KJK Reads

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Poetry Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book is full of saddening and reality filled poems, many full of heartbreak and longing like Gin Chaser, If and The Best Worst Thing. This can be a great companion to your first heartbreak or 3am existential crises. Favourite Quote: “Screaming into my cup of black coffee Each morning, eyes tightly shut The calm of last night's dream still holds me I was awake already yesterday - is that not enough?”

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Memoir, Self-Help, Non-Fiction, Alcoholism Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great guide to alcoholism and recovery for religious people. Leite takes us through the years through her own journey from denial through to her acceptance and methods that have helped her cope through the years. It's a great tool as it encompasses Christianity throughout the recovery process which many books on addiction don’t do, making this a perfect book for Christians and therapists working with Christians. It does this without being overly religious though which is an impressive balance to find but I didn’t feel like God was being overly shoved down my throat.  Favourite Quote: “Our society has a long way to go when it comes to understanding this disease.”

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Self-Help, Mental Health, Non-Fiction Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The book has a mix of objective fact and anecdotes, however the usefulness of the anecdotes will depend on the individual as it could be reassuring to not feel alone or triggering. It does take an understanding and compassionate approach which makes sense considering Gilpin’s descriptions of his own experiences. The book is information dense but doesn’t go into each topic too deeply so as not to overwhelm the reader and the chapters are short to help take in so much information at once.

Rating: 3.5 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 poetry to read. The majority of the poems focus on the animal world and contextualising the human in the animal world like ‘The Taxidermist’s Daughter Retrieves a Head’ and ‘The Face of Jesus’. The few poems that are around human lives makes them even more touching like ‘Accident’ and ‘What I Know about the Last Lynching in Jeff Davis County’. I also really liked the nod to mining history and as someone who comes from a mining family I loved ‘Pit Ponies’.There’s also a great collection of new and published poems that introduces me to some of the older collections/books so I can get a taste for them and decide which collection to read next. Favourite Quote: The gills rake down the sides of his head, and the mouth opens like the tunnels we used before the coal companies hauled in dozers and trucks to scrape away the mountai...

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Romance, Short Story, Second Chance Romance, Christmas Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a short and cute second chance romance. Sydney and Mason had an understandable breakup as teenagers and while we slowly learn why, they start to understand each other's reasoning and realise they still love each other. I loved Emily as a sister and a friend and the main component preparing to bang Sydney and Mason’s heads together if they don’t stop being so stubborn, especially being team Sydney despite being related to Mason. I also found the wild animal a bit of thrill in the middle of a romantic setting and weekend and the perfect catalyst.  Favourite Quote: “It means, you idiot, that you have a second chance right now; one that most people don't get, to fix things with the love of their life.”

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Memoir Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Mogadam takes us on his emotional journey from being sent away from all he’s ever known at only thirteen for his own safety to having a settled family life as an adult. Sometimes funny, sometimes difficult but always educational, it was a great read to show me about different life experiences from their own voices and helps to develop my own empathy, like Mogadam spent time doing later in the book.  Favourite Quote:  I was a war child who had dared to dream big, and by owning this apartment, I had proven to myself that anything was possible.

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Poetry, Disability  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I thought this book would be great for me as a chronically ill individual myself who doesn’t get exposed to many other experiences in real life and this was a great immersion. However, I didn’t expect it to have my eyes watering to the point of near tears feeling such a strong connection and representation to myself, despite having a different condition to the author. It’s a great warts and all depiction of chronically ill lives, exploring flares, being a spoonie, cog fog, mental illness, and the worth of disabled lives. There is also some other interesting topics such as ignored genocides, being misgendered, and capitalism making it more than just a book about disability and survival. Some of my personal favourites are Another Day, Furby, I Am Done Hating My Body, The Weight of the Fallen, My Disabled Body, Ariel's Goodbye, and Broken Branches...

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 collection of short stories and essays and I wasn’t sure how I’d manage with it or how long it would take to get through this as a fellow Spoonie. The book is a brutally honest depiction of living in a disabled body which I could deeply relate to and also provides a honest depiction of generational trauma and trying to break the cycle. This was a touching and helpful collection for me as a disabled individual who sometimes struggles with it and I’m sure it will help many more who find the book too.  Favourite Quote: “I am a spoonie. I am sometimes a bad spoonie (I say bad with kindness and because it sounds funny to me, bad spoonie) because even after all these years, I forget that don't have endless spoons. I forget that don't necessarily have the same number of spoons every day. I forget to save contingency spoons. I forget that somethi...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Poetry Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a touching, sometimes difficult poetry collection to read. Anthony doesn’t shy away from complex topics such as their gender identity and the reality of living in a disabled body as such the trigger warning at the beginning was a great idea. Some poems really struck a chord with me such as The Doctor Says, “Keep Doing What You’re Doing”, He(e/a)ling, Balancing Act and Appetite as they spoke to experiences I myself have been through in a beautifully haunting way.  Favourite Quote: “because i am getting sicker and better and sicker and better and sicker again and I have done this dance for thirteen years this fall because at thirteen my body started breaking and that is too young to be catching every piece of you that falls and i am running out of hands”