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jmercado (1 KP) rated Eliza and Her Monsters in Books
Jan 15, 2018
I don't know how to feel about this.
It was a little everywhere at the beginning and it took me about 100 pages to actually get the hang of it and start enjoying it.
I really did enjoy Eliza and Wallace at the beginning.
But towards the end i didn't really feel their connection anymore.
I was more concerned about Eliza and her anxiety and depression and holy shit did that hit me in the feels.
I think if this would have been one of the books that she would have done well had they just stayed friends and she worked on herself more than being in a relationship.
I would really love to see Monstrous Sea be a real thing . I would pay big bucks for that lol
I also want more on Max and Emma. They are my favorite side characters and they weren't even physically with Eliza.
To me, with the hype going around this, it missed its mark for me ( I didn't really feel the relationship aspect of it) But that aside i loved the concept, the art and looking forward to reading more from this author.
It was a little everywhere at the beginning and it took me about 100 pages to actually get the hang of it and start enjoying it.
I really did enjoy Eliza and Wallace at the beginning.
But towards the end i didn't really feel their connection anymore.
I was more concerned about Eliza and her anxiety and depression and holy shit did that hit me in the feels.
I think if this would have been one of the books that she would have done well had they just stayed friends and she worked on herself more than being in a relationship.
I would really love to see Monstrous Sea be a real thing . I would pay big bucks for that lol
I also want more on Max and Emma. They are my favorite side characters and they weren't even physically with Eliza.
To me, with the hype going around this, it missed its mark for me ( I didn't really feel the relationship aspect of it) But that aside i loved the concept, the art and looking forward to reading more from this author.
ClareR (5674 KP) rated This Party’s Dead in Books
Feb 28, 2021
This Party’s Dead is a book, unsurprisingly, about death, and whilst it sounds like it’ll be depressing, it’s anything but that. The book follows the author, Erica Buist, as she visits seven death festivals around the world. There is a reason: after her father-in-laws death where he was left in his house for a week before he was found, Erica experiences great anxiety, feeling ill-equipped to deal with the whole idea of death. She suffers with her mental health, so decides that she needs to do something to confront her fears surrounding death. She has lived in Mexico, so has some knowledge of the Day of the Dead, and this leads her to research other death celebrations .
It’s absolutely fascinating: we in the West have a very sanitised attitude towards death, and the cultures and countries that Erica visited couldn’t have been more different. It’s quite a sobering read in places, but there is a healthy dose of humour as well. It’s a really accessible, interesting and engrossing read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Erica Buist for joining in.
It’s absolutely fascinating: we in the West have a very sanitised attitude towards death, and the cultures and countries that Erica visited couldn’t have been more different. It’s quite a sobering read in places, but there is a healthy dose of humour as well. It’s a really accessible, interesting and engrossing read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Erica Buist for joining in.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Create your own calm: A Journal for Quieting Anxiety in Books
Jan 26, 2021
I was very interested to check out this journal because I wanted to find out more about anxiety and how to deal with it. All these terms regarding mental health are still new to me, so I was intrigued to find out more of the ways to identify it and deal with it. I have been sent a digital copy of the journal to review, so I am going to share my overview of what to expect. 🙂
The first thing that caught my eye was quotes written in watercolour! I have a weakness for beautiful quotes and watercolour art, and this journal has that on every second page! Also, this journal is a very well designed tool to write down your thoughts. There are plenty of prompts to guide you, and it makes you delve deep into yourself and your mind.
So, to conclude, even though I didn’t get the chance to actually fill in the journal, I really liked the way it is designed. The colours and the art are soothing and inspiring, and I liked that there are so many prompts to help with everyday and life fears and things that make people anxious.
The first thing that caught my eye was quotes written in watercolour! I have a weakness for beautiful quotes and watercolour art, and this journal has that on every second page! Also, this journal is a very well designed tool to write down your thoughts. There are plenty of prompts to guide you, and it makes you delve deep into yourself and your mind.
So, to conclude, even though I didn’t get the chance to actually fill in the journal, I really liked the way it is designed. The colours and the art are soothing and inspiring, and I liked that there are so many prompts to help with everyday and life fears and things that make people anxious.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Her Every Fear in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Read my review here: https://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/
NOW AVAILABLE!
<b><i>Face it. Accept it. Float with it. Let time pass.</i></b>
Kate, our anxiety riddled main character, has just flat swapped with her American cousin in order to boost her confidence and try to escape her haunted past for a little while, but as soon as she arrives at her cousin's luxurious apartment, things begin to go sour. Her new next door neighbour has been murdered, and her secretive American cousin seems to the main suspect.
<b>This <i>could</i> have been <i>so</i> good.</b> Swansons last hit novel, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1427280826">The Kind Worth Killing</a> (aw look at my baby review) was so goddamn exciting and thrilling but this was completely missing whatever spark the other had. A co-reviewer (Maxi/Slothreads) commented that this book was uninspired and I couldnt have put that any better myself, hence why Im quoting it. This had potential to work and be great but I feel like Swanson was pushed for time by his editors on this and spewed out whatever came to mind first. I know I sound like a total arse for saying that but Im just really disappointed in this novel! <b>Warning: some spoilers ahead.</b>
Lets start off by talking about our uninteresting characters. Kate suffers from anxiety disorder, made a lot worse by a terrifying incident she had with her ex boyfriend, so she decides to travel across the pond and into her cousin's apartment. While anxiety is something Im all too familiar with, I dont actually have any sympathy for Kate, as were supposed to. If she was really as damaged as she is made out to be, I find it very hard to believe she would move to America for 6 months all by herself, make friends and chat with everyone she comes across and sleep with a guy, Alan, whos admitted to be a creepy window watcher after 3 days of knowing him. Next comes ol cousin Corbin whos a cliche jock. Swanson makes him out to be the guilt ridden, caring man but after the revelation of his bad deeds in the past, how are we supposed to like him or feel sorry for him? It makes all the empathetic talk from him seem so creepy. Our only interesting character is, of course, the psycho. A bit of an over-the-top, cliche psycho, but at least worth reading about.
My <b>main</b> issue with this novel is the repetition of scenes. Our narrator chops and changes several times in the novel, so were often presented with a retelling of what weve already been told by another narrator. Id say that at least 25% of this book is a repeat of a part weve already read, so it gets very tedious, very quickly. Another issue with this novel is the lack of plot twist, I mean, there is a plot twist, but its not that exciting and it happens early on in the novel, so the rest of the book plays out exactly how you would expect it to. Can I also quickly just complain about the unnecessary focus on the fact that Alan is Jewish? It made me uncomfortable. And that Swanson should have done some more research into England because we dont have £100 notes.
This novel had great potential, but in the end, it was a let down. The ending was terribly mediocre and then the remaining chapters were a waste of time to read, they really could have been removed.
Thanks to Netgalley and Faber & Faber Ltd for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
NOW AVAILABLE!
<b><i>Face it. Accept it. Float with it. Let time pass.</i></b>
Kate, our anxiety riddled main character, has just flat swapped with her American cousin in order to boost her confidence and try to escape her haunted past for a little while, but as soon as she arrives at her cousin's luxurious apartment, things begin to go sour. Her new next door neighbour has been murdered, and her secretive American cousin seems to the main suspect.
<b>This <i>could</i> have been <i>so</i> good.</b> Swansons last hit novel, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1427280826">The Kind Worth Killing</a> (aw look at my baby review) was so goddamn exciting and thrilling but this was completely missing whatever spark the other had. A co-reviewer (Maxi/Slothreads) commented that this book was uninspired and I couldnt have put that any better myself, hence why Im quoting it. This had potential to work and be great but I feel like Swanson was pushed for time by his editors on this and spewed out whatever came to mind first. I know I sound like a total arse for saying that but Im just really disappointed in this novel! <b>Warning: some spoilers ahead.</b>
Lets start off by talking about our uninteresting characters. Kate suffers from anxiety disorder, made a lot worse by a terrifying incident she had with her ex boyfriend, so she decides to travel across the pond and into her cousin's apartment. While anxiety is something Im all too familiar with, I dont actually have any sympathy for Kate, as were supposed to. If she was really as damaged as she is made out to be, I find it very hard to believe she would move to America for 6 months all by herself, make friends and chat with everyone she comes across and sleep with a guy, Alan, whos admitted to be a creepy window watcher after 3 days of knowing him. Next comes ol cousin Corbin whos a cliche jock. Swanson makes him out to be the guilt ridden, caring man but after the revelation of his bad deeds in the past, how are we supposed to like him or feel sorry for him? It makes all the empathetic talk from him seem so creepy. Our only interesting character is, of course, the psycho. A bit of an over-the-top, cliche psycho, but at least worth reading about.
My <b>main</b> issue with this novel is the repetition of scenes. Our narrator chops and changes several times in the novel, so were often presented with a retelling of what weve already been told by another narrator. Id say that at least 25% of this book is a repeat of a part weve already read, so it gets very tedious, very quickly. Another issue with this novel is the lack of plot twist, I mean, there is a plot twist, but its not that exciting and it happens early on in the novel, so the rest of the book plays out exactly how you would expect it to. Can I also quickly just complain about the unnecessary focus on the fact that Alan is Jewish? It made me uncomfortable. And that Swanson should have done some more research into England because we dont have £100 notes.
This novel had great potential, but in the end, it was a let down. The ending was terribly mediocre and then the remaining chapters were a waste of time to read, they really could have been removed.
Thanks to Netgalley and Faber & Faber Ltd for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Follow Me Back in Books
Oct 15, 2020
This is the sixth book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet.
Tessa Hart spends most (okay all) of her days in her bedroom. After an incident that causes her intense anxiety and agoraphobia, her one outlet and escape is the online world of pop star Eric Thorn. She can lose herself in his music, as well as the digital chatter of Twitter. For Eric, though, online is a scary place, where he fears his fans' obsessive behavior. He's even more scared in real life, especially after one of his fellow stars is murdered by a crazed fan. But online media is key to his success, according to his PR team. So Eric decides to ruin his image via a trolling Twitter account--of his own making. But his plan derails quickly and he finds himself involved in his deepest and most meaningful relationship to date, albeit a virtual one. But when he and his Twitter friend agree to meet, everything goes wrong.
This is one of those books that you know will probably be incredibly silly and cheesy, and it was definitely both of those things. But I still read it in one day, because, well, sometimes you just need silly and cheesy in your life. I was all for something related to Twitter that didn't involve politics and the world ending.
Honestly, Follow Me Back was quite addictive and easy-to-read, even if I wanted to shake Tessa and Eric sometimes for their bad decisions. Some early honesty would have avoided a lot of angst. It's told via the point-of-view of both characters, along with excerpts from police interrogations. Through the police pieces, we know something bad has happened--then we back up to the events that lead up to it. The book delves into the pressures of stardom, along with anxiety, assault, and mental illness. It's a little all over the place, at times--perhaps trying to throw us off course, but I appreciated that it did try to cover Tessa's issues respectfully. There's Eric and Tessa's relationship, as well as a bit of a mystery element.
Overall, this was just an escapist novel for me, and it did its job fairly well. My only problem was that it ended with a cliffhanger ending, so while I did move this book off my shelf, I am going to have to track down book #2 to see how it all ends. Darn it! Still, 3 stars for a fun and crazy ride.
Tessa Hart spends most (okay all) of her days in her bedroom. After an incident that causes her intense anxiety and agoraphobia, her one outlet and escape is the online world of pop star Eric Thorn. She can lose herself in his music, as well as the digital chatter of Twitter. For Eric, though, online is a scary place, where he fears his fans' obsessive behavior. He's even more scared in real life, especially after one of his fellow stars is murdered by a crazed fan. But online media is key to his success, according to his PR team. So Eric decides to ruin his image via a trolling Twitter account--of his own making. But his plan derails quickly and he finds himself involved in his deepest and most meaningful relationship to date, albeit a virtual one. But when he and his Twitter friend agree to meet, everything goes wrong.
This is one of those books that you know will probably be incredibly silly and cheesy, and it was definitely both of those things. But I still read it in one day, because, well, sometimes you just need silly and cheesy in your life. I was all for something related to Twitter that didn't involve politics and the world ending.
Honestly, Follow Me Back was quite addictive and easy-to-read, even if I wanted to shake Tessa and Eric sometimes for their bad decisions. Some early honesty would have avoided a lot of angst. It's told via the point-of-view of both characters, along with excerpts from police interrogations. Through the police pieces, we know something bad has happened--then we back up to the events that lead up to it. The book delves into the pressures of stardom, along with anxiety, assault, and mental illness. It's a little all over the place, at times--perhaps trying to throw us off course, but I appreciated that it did try to cover Tessa's issues respectfully. There's Eric and Tessa's relationship, as well as a bit of a mystery element.
Overall, this was just an escapist novel for me, and it did its job fairly well. My only problem was that it ended with a cliffhanger ending, so while I did move this book off my shelf, I am going to have to track down book #2 to see how it all ends. Darn it! Still, 3 stars for a fun and crazy ride.
Merissa (11950 KP) created a post
Mar 22, 2019
Bong Mines Entertainment (15 KP) rated Panic Attack - Single by Harriet Manice in Music
Jun 18, 2019
Harriet Manice is a singer-songwriter and photographer based in New York City. Not too long ago, she released a charming pop tune, entitled, “Panic Attack”.
“‘Panic Attack’ is a blend of Nashville storytelling and popular music. With a mix of acoustic and electronic instruments. The song provides the feelings one can go through dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. While the song raises an emotional and intense topic, the music generally stays upbeat, to give the hope that everything will be ok in the end. Just keep breathing in and breathing out.” – Harriet Manice
‘Panic Attack’ contains a relatable storyline, ear-welcoming vocals, and lush instrumentation flavored with a commercial pop aroma.
“What is happening? I can barely breathe. Feel the room is spinning quicking ’round me. Is this just a dream. Am I still asleep? Tell me how to stop this insanity.” – lyrics
This past year, Harriet Manice had the opportunity to perform at venues such as The Bitter End, Rockwood Music Hall, Sidewalk Cafe, Prohibition in New York City, and Jane Pickens Theatre and The Breakers in Newport, RI.
She grew up listening to James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Simon & Garfunkel, Jim Croce, The Dixie Chicks, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion.
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/harriet-manice-panic-attack/
“‘Panic Attack’ is a blend of Nashville storytelling and popular music. With a mix of acoustic and electronic instruments. The song provides the feelings one can go through dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. While the song raises an emotional and intense topic, the music generally stays upbeat, to give the hope that everything will be ok in the end. Just keep breathing in and breathing out.” – Harriet Manice
‘Panic Attack’ contains a relatable storyline, ear-welcoming vocals, and lush instrumentation flavored with a commercial pop aroma.
“What is happening? I can barely breathe. Feel the room is spinning quicking ’round me. Is this just a dream. Am I still asleep? Tell me how to stop this insanity.” – lyrics
This past year, Harriet Manice had the opportunity to perform at venues such as The Bitter End, Rockwood Music Hall, Sidewalk Cafe, Prohibition in New York City, and Jane Pickens Theatre and The Breakers in Newport, RI.
She grew up listening to James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Simon & Garfunkel, Jim Croce, The Dixie Chicks, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion.
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/harriet-manice-panic-attack/
A big thumbs up for neurodiversity!
I liked this - it’s such a positive, uplifting book, set in a world where cloned soldiers have taken over the country. The seemingly only free humans (the rest of the population are crammed into overcrowded citadels) are all young people with autism, anxiety, PDA, developmental delays and ADHD (I may have missed some conditions!), and they are fighting to stay alive.
This story shows how these young people’s conditions affect them, and how they cope with them - how they use their conditions, which are seen as a weakness by many, to their advantage. Neurodiversity is so well described by the author, and it was really interesting to be in the heads of the main characters. I honestly think that this book should be read in schools (year 6 and above, it’s a bit too graphic in places for younger readers, I think). With more inclusive education in schools, I think that this book could help students to understand their fellow classmates. And really, as an adult I learnt something about them too.
I’ll be interested to read any other books that follow this, and I’ll be keeping an eye out!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and the author for serialising this book.
This story shows how these young people’s conditions affect them, and how they cope with them - how they use their conditions, which are seen as a weakness by many, to their advantage. Neurodiversity is so well described by the author, and it was really interesting to be in the heads of the main characters. I honestly think that this book should be read in schools (year 6 and above, it’s a bit too graphic in places for younger readers, I think). With more inclusive education in schools, I think that this book could help students to understand their fellow classmates. And really, as an adult I learnt something about them too.
I’ll be interested to read any other books that follow this, and I’ll be keeping an eye out!
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and the author for serialising this book.
ClareR (5674 KP) rated Girl in the Walls in Books
Mar 21, 2021
This book really captured my imagination, and I was constantly questioning whether what I was reading was supposed to be real or paranormal. To me, it read like a ghost story for pretty much the entire book. This is a good thing, by the way.
A young girl has the ability to disappear into the walls of a house and live alongside the people who live there without their knowledge. Now if that doesn’t sound like a ghost story, then what is she? I think that the girl wanted to be like a ghost - themes such as grief and belonging are prominent in this novel. The only attachment the girl has, is to the house itself - she seems to have no family or friends.
There is such an eerie feeling to this book that really unsettled me, and as the boys who live in the house start to realise that someone else is living there with them and look for outside help, the anxiety is tangible. Frankly, there were some breathtaking moments of the “Oh no!” variety.
I honestly can’t believe that this is the authors debut novel - it’s really that good.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to A. J. Gnuse for reading along with us.
A young girl has the ability to disappear into the walls of a house and live alongside the people who live there without their knowledge. Now if that doesn’t sound like a ghost story, then what is she? I think that the girl wanted to be like a ghost - themes such as grief and belonging are prominent in this novel. The only attachment the girl has, is to the house itself - she seems to have no family or friends.
There is such an eerie feeling to this book that really unsettled me, and as the boys who live in the house start to realise that someone else is living there with them and look for outside help, the anxiety is tangible. Frankly, there were some breathtaking moments of the “Oh no!” variety.
I honestly can’t believe that this is the authors debut novel - it’s really that good.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and to A. J. Gnuse for reading along with us.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated In Fear (2014) in Movies
Apr 7, 2021 (Updated Jul 4, 2021)
Nerve-frying. A top-rate, crackling white-knuckle thriller - I realize I'm probably alone in this but afterwards I was left literally trembling, breathless, and in tears of sheer anxiety. By the time the end credits had rolled my fist had gradually clenched so much so that I'd actually dug into the skin with my fingernails without realizing it. Paranoia sets in as early as the very first frames and doesn't let go for the entire not-a-minute-wasted runtime - carried so well by these three galactic performances. I'm impressed with how self-assured this type of sincerely unique filmmaking is a solid year before we'd have that 'horror renaissance' everyone talks about: those uncomfortable shots, nervous editing, and sickly color palette all add into something to behold - a truly wired, uneasy experience unlike many I've ever seen. And then on top of all of that it's just good ole' unpretentious fun - never for a second knew where it was headed and revels in such an animalistic sense of seeing how much mental sadism they can put these people through. Took me some time to fully grasp its vision, but once I did I was all in - may need to sit on this one for a while.