gemmaclark14's reviews
9 reviews

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot

inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

I really enjoyed this. I’ve only visited Orkney once and feel like I hardly scratched the surface. Lovely reading about the healing of nature and solitude. Will go and see the film when it comes out.

Stronger by Poorna Bell

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I really enjoyed this. Empowering, feminist and intersectional. Whether you’re interested in strength training or any other form of exercise, it’s worth a read. Discusses barriers like race, disability, gender, periods etc. 

Everything My Mother Taught Me by Alice Hoffman

mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

Anything by Alice Hoffman is a pleasure 

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi

challenging medium-paced

5.0

The book covers the war on Palestine from British colonialism through the Balfour Declaration to the Trump administration. It discusses the erasure of Palestinian identity and history to justify their oppression. The book does not excuse Hamas. It is essential reading to understand the current situation. The UK has arguably been the root cause of the current situation, which has been devastating the lives of the people of Palestine for decades. However, you do not have to be a geopolitical expert to know that genocide is wrong.

Bringing Down Goliath: How Good Law Can Topple the Powerful by Jolyon Maugham

challenging hopeful medium-paced

5.0

I really enjoyed "Bringing Down Goliath" by Jolyon Maugham. It was a great book, and I was particularly interested in the part about our ridiculous defamation laws. Defamation laws mean that threats of libel can be used to silence criticism, even when it is important and in the public interest. Even when criticism is demonstrably true, the critic may feel forced to withdraw their comments. If they lose, they can't pay their opponents' costs, or even their own.

Defamation is also used by rapists to silence victims. The Good Law Project is one of the few things standing between us and fascism, and it is funded by all people. It is well worth a read and Good Law Project is worth supporting. 

Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol by Holly Whitaker

hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

Like being red pilled on in the damaging and misogynistic alcohol industry. Eye opening. 

Janey: The Woman That Won't Shut Up by Janey Godley

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

I really enjoyed this book about more recent events in Janey’s life. It is still radical to be a female comedian. She was always told to stop swearing (bet nobody said that to Billy Connolly) and I’m glad she didn’t listen. She was also always the lone woman in male spaces.  The book delves into how she made it in comedy, an industry very hostile to women especially working-class women.

I was not expecting a ghost story in there, but I was very much enjoyed that!

This autobiography also covers her performing in New Zealand, Glastonbury, sell-out shows, dealing with trolls, meeting Billy Connolly, getting her abuser uncle jailed, living with cancer and so much more.

Honest, emotional, funny, and uplifting. Janey inspires me to be the kind of woman who doesn’t shut up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer

A Necessary Kindness by Juno Carey

emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Essential reading, written by an author who has undergone IVF, experienced miscarriages, had children, and is also a pro-choice midwife. This book debunks a lot of anti-choice nonsense and is incredibly nuanced and complex. Carey has cared for women who have been abused and trafficked, girls who haven't understood what was happening to them, trans men, imprisoned women, heartbroken women whose pregnancies are nonviable, and empowered women simply making a choice. Abortion is needed by all kinds of people for various reasons. 

Contrary to anti-choice propaganda, midwives ensure they speak to patients alone to ensure the choice is truly theirs. 

She recalls asking a woman to come in for an in-person consultation during Covid due to concerns about coercion and even having to refuse abortion care to someone who was too mentally unwell to give informed consent at the time. 

She discusses the problems with paid anti-abortion protesters, who thrust inaccurate leaflets into vulnerable people's hands, and recalls asking them exactly what 'help' they are offering - nappies and church groups. She also recounts them also engaging in very strange behavior such as praying over bins full of normal (non-clinical) waste. 

A fascinating read from an expert in her field. I wish all medical professionals working with pregnant individuals would read this book.

Republic of Shame: Stories from Ireland's Institutions for 'Fallen Women' by Caelainn Hogan

dark emotional medium-paced

5.0

An essential history. The victims of these awful institutions deserve to be remembered