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kirsty_reads's reviews
425 reviews
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Say Hello by Carly Findlay
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A crucial book that challenges perceptions of disability and is written for disabled people without unnecessary apology. It is so important that disabled people design inclusivity policies from the workplace to understanding access issues to combatting harmful narratives. This collection of essays and Carly Findlay’s impactful writing communicates this and much much more! I highly recommend @thereadingwomen podcast episodes for a far more articulate discussion than I can give!
This book is about more than I can express but I thought I would share how it has helped me personally.
I found this difficult to review and to give this book all the credit it deserves as it brought up a lot of personal trials I have with identifying as disabled and challenged how I view myself in the workplace. I felt this book challenge my thought process in the most necessary way. I think it will do this in so many ways for everyone who reads it.
As a disabled chronically ill academic and lawyer I have been struggling to communicate how this pandemic and the virtual work environment has made the workplace so much more accessible for me. I am also fearful this will end at some point soon and I will go back to feeling left behind, too tired or sick to travel and engage. I needed this book more than I ever knew as it helped me to think through how I communicate this and take control and be proud of what I contribute so I can advocate that adjustments are not an inconvenience but in fact a way for the workplace to benefit.
Please read this and think about it ❤️ (I also listened on audible as the author reads it and that brought me a lot of joy)
A crucial book that challenges perceptions of disability and is written for disabled people without unnecessary apology. It is so important that disabled people design inclusivity policies from the workplace to understanding access issues to combatting harmful narratives. This collection of essays and Carly Findlay’s impactful writing communicates this and much much more! I highly recommend @thereadingwomen podcast episodes for a far more articulate discussion than I can give!
This book is about more than I can express but I thought I would share how it has helped me personally.
I found this difficult to review and to give this book all the credit it deserves as it brought up a lot of personal trials I have with identifying as disabled and challenged how I view myself in the workplace. I felt this book challenge my thought process in the most necessary way. I think it will do this in so many ways for everyone who reads it.
As a disabled chronically ill academic and lawyer I have been struggling to communicate how this pandemic and the virtual work environment has made the workplace so much more accessible for me. I am also fearful this will end at some point soon and I will go back to feeling left behind, too tired or sick to travel and engage. I needed this book more than I ever knew as it helped me to think through how I communicate this and take control and be proud of what I contribute so I can advocate that adjustments are not an inconvenience but in fact a way for the workplace to benefit.
Please read this and think about it ❤️ (I also listened on audible as the author reads it and that brought me a lot of joy)
Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us about Crime by Val McDermid
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Fake Law: The Truth About Justice in an Age of Lies by The Secret Barrister
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Tilly and the Map of Stories by Anna James
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Shadows on the Tundra by Dalia Grinkevičiūtė
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This is a moving and harrowing read. I had previously only read about Soviet labour camps in fiction novels where the writing tends to set many Soviet camps in a similar vein to Nazi concentration camps. Whilst there may be truth in the comparison, this factual account highlighted the disregard for human life in a way I haven’t read before by showing that placing people in Arctic land where living conditions are impossible was another form of labour camps.
I would recommend researching the surrounding context of how this book was written as it is written from diary entries structurally it was difficult to follow in places. However, this is a natural reflection of the authors circumstances and these entries were found buried underground after her death.
There are archives and museums dedicated to retrieving and recording Eastern European accounts of Soviet labour camps. It is difficult to read and comprehend how these victims were released but into a system of continued oppression where their truths were never able to be spoken. Many wrote and buried their accounts perhaps hoping we could learn about them in the future or to provide them some form of closure they couldn’t otherwise achieve.
This is a period in history that doesn’t get the recognition it needs. I will be doing more to access the stories that have been found and shared to educate myself.
I would recommend researching the surrounding context of how this book was written as it is written from diary entries structurally it was difficult to follow in places. However, this is a natural reflection of the authors circumstances and these entries were found buried underground after her death.
There are archives and museums dedicated to retrieving and recording Eastern European accounts of Soviet labour camps. It is difficult to read and comprehend how these victims were released but into a system of continued oppression where their truths were never able to be spoken. Many wrote and buried their accounts perhaps hoping we could learn about them in the future or to provide them some form of closure they couldn’t otherwise achieve.
This is a period in history that doesn’t get the recognition it needs. I will be doing more to access the stories that have been found and shared to educate myself.
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
4.5/5* This is a beautiful book told through the perspective of a child. It addresses issues of poverty, race and child abduction and having the narrator as a child navigating what is going on around him and trying to make sense of it all adds to poignancy of the story.
The characterisation is beautiful in this book and I cried at how they are treated and felt despair. It adds to the story’s value that in the end it is unresolved and reflects that these things continue to happen. I was sad at how this ended and wanted resolution but that would be unfair to the characters and the real life people these characters are based on. This book will stay with me for a long time!
The characterisation is beautiful in this book and I cried at how they are treated and felt despair. It adds to the story’s value that in the end it is unresolved and reflects that these things continue to happen. I was sad at how this ended and wanted resolution but that would be unfair to the characters and the real life people these characters are based on. This book will stay with me for a long time!
The Incarnations by Susan Barker
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0