disabled individual I have found that many of the old programmes and methods of exercise I used to use are no longer accessible to me and it’s not always easy figuring out the adapted versions of exercises alone. This book provides two different options for each exercise provided making it easier to adapt the exercises I need to but use the traditional version for those I can do. It also outlines the experience of pain and types of pain (including a helpful table) to help readers distinguish their own daily pain experiences and those experienced while exercising. This is a great book that I will definitely be turning to again in the future and recommend to my newly or dynamically disabled friends.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Astrology, Mythology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is interesting to read regardless of your belief or disbelief in astrology. I found it intriguing to learn about the mythological stories behind each individual zodiac and also the planets and the illustration attached to each was stunning. I don’t know how much I personally believe in the rituals provided after each tale but I’m sure they would mean something significant to those who believe in astrology and I liked the affirmation attached below it. I also appreciated the affirmation summary style page at the back of the book as my memory isn’t the best after taking in so much information. There was also a small section on your big three (sun sign, moon sign, and rising sign) at the back and one on creating your own ritual which I’m sure is useful for those who believe in astrology and its impacts on their behaviours. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Health, Childrens Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is a great way to teach kids about the world around them and the introduction even taught  me something. There were some cool ideas throughout and I found the balance between edible and non-edible activities and practical and just fun activities throughout the book was great too. 

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: LGBTQ+, Non-Fiction, Graphic Novels  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I wish I had a book like this when I was figuring out my own identity. The book covers a great selection of important issues in the community, especially a whole section with multiple chapters on coming out through to taking care of your mental health. Including some signs of an unhealthy relationship was a great idea since it is easy for young queer individuals to fall into toxic or unhealthy relationships while they’re trying to figure themselves out. I also found the sections on what sex is, safe sex and consent to be very important as there is often a severe lack of queer sex education included in the schools sex education programmes. I liked the inclusivity of the finding your community section covering online and in real life as a disabled individual my socialisation is more online now and it helped make my form of social...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Self-Help, Non-Fiction, Psychology, Art Therapy Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Art therapy has been found to be a very useful tool in supporting many different conditions such as cancer, trauma, substance abuse disorder and eating disorders but it isn’t widely offered on the NHS making it too costly for many people to be able to use. This book helps make art journaling, a form of art therapy, affordable and accessible to many. I liked how the book covers topics such as the healing effects of art journaling and journaling for self-discovery and found the pictures from the authors own journal helpful. Finally, I personally loved the dedication as a touching start to the book. 

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, History, Biographies, Childrens Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I really enjoyed this book, I enjoy learning about new people throughout history, especially those that weren’t taught in school or often spoken about. I appreciated the illustrations as they were pretty and brought in another aspect such as the pestle and mortar for Mary Seacole or the book and pen for Zadie Smith. The trailblazers section and the powerful professions section at the back helped keep some of the more remarkable people throughout the book in the front of my mind. I think the glossary was a great addition and the timeline was an awesome way to put some of the people I learnt through the book in their historical place around those I knew. 

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Psychogical, Educational  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book introduced a lot of important concepts such as the mind-body connection, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Occam’s razor, compound interest, and correlation versus causation. The exercises are a great way to make you think and apply the concepts in a way that may make more sense to us and the answers at the back help, especially with the mathematical exercises, which I’m not used to being included books. The explanatory cartoons were a helpful way to liven up some potentially dull topics. However, the book is very factually dense containing 32 concepts in the first 96 pages alone which isn’t ideal for everybody. I also read it in a digital form and some of the figures such as tables and graphs overlapped the writing on the adjoining page making it very difficult to read those paragraphs. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Biographies, Children's Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I found this book really interesting with lots of new and amazing Latina women for me to learn about. I liked the quotes sprinkled throughout it, a someone quite partial to quotes myself. I think this was a great book for me to read as someone who needs to diversify my knowledge and put more focus into overlooked minorities.  Favourite Quote: "We have the power to choose what to carry forward and what to leave behind."