KJK Reads

Rating:  4 Stars Themes: Cookbook Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Like Bersani says, this is a book about cooking and people not just cooking and it’s a different view to cookbooks than I have previously looked at with sectioning chapters by person/friend instead of dish or ingredient is unique. I like the person's little story at the beginning of their chapter. The scenery photos were stunning and the food ones were appetising. Overall I found the recipes easy to follow with some great recipes included and the make it a meal and wine pairing being included with dishes was helpful.

Rating: 3 Stars  Themes:  Non-Fiction, Self-Help Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This was an interesting book to read with the self-help style advice coming from a retired SEAL with all his background and expertise. It is very anecdotal but contains some interesting ideas and is broken down into easily digestible chapters. I also found that the quotes at the beginning of each chapter were a nice touch. 

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Children's Fiction, Lupus, Disability Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I loved the dedication and thought it’s a sweet touch. This is a great little book to introduce chronic conditions to children to help them better understand their own condition or that of someone around them. This could be great for children who have just been diagnosed with a chronic condition as it is full of hope and positivity to help them through a confusing and difficult time.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Children's Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great educational fiction book to teach children about Holi. The illustrations were bright and pretty and despite being an adult I learnt a few things too. I also appreciated the mini glossary with Thandai and Gujiyas included as they are foods and drinks that we can try at home with the insight.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Children's Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book portrays a beautiful message of love and inclusion to children. It shows many different forms of love such as friendship, community, encouragement and love of family history as well as love for oneself. The illustrations were beautifully done and I like the black love activities at the end of the book too.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Psychology, Mental Health  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book makes us look at anxiety in a whole new light. It was good to have the disclaimer at the beginning. I liked how the book starts off explaining anxiety and when we may feel it before jumping into changing how we respond to it so I had a good foundation on what types of anxiety the author is talking about. The chapters start with anecdotes then go into facts which is great as it helps show the author has experience of what they’re talking about. I also liked how each step of E.A.S.E has its own chapter and enough detail can be provided.

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Graphic Novel, Autobiography Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is an interesting approach to a biography and the first graphic autobiography I have read. It's a great read and quite emotive to see Zoe’s journey through mental health with her ups and downs throughout the time she was writing. I also think that art for survival is a great idea and could be a helpful thing for more people to try.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Medical, Science Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is broken up well and has some great points throughout. It was interesting to see how gut health changes throughout life and found it great that the book considers food sensitivities and budget friendly ideas. I was glad for the bit on reading and understanding nutritional information as it can feel overly complicated sometimes despite trying previously. I also found the whole chapter on foods to ‘cool down inflammation’ very useful and having a chapter on each meal and then snacks is great as it means there’s lots provided.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Psychology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book made me think about friendships in a whole new way and provided some great lessons reading and understanding nutritional information as it can feel overly complicated sometimes. It is broken down in an easily digestible form  and isn’t overly jargony even when introducing the topic of Dynamic Friendship. I also liked that the references are split by chapter as it’s easier to navigate.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I’m sure this could be an amazing book for people who are recently diagnosed with a terminal condition to help them make preparations for their death without being too overwhelmed. It’s great to see everything that could be needed to prepare for death laid out so well with things I wouldn’t have thought of without the professional’s help. It is full of helpful advice laid out in an easy to understand ebay and not too boring or overly jargon filled and the client stories a great way to break up the facts and make it feel less like a textbook.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Psychology, Mental Health  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I absolutely love the dedication as someone who has struggled with body image from a young age and this book provided me with useful exercises I’ll still work on even though I’ve finished reading the book. I also found the BodySelf glossary helpful and the index will help me to flip back to what I need as I need it while I work on my self image more. I appreciated that the authors put a note at the beginning around the term ‘fat’ and how it will be used in this book as the term is often used by different people to think of different things and the potential privileges we may have around our bodies before we start. The blessings at the end of each chapter is a sweet touch, especially with how difficult and mentally taxing the work can be.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, History Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I have been making an effort to read and learn more diverse experiences and this is a great addition to my reading. I learnt some new names like Adelaide Cromwell and it was great looking at how far back a legacy of black intelligence has definite segregation and a forced lack of education in many countries throughout history. I like the format of the book and how each chapter is laid out and how the references are split into chapter/person. I also liked the provision of an index to flick back though specific issues such as abolitionism, feminism, integrationalism without relying on my own memory.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Psychology, Behaviouralism Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I was glad to see a presentation of the book paragraph right at the beginning as the layout was a little confusing even with the guide. This book covers a lot of key concepts in behaviouralism in a short space and does a good job at it in the space it had. Having important bits in bold is helpful, especially when learning so many concepts at once.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ+ Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great and fun book to address gay stereotypes. I liked how it started with a quiz and the stereotypes themselves in the first chapter before going in to tackle the stereotypes a chapter at  a time. The chapters are laid out in a great way starting with the stereotype then going in with facts and ending with a ‘so is the stereotype true’ and ‘final verdict’ before scoring the quiz question in a fun way.

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Science Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book provides a great snapshot into how our bodies work. There’s some important things covered such as hormonal changes as well as facts for the curious such as the tour of the body on a red blood cell. It may feel a bit jargony at first glance but explains it all well and overall is a great read for those interested in biology or how your body works.

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is split up into parts and chapters which make it easily digestible and the chapters aren’t overly complicated. I like the touch of starting each chapter with a quote and the exercises were great with some such as the self-compassion reflection that I plan to use again in a year or so to see my progress. The ‘Bonus: Badass Handbook’ at the end was a surprise with some more great advice. Overall this is a great book to work on my own self-confidence and self-love and I have learnt a thing or two.