bella_mckinnon's reviews
53 reviews

Beowulf: Popular Penguins by Unknown, Michael Alexander

adventurous hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

3.25

It was fine. I liked a number of the lines or descriptions that I found really poetic, but was otherwise not really taken away by the story.

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Loved the sharing of financial wisdom through ancient tales and characters. Great book.

My Friend Fox by Heidi Everett

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Being mentally ill, having experienced the fairly monolithic and dreaded psych ward, knowing nothing other than that I do not belong, this book meant a lot to me. I have bpd, depression, ptsd, CPTSD, anxiety, the lot. I’ve had delusions before, I’ve known always the stark isolation from all that is and yet is not around me, for all my life. From my first moments of realising myself, I have known I was the other. This book means so, so very much to me. I feel incredibly seen. I felt seen in The Bell Jar, but this, it expounds upon those experiences and is it’s own wholly unique, beautiful, poetic story. A tragedy until it doesn’t have to be. Beautiful story. Stayed up all night to read it, fell asleep once I couldn’t force my eyes open anymore, then finished it as soon as I came back to consciousness. Amazing book.

Toxic Positivity: Keeping It Real in a World Obsessed with Being Happy by Whitney Goodman

informative medium-paced

3.5

Good introductory book for those who want to learn about toxic positivity. If you’re already pretty familiar with the concept you may not get much from the book, but it still has value nonetheless.

Into the War by Italo Calvino

3.5

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This was just such a beautiful read in my opinion. It was gritty, the people were cruel, and the way London wrote empathetically and with a feeling of immense passion for the wellness of animals, made the cruelty against them all the more painful. Buck’s journey was so fascinating to read, from being a softened pet dog, to an abused sled dog, to a wild dog and subsequent wolf pack leader. Like someone else mentioned, his relationship with Thornton was beautiful, and the line about him being his last bind to humanity filled me with such sadness and genuine grief. Beautiful story, just beautiful.

Rape Culture by Louise Newman

challenging dark informative sad fast-paced

5.0

Great essay(?) on rape culture in Australia. An upsetting and saddening read, but a necessary one. I only hope for justice for the girls like Ophelia and everyone else who has been so cruelly abused in this way. Great work Newman.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved it, beautiful Hesse work as is to be expected

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.

No idea what the hell was going on for quite some time, but it's a shame because I do love how Dostoevsky describes certain feelings and sensations. Oh well.

The Trial by Franz Kafka
Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.

Was just kind of boring. Felt like nothing was happening. Blurb suggested the terror of human powerlessness but K seems to just be annoyed at the proceedings, not in immense terror at his situation. Not enough of the hopelessness and despair that I thought I’d get.