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Serena Marie (7 KP) rated Turtles All The Way Down in Books
Jan 23, 2018
Mental Health Issues (3 more)
Plot
Characters
Quoteable
John Green Does It Again
I will start off by saying that I love John Green. His books have always been a favorite of mine. Looking For Alaska is a book I will gravitate towards over and over again. He has such a great writing style with the most beautiful quotes. I can't get over it if we're being honest.
Mental health is a big and important topic. With something so big comes a lot of responsibility when writing about it. John Green nails it. The way he talks about Aza's OCD and how he describes her thought processes is amazing. You really start to bond with the character and feel for her. BUT, not only do you feel for her, you get frustrated with her because you start to get invested. The way that she navigates her life, her thoughts, her relationships, her everything is so well thought out by John.
I think this book has started a lot of really important conversations. People are talking about OCD. How to cope with someone who has OCD. How to cope with having it yourself. How to seek help and know that there ARE great resources out there that people don't know about. Best of all, it's helping to take away the awful stigma that seems to be attached to mental illness and mental health.
Thank you, John Green. Your books bring me peace.
Mental health is a big and important topic. With something so big comes a lot of responsibility when writing about it. John Green nails it. The way he talks about Aza's OCD and how he describes her thought processes is amazing. You really start to bond with the character and feel for her. BUT, not only do you feel for her, you get frustrated with her because you start to get invested. The way that she navigates her life, her thoughts, her relationships, her everything is so well thought out by John.
I think this book has started a lot of really important conversations. People are talking about OCD. How to cope with someone who has OCD. How to cope with having it yourself. How to seek help and know that there ARE great resources out there that people don't know about. Best of all, it's helping to take away the awful stigma that seems to be attached to mental illness and mental health.
Thank you, John Green. Your books bring me peace.
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Elaine and her mother have a special relationship, the kind every parent and child strive for. They have their ups and downs, but they both know the love and support of the other is there. That comes into play in a slow crawl towards dementia for Elaine's mother, Betty. First, it's the little things, but it slowly gets worse as time goes by, and Elaine has chronicled that journey, both for her mother as well as herself, in this wonderful book.
I used to work for a Neurology clinic where we saw many patients with Dementia, and while I could recognize the signs and symptoms because of that, it's understandable how someone so close to the person could miss them, or push them aside as something else. To see how Elaine and the rest of her family coped with this illness, and for her to share such a personal story in such a public way, is very awe-inspiring, and I wish both her and the rest of her family all the best. I feel as though this book could help open someone's eyes to what a family member or friend might be experiencing, and while it's a very emotional read, I would recommend everyone I know to give it a shot for that very reason.
5 stars
Elaine and her mother have a special relationship, the kind every parent and child strive for. They have their ups and downs, but they both know the love and support of the other is there. That comes into play in a slow crawl towards dementia for Elaine's mother, Betty. First, it's the little things, but it slowly gets worse as time goes by, and Elaine has chronicled that journey, both for her mother as well as herself, in this wonderful book.
I used to work for a Neurology clinic where we saw many patients with Dementia, and while I could recognize the signs and symptoms because of that, it's understandable how someone so close to the person could miss them, or push them aside as something else. To see how Elaine and the rest of her family coped with this illness, and for her to share such a personal story in such a public way, is very awe-inspiring, and I wish both her and the rest of her family all the best. I feel as though this book could help open someone's eyes to what a family member or friend might be experiencing, and while it's a very emotional read, I would recommend everyone I know to give it a shot for that very reason.
5 stars
One of the funniest books i've read in a long while
Contains spoilers, click to show
OH my I loved this story so much, I don't even know where to begin with this review.
Okay, Lets start with the fan fiction, as a person who sent hours on the computer reading Harry Potter fan fiction into the early hours of the morning and then to writing my own, I understand where Cath was coming form, that sometimes you forget that there is still books to come out or you wish they end the way they did as the fan fiction. I total got this, and i totally related to Cath.
Second Levi, You should always have a good book boyfriend and Levi, yeah he was perfect, could i have him? I'll look after him. he was funny and charming and he loved Cath, you could tell straight away and i just wanted to slap so she saw it too.
The story touched on other issues such as sisters trying to find their own groove, but how hard it can be to break patterns. there mother leaving them and now only wanting to be apart of their lives now they had grown up, their fathers illness.
This book was a great read, once i started i couldn't stop, and there the best kind of books. I will defiantly read more from Rainbow Rowell, now that I love her stuff.
Now to fan fiction :P
Happy Reading :)
Okay, Lets start with the fan fiction, as a person who sent hours on the computer reading Harry Potter fan fiction into the early hours of the morning and then to writing my own, I understand where Cath was coming form, that sometimes you forget that there is still books to come out or you wish they end the way they did as the fan fiction. I total got this, and i totally related to Cath.
Second Levi, You should always have a good book boyfriend and Levi, yeah he was perfect, could i have him? I'll look after him. he was funny and charming and he loved Cath, you could tell straight away and i just wanted to slap so she saw it too.
The story touched on other issues such as sisters trying to find their own groove, but how hard it can be to break patterns. there mother leaving them and now only wanting to be apart of their lives now they had grown up, their fathers illness.
This book was a great read, once i started i couldn't stop, and there the best kind of books. I will defiantly read more from Rainbow Rowell, now that I love her stuff.
Now to fan fiction :P
Happy Reading :)
This story was heartbreaking and maddening, horrific and unbelievable, sad and disturbing. I don't usually read books that are based on real events - something about knowing it's true turns me off, but I wanted to give this a try. It's still not something I found particularly enthralling, but it was definitely an interesting read.
Honestly, I can't decide who I despise more, Shelly or Dave! Both did horrendous things, but Dave's obvious disregard for what happened, turning a blind eye to what he witnessed and *still* insisting that there was no abuse, denying that there could have been anything wrong happening while being a partial participant, his refusal to face the facts seriously pissed me off. As for Shelly, how a person can do such things to another human being, let alone her own children, baffles me and makes me sick. Spout off as much as you want about her having a mental illness, I don't care, what she did was disgusting and I don't think she'll spend nearly enough years in prison. My heart goes out to the sisters. I dealt with abuse from my mother when I was young, but certainly not to this degree, and I can't imagine how painful it was for them (not just physically, but mentally and emotionally). The ending, knowing that each woman was healing and moving on, creating their own happiness, put a big smile on my face!
Honestly, I can't decide who I despise more, Shelly or Dave! Both did horrendous things, but Dave's obvious disregard for what happened, turning a blind eye to what he witnessed and *still* insisting that there was no abuse, denying that there could have been anything wrong happening while being a partial participant, his refusal to face the facts seriously pissed me off. As for Shelly, how a person can do such things to another human being, let alone her own children, baffles me and makes me sick. Spout off as much as you want about her having a mental illness, I don't care, what she did was disgusting and I don't think she'll spend nearly enough years in prison. My heart goes out to the sisters. I dealt with abuse from my mother when I was young, but certainly not to this degree, and I can't imagine how painful it was for them (not just physically, but mentally and emotionally). The ending, knowing that each woman was healing and moving on, creating their own happiness, put a big smile on my face!
David McK (3562 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies
Oct 27, 2019 (Updated Dec 5, 2021)
So, we've had plenty of Batman movies, stretching right back to the Adam West era.
But, prior to this, never one about his most famous nemesis; about the Joker.
And that, I felt, was always part of the appeal: we never really had a clear hold on who the Joker was, why he was the way he was, where he came from.
As the character himself says in one of the movies: "If I have a past, I would prefer it to be multiple choice …"
With that said, this film does just that, giving the Joker a tragic past (and somewhat different than that he had in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film), with - or so I thought, when I first heard about it - taking inspiration from the seminal comic 'The Killing Joke' ("all it takes is one bad day …").
Joaquin Phoenix puts in a powerhouse performance here as Arthur Fleck, a struggling comedian who suffers from a debilitating illness that causes him to break into uncontrollable laughter at the most inopportune of times, who also suffers from severe mental health issues.
With Bruce Wayne only making a short appearance, I do have to say, however, that (to me) the timeline see's somewhat 'off': I always saw Joker and Batman as being roughly the same age, but by the time this Bruce becomes the Dark Knight (and yes, his parent's murder does happen in the film), this Joker would be near retirement age ...
But, prior to this, never one about his most famous nemesis; about the Joker.
And that, I felt, was always part of the appeal: we never really had a clear hold on who the Joker was, why he was the way he was, where he came from.
As the character himself says in one of the movies: "If I have a past, I would prefer it to be multiple choice …"
With that said, this film does just that, giving the Joker a tragic past (and somewhat different than that he had in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film), with - or so I thought, when I first heard about it - taking inspiration from the seminal comic 'The Killing Joke' ("all it takes is one bad day …").
Joaquin Phoenix puts in a powerhouse performance here as Arthur Fleck, a struggling comedian who suffers from a debilitating illness that causes him to break into uncontrollable laughter at the most inopportune of times, who also suffers from severe mental health issues.
With Bruce Wayne only making a short appearance, I do have to say, however, that (to me) the timeline see's somewhat 'off': I always saw Joker and Batman as being roughly the same age, but by the time this Bruce becomes the Dark Knight (and yes, his parent's murder does happen in the film), this Joker would be near retirement age ...
ClareR (5885 KP) rated Double Blind in Books
Jul 28, 2023
I really enjoyed Double Blind, not least because of Benedict Cumberbatch’s excellent narration on the audiobook!
There’s a lot packed in to this book: mental health, love, bravery, illness, fear, adoption, climate change, genetics, inheritance and technology (there might be more, but this is off the top of my head!). These are all pretty meaty themes, but I think they were all addressed with sensitivity, and nothing seemed contrived - even though one of the characters was ridiculously rich!
There’s a fair bit of internal dialogue going on, but it’s all relevant to the story itself, and I feel it was easier to listen to than it might have been to read. In fact, this book seemed to go by really quickly - I thoroughly enjoyed it, and listened to it whenever I could.
The characters were all very likeable: Lucy has a brain tumour, and after the initial shock she takes the news very well. She works for an American called Hunter Sterling, a tycoon and hedonist. He takes a lot of drugs.
Francis is a conservationist on an estate, and he meets Olivia, a biologist. Her father is a psychoanalyst who works with schizophrenics (amongst others), in particular a man called Sebastian. His deeper connections emerge in the story.
All of these people and themes are woven into a beautifully written book. I loved it, and it looks as though I have another authors backlist to investigate!
There’s a lot packed in to this book: mental health, love, bravery, illness, fear, adoption, climate change, genetics, inheritance and technology (there might be more, but this is off the top of my head!). These are all pretty meaty themes, but I think they were all addressed with sensitivity, and nothing seemed contrived - even though one of the characters was ridiculously rich!
There’s a fair bit of internal dialogue going on, but it’s all relevant to the story itself, and I feel it was easier to listen to than it might have been to read. In fact, this book seemed to go by really quickly - I thoroughly enjoyed it, and listened to it whenever I could.
The characters were all very likeable: Lucy has a brain tumour, and after the initial shock she takes the news very well. She works for an American called Hunter Sterling, a tycoon and hedonist. He takes a lot of drugs.
Francis is a conservationist on an estate, and he meets Olivia, a biologist. Her father is a psychoanalyst who works with schizophrenics (amongst others), in particular a man called Sebastian. His deeper connections emerge in the story.
All of these people and themes are woven into a beautifully written book. I loved it, and it looks as though I have another authors backlist to investigate!
Merissa (12934 KP) rated Bella's Countryside Christmas in Books
Oct 4, 2024
BELLA'S COUNTRYSIDE CHRISTMAS is set in Haileybrook. To escape a boring conference, she fakes illness and goes to the church where she should have been married, if she hadn't called it off. While there, she saves a nativity scene from guaranteed disaster, as well as helping a cute man by pretending to be his date. After a better-than-expected day/evening and a moment of connection complete with a kiss, she disappears to help her younger sister, leaving Jack all alone. Fast forward a year (give or take) and Bella is returning to Haileybrook, this time to live and work.
This was such a great story! It is gentle, with no unnecessary angst or drama, with a healthy dose of mystery. Character-led with cameos from characters out of other books, this was a story I didn't want to end. The people here were funny and likeable, especially the ones from the home!
The flow of the story was smooth and left me wanting to continue reading, even when I got to the chapter breaks. It has Christmassy vibes but doesn't rule the whole story. A fantastic read and definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 25, 2024
This was such a great story! It is gentle, with no unnecessary angst or drama, with a healthy dose of mystery. Character-led with cameos from characters out of other books, this was a story I didn't want to end. The people here were funny and likeable, especially the ones from the home!
The flow of the story was smooth and left me wanting to continue reading, even when I got to the chapter breaks. It has Christmassy vibes but doesn't rule the whole story. A fantastic read and definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 25, 2024
BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated The Psychopath Test in Books
Sep 11, 2018
This book is remarkably entertaining – I can see why it’s having such a long stint in the bookseller’s shelves! It’s most definitely written for the lay person, and that goes some way to explaining the book’s longevity.
It logs the course of events taken by Jon Ronson as he interviews some people who are deemed crazy, or psychopathic, and some people who diagnose psychological traits. The start of Ronson’s journey is intriguing - it begins when various academics, predominately neuroscientists, are sent mysterious and cryptic packages. They all rush onto online forums trying to figure out what it’s all about. Unfortunately, this section comes to an abrupt and disappointing conclusion (no spoilers).
This all changes in Chapter 2, however. Here, Ronson meets a man, Tony, who claims to have faked mental illness in order to get put into a psychiatric facility rather than a traditional prison. The Scientologists are on his side, and they send Ronson Broadmoor’s file on Tony, but with significant omissions, which shed a whole new light on why Tony should be incarcerated.
Chapter 3 describes how in the 1960’s psychiatrist Elliot Barker, held several nude LSD-induced psychotherapy sessions for psychopaths. In Chapter 4, Ronson goes on a conference to learn about Bob Hare’s psychopath checklist, and by Chapter 5, he’s using it in an interview with a leader of a death squad, Toto Constant. In Chapter 6, he uses it in an interview with Al Dunlan, who apparently enjoyed firing 6.000 people from their jobs.
Following a brief interlude to discuss the media, conspiracy theorists and the second coming, the theme of psychopathy is picked up again in Chapter 9 which looks at criminal profiling, and how it was once used to lure one particular suspect into an unwarranted arrest.
Ronson goes off on another tangent in Chapter 10, which discusses the (very real) problem of an apparent ballooning of mental illness diagnoses. Here he tells the tale of what happened when a 4-year-old girl was given 10 pills a day for “childhood bipolar” disorder.
In Ronson’s concluding chapter, he attends a tribunal for the Tony of Chapter 2, and Tony’s fate is decided (no spoilers). By this point, Tony’s charisma has got Ronson taken in, in spite of Tony showing several psychopathic traits.
My take away from the book is that people will have eccentricities, diagnosis or not, and the way to tell if someone is dangerous, is by their actions. Ronson himself has spotted psychopathic traits in himself, despite being overly anxious and not the slightest bit evil. The book sheds a lot of light, not only on the nature of obtaining a diagnosis, but also on its implications.
Whilst I do recommend the book, this book is most definitely not a thorough analysis of the mental health industry, nor the criminal profiling industry. But for entertainment purposes it gets top marks. If you are looking for a more authoritative book on the mental health industry and diagnosis, I recommend Saving Normal by Allen Frances.
It logs the course of events taken by Jon Ronson as he interviews some people who are deemed crazy, or psychopathic, and some people who diagnose psychological traits. The start of Ronson’s journey is intriguing - it begins when various academics, predominately neuroscientists, are sent mysterious and cryptic packages. They all rush onto online forums trying to figure out what it’s all about. Unfortunately, this section comes to an abrupt and disappointing conclusion (no spoilers).
This all changes in Chapter 2, however. Here, Ronson meets a man, Tony, who claims to have faked mental illness in order to get put into a psychiatric facility rather than a traditional prison. The Scientologists are on his side, and they send Ronson Broadmoor’s file on Tony, but with significant omissions, which shed a whole new light on why Tony should be incarcerated.
Chapter 3 describes how in the 1960’s psychiatrist Elliot Barker, held several nude LSD-induced psychotherapy sessions for psychopaths. In Chapter 4, Ronson goes on a conference to learn about Bob Hare’s psychopath checklist, and by Chapter 5, he’s using it in an interview with a leader of a death squad, Toto Constant. In Chapter 6, he uses it in an interview with Al Dunlan, who apparently enjoyed firing 6.000 people from their jobs.
Following a brief interlude to discuss the media, conspiracy theorists and the second coming, the theme of psychopathy is picked up again in Chapter 9 which looks at criminal profiling, and how it was once used to lure one particular suspect into an unwarranted arrest.
Ronson goes off on another tangent in Chapter 10, which discusses the (very real) problem of an apparent ballooning of mental illness diagnoses. Here he tells the tale of what happened when a 4-year-old girl was given 10 pills a day for “childhood bipolar” disorder.
In Ronson’s concluding chapter, he attends a tribunal for the Tony of Chapter 2, and Tony’s fate is decided (no spoilers). By this point, Tony’s charisma has got Ronson taken in, in spite of Tony showing several psychopathic traits.
My take away from the book is that people will have eccentricities, diagnosis or not, and the way to tell if someone is dangerous, is by their actions. Ronson himself has spotted psychopathic traits in himself, despite being overly anxious and not the slightest bit evil. The book sheds a lot of light, not only on the nature of obtaining a diagnosis, but also on its implications.
Whilst I do recommend the book, this book is most definitely not a thorough analysis of the mental health industry, nor the criminal profiling industry. But for entertainment purposes it gets top marks. If you are looking for a more authoritative book on the mental health industry and diagnosis, I recommend Saving Normal by Allen Frances.
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Superwoman in Books
Feb 28, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Superwoman by Sinead Flynn is a story about the strength it takes to pull out of depression and the amount of support it requires. While it can’t be called heartwarming, it can provide hope to those in similar situations.
Louise might not have her dream job yet, because she is still undecided as to just what her dream job would be, but she has basically everything else she could want. She has a good job that pays the bills, good friends, and even shares an apartment with one of them. She is happy and content in her life, or so she believes. Then comes “that morning”, the day when just going about her job turns her life upside down. Now things are difficult for Louise. She no longer has a job due to the recession, yet she still has bills to pay. There is no way she will be able to get a job in her present state considering all she does is take medication, sleep, and refuses to leave the apartment.
Slowly she gets worse and worse until one day while her roommate is away she almost burns down the apartment because she falls asleep while cooking. Thankfully her friends have her back even with her alienating them, and they arrange for her to go back home to be cared for by her parents. However, Louise seems to have given up, labeling the real world as too scary. Will it be possible for the unconditional love of her parents to “snap her out of it” or will she stay safely hidden away in the back bedroom for the rest of her life?
I enjoyed how the book acknowledges the superhuman strength it takes to overcome mental illness, even a circumstantial one. These circumstantial illnesses often seem to be over-the-top reactions to a negative event and are rarely talked about. What I didn’t like was that I felt like Louise’s discovery of the criminal was extremely anti-climatic and would have liked to know more about that situation. The person the criminal was found with was surprising and readers are left to speculate why they were even together.
This book is directed more towards adults, and people who trigger easily should probably think twice about picking it up. It has a large focus on depression, anxiety, and self-loathing after one morning that turns a woman’s life upside down. I rate this book 2 out of 4. The book describes a tough subject very well. Unfortunately once I got to Part 2 (page 120 of 145) the book fell apart. I mean to say it felt unbelievably rushed, there is a lot of important things that happen in the last 25 pages that just get glossed over.
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Louise might not have her dream job yet, because she is still undecided as to just what her dream job would be, but she has basically everything else she could want. She has a good job that pays the bills, good friends, and even shares an apartment with one of them. She is happy and content in her life, or so she believes. Then comes “that morning”, the day when just going about her job turns her life upside down. Now things are difficult for Louise. She no longer has a job due to the recession, yet she still has bills to pay. There is no way she will be able to get a job in her present state considering all she does is take medication, sleep, and refuses to leave the apartment.
Slowly she gets worse and worse until one day while her roommate is away she almost burns down the apartment because she falls asleep while cooking. Thankfully her friends have her back even with her alienating them, and they arrange for her to go back home to be cared for by her parents. However, Louise seems to have given up, labeling the real world as too scary. Will it be possible for the unconditional love of her parents to “snap her out of it” or will she stay safely hidden away in the back bedroom for the rest of her life?
I enjoyed how the book acknowledges the superhuman strength it takes to overcome mental illness, even a circumstantial one. These circumstantial illnesses often seem to be over-the-top reactions to a negative event and are rarely talked about. What I didn’t like was that I felt like Louise’s discovery of the criminal was extremely anti-climatic and would have liked to know more about that situation. The person the criminal was found with was surprising and readers are left to speculate why they were even together.
This book is directed more towards adults, and people who trigger easily should probably think twice about picking it up. It has a large focus on depression, anxiety, and self-loathing after one morning that turns a woman’s life upside down. I rate this book 2 out of 4. The book describes a tough subject very well. Unfortunately once I got to Part 2 (page 120 of 145) the book fell apart. I mean to say it felt unbelievably rushed, there is a lot of important things that happen in the last 25 pages that just get glossed over.
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Jazzy Jeff (7 KP) rated REC (2007) in Movies
Jan 6, 2018
Zombies (2 more)
Suspenseful
Tense zombie chases
My favorite horror film
Contains spoilers, click to show
The film offers newbies to the horror genre the kick they are looking for within the horror genre. Suspenseful, intense, scary, and gory, it is without a doubt one of the best Horror movies of the past decade, if not of all time, and one i have remembered. 2007 had not seen a whole lot of found footage movies, or those of memorable ones other than cloverfield and the blair witch project, so this style was relatively new, and it's yet to have been done better. We follow a young reporter and her cameraman (who represents us as the audience) as they become unwillingly quarantined in an apartment with its residents, pleading with the outside for their escape. An outbreak is turning those infected into flesh eating "zombies" carried within the people as a standard illness at first. This film creates the "you are there" experience like nothing you have seen or will see before, and that you are just as desperate to escape as the camera crew. Nothing within this film feels staged, the emotions feel raw and geniune. The scariest moments are things that are happening in the frame but not front and centre, those things lingering in the dark or the corner of your eye. As the story slowly gets revealed, you get more unnerved by the events unfolding. There are brilliant and terrifying scenes that will stay with you for life.
However, the rest of the franchise doesnt give as much impact as this one presents.
However, the rest of the franchise doesnt give as much impact as this one presents.