KJK Reads

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, BIPOC, Poetry Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a broad and great collection of writing with very touching poems. The text accompanying poems helped to contextualise some potentially personal moments to the authors such as how/why Michael Hamilton’s daughter died. The notes at the end of each chapter are great but the highlights somewhat confused me although I understand it's the editor trying to make important things stick out in our minds. I thought that providing useful organisations and resources at the end is great especially for such an emotionally charged book.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Psychology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great guide to help anyone learn to work their way through intense emotions, not just teens, and is especially helpful for those who haven’t looked into Dialectical Behavior Therapy before. There’s lots of great exercises and pictures throughout making this an ideal guide for teens. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Therapy, Psychology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great practical book, there are some great tips for me to take into future therapy and counselling works and I like how it acknowledges in the introduction that this may be a difficult read. The introduction starting with George Floyd’s last words is haunting and reminds us why it's important to process racial traumas such as that triggered by his death for many, especially in light of the racial disparities through the COVID-19 pandemic. Having reflections and discussion questions throughout (rather than at the end) were useful to allow me more accurate reflections and the tree of life was more detailed than the one that I had previously been taught and used. However, The long results chapter is slightly academic paperish so may lose the attention of some but I appreciated the glossary and references at the end.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Christmas, Dictionary, Winter Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was an educational read and I found a few words  to describe things I have noticed or experienced but have never had a name for before such as frigolabile and meteorotropism and I was especially interested in learning some more words from my own heritage (Scots Gaelic). The abbreviation list at the beginning is helpful for those who haven’t used a dictionary in a while (abbreviation for slang and phrase) and helpful to me to make sure I was interpreting the country/origin correctly/  I liked the traditional dictionary bit in bold then a more in depth explanation provided below to help me better understand the word and found that the word finder is great as I will definitely remember some and forget their meaning.

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Cookbook Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is the perfect cookbook for me as I absolutely love pasta. I appreciated having a mini 101 on pasta ingredients at the beginning and was pleasantly surprised to see it covered making different types of pasta, soups and sauces as well as traditional pasta dishes. There was a mix of old favourites and new recipes for me to enjoy and they were easy to follow along with. I thought the photos were artistic and liked having things like stock recipes included in the appendix. I personally appreciated that the active and total times were split at the top of each recipe as it helps me determine if I am medically strong enough to be on my feet for that long before rather than starting a recipe and struggling. However, there are no calories and/or macros provided which can be helpful if you're struggling with body image or eating but makes it more difficult if ...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. It was interesting to learn the history of bibliotherapy, especially the prescriptions for it used after World War One as it’s something rooted in our history that I knew nothing about. I liked the quotes from authors on the healing power of books and appreciated the bit on the underrated healing powers of poetry as I enjoy that myself. Having the quiz so that Masters could give the reader a little ‘prescription’ of their own was fun. Some important aspects have been covered in this book such as grief and loss, when adulting begins, new parents, and feeling directionless, giving advice for such a broad range of life experiences. I found that there were great sized lists which included both fiction and non-fiction for each section and was impressed by how Masters managed to state why the book fits in the section and should be read without spoiling the story...

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Cookbook, Christmas, Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book provides a broad collection with things from cookies and pies to breads and cakes and also a diverse collection including bakes such as baklava, challah, and babkas. Also the icings and such in the appendix were helpful as I haven’t got a trusty recipe for royal icing yet. The steps of the recipe are easy to follow and the conversion table saved me so much time as I usually have to keep swapping apps to google the conversion. I personally appreciated that the active and total times were split at the top of each recipe as it helps me determine if I am medically strong enough to be on my feet for that long before rather than starting a recipe and struggling. The photographs provided are beautiful and appetising. However, there are no calories and/or macros provided which can be helpful if you're struggling with body image o...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The book being split up into the different forms of social media made it more practically applicable since I don’t do TikTok or my face in videos so those types of tips aren’t very necessary for me and the reviewing across platforms section was great so I can consider crossposting to Threads. The strategies such as content planning and promoting reviews were helpful for me despite the fact I’ve been a Bookstagrammer for a few years. Finally, I loved that accessibility was considered in that there was a thinking about accessibility section. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Poetry Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is full of touching poems and is exactly what I needed to read at this point in my life while I myself am struggling and working on my own healing. I liked how the book was broken into 3 parts almost like it's taking readers on a journey.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Trauma, Memoir  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Jeremy speaks about difficult moments of his life in a way which sparks empathy and compassion from readers and I found that the pics after some paragraphs really hammer home his youth at the time. I liked the touch of a quote at the beginning of each chapter and thought it’s interesting to have the place alongside the year below the title of each chapter. I also appreciated the glossary at the end, especially for terms such as the group home staffing and all the different types of group homes broken down in a way anyone can understand as they are things I hadn’t encountered before.

Rating: 3.5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Self-Reflection, Trauma Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Like any book about a traumatic event, this isn’t the easiest of reads but it is a great book nonetheless. I thought it was an interesting approach to write it with the back and forth through time like Rebecca did. I loved the dedication and liked the butterfly throughout, especially with the symbolism of hope and transformation that is often associated with them.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Poetry, Halloween, Illustrated, Horror Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is a great compilation of halloweeny poems that are perfect for the spooky season. There were some interesting takes on people we already know such as Dracula and his ‘Hallowe’en Soiree’ and the social aspects behind the witches in Macbeth. There’s also an introduction to some newer characters (at least for me such as Hetty Green and Elizabeth Siddal with a halloween twist on their tales and notes at the end to help contextualise it for newer stories. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and compliment the poems perfectly.  Favourite Quote: "Mark my words: women have always fought back, Preserved infernal mysteries. Bewitched."

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Illustrated Memoir, Alcoholism, Addiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book isn’t always the easiest read but I’m glad I read it nonetheless. Alycia doesn’t have the easiest of upringings and doesn’t shy away from sharing them. Baby Darlin’ is a strong individual despite everything life throws at her, even in her adult years. It was sad but from a professional standpoint good to see how the toxic cycles can be continued despite the best efforts of an individual to break it and just how easy it is to fall for a toxic person and lose yourself.  Favourite Quote: "This is not my bundle to carry. I refuse to hold on to this any longer. Telling my story over and over dissolves the power bit by bit. I heal the shame that binds me to my false self."

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Biography, Psychology,  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I found it interesting to learn more about Jung and his life rather than just his theories which I have previously studied. The last chapter on Jung’s legacy was insightful, especially to a psychologist as I knew a few theorists who followed on from Jung’s work but nothing in this much detail. I like the big and detailed Jungian glossary at the end is useful and there’s a good splattering of photos throughout. 

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is an interesting approach, depression through ethics and could be helpful alongside therapy depending on the individual and their forms of depression, especially with the current affairs around the world today and the natural impact they must have on some. I also liked having the references at the end of each chapter instead of the end of the whole book.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Feminism, Women's History Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book was very interesting and informative, like the foreword says “women have been reduced to the footnotes of history for too long”. It was amazing to learn about so many incredible women and what they achieved. It could have been nice to have the names at the beginning of each chapter as well as the place and year the events took place, however, I actually found the approach helped me keep a more open mind than going in with any presumptions on the names I already knew.

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 appreciated the trigger warning at the beginning of the book which covers all the way through from developing forms of trauma to knowing that you’re healing. There was a great balance between facts and advice with anecdotes and the glossary style section at the end was helpful with a lot of complex terms being mentioned throughout. I also liked the touch of a quote at the beginning of each chapter.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Self-Help, Non-Fiction, Psychology, Feminism, Neurodivergent, Mental Health Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I appreciate the disclaimer at the beginning because it is important not to replace medical advice with books but they can be extremely helpful to manage conditions or make the first steps to a possible diagnosis. I appreciated that Dr Maschke provided her own site and instagram to get in touch with her for those who need it as getting a diagnosis as a female can be a difficult and frustrating process and having someone who you can feel is on your side can make all the difference. I like that this book addresses the gender health gap and appreciate the presence of a “what you will learn in this chapter” as it will make scanning back through to specific things in the future easier. I also liked the key takeaways at the end of each chapter and found the case studies helpful.  Finally I appre...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Academia, Trauma, Religion Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was a really insightful and interesting read which will be extremely useful for me in the future to help me work with religious people. I also liked the scripture index being provided along with a bibliography as I myself am not deeply religious so didn’t recognise many and it will be useful to refer back to. 

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Technology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I think the 1,000 unplugged hours challenge is a great idea and one I think I may have to try and liked the presence of the chart to make it easier for me to have a go. I think it was a cute little touch for the chapter break being unplugged cables with the topic of the book being all about unplugging from tech. The book is mostly personal with lots of anecdotes throughout so I appreciated having notes for specific research to make checking the background to the claims easier.

Rating: 2 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Philosophy Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book handles some complex philosophical topics in a way that I, with no philosophy education, could understand. I found the title amusing with it being a bit of a play on the colloquial slang of having someone for breakfast and writing a critical analysis. It was interesting to see Nietsche compared to other philosophers and traditional philosophy and though I know about language it was very interesting to see its connection to metaphysics. 

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Self-Help, Trauma, Non-Fiction, Healing Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. First of all, I loved the dedication and it is a great start to this sort of book with an important but rarely discussed topic. I like the way the work was split up into months and personally looked at the design on the first page of each month as it’s beautiful and starts each month off well. I appreciated the workbooks in the appendix and liked the broad range of resources provided at the end with podcasts, books and videos being provided as well as resources specifically provided to accompany the book and some physicians. 

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Trauma, Anxiety  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book was a bit more about trauma than I expected going in so I was glad there is a short list of helplines in the introduction for those who need support after reading. I liked the mix of anecdotal text and techniques, it felt like the author struck the right balance between the two. I also liked the way that bits the author feels are important are pulled out with a yellow box and bigger text to put the emphasis on for readers.