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Erika (17788 KP) rated milk and honey in Books
Aug 14, 2018
Normally, I skip past Our Shared Shelf book club picks, because they rarely interest me. I figured that I like poetry, and everyone talks about how much they love this collection, that I'd give it a try.
Thank god it only took me 30 minutes to read. I liked some of it, I felt like it started strong, but then it turned into tumblr/twitter poetry that should have one of those scenic pictures behind it. Maybe I'd be more impressed if I didn't write very similar poetry after a break up forever ago. Also, who is telling this chick that she needs to shave? How many times did it really need to be brought up? That was the nail in the coffin for me.
If I hadn't had higher expectations, I may have rated it higher but... no.
Thank god it only took me 30 minutes to read. I liked some of it, I felt like it started strong, but then it turned into tumblr/twitter poetry that should have one of those scenic pictures behind it. Maybe I'd be more impressed if I didn't write very similar poetry after a break up forever ago. Also, who is telling this chick that she needs to shave? How many times did it really need to be brought up? That was the nail in the coffin for me.
If I hadn't had higher expectations, I may have rated it higher but... no.
Roxanne (13 KP) rated Bed: New Lesbian Erotica in Books
Nov 14, 2018
It took me a while to read this book, it all depended on which story I was reading to whether it held my attention or not. There are some good stories in here and I liked some of the poetry. A couple of the stories I found a little dull and some others I found a bit confusing, but overall I thought it was a good collection.
Ruth Frampton (577 KP) rated Light and Dark Leftovers & Other Odds and Sins in Books
Apr 10, 2018
Poetry can be a very personal thing, or it can be a thing of great beauty transcending a generation or a county and becoming part of your very being. Alternatively, poetry can be throw away, a collection of sounds meant to inspire thought or simply to entertain, but in my experience, this latter form is often difficult to capture on the page and even harder to recreate in the minds and hearts of a reader. I would love the hear these poems performed, read out, expressed and felt, perhaps then their inner rhythm would show itself and make sense. Sadly, as these poems are written I am robbed of that experience, and as such find little to draw me back to their tale. If you like written performance style poetry this will be for you, I hope I get the chance to hear them one day.
Sara Cox (1845 KP) rated Aphrodite Made Me Do It in Books
Jun 28, 2019
I was really surprised by this book. It's a collection of poetry, prose and inspirational artwork. I was really drawn in to the first collection, written as if by Aphrodite herself. The following collections were more personal and hit so many chords for me - they are about being a woman, about worries, about abuse, about relationships with other people, about relationships with yourself and about sexuality. A lot in there was so truthful and raw. Things that need to be said. I actually feel lighter for reading them, as if they have enabled me to let go parts of myself that weighed me down. I would usually turn away from books like this, but I'm glad that I managed to get a copy and read it.
ClareR (5603 KP) rated The Perseverence in Books
Sep 23, 2019
I’m not quite sure how to review a collection of poetry, so I think I’ll start by saying that I really enjoyed it. The themes centre around feelings of duality, I thought: being deaf in a hearing world, being mixed race, the poet feeling that he doesn’t belong in Jamaica with his relatives telling him just that, a feeling that he doesn’t belong in the UK either.
It made me really think about what it is to have an invisible disability too. In ‘Miami Airport’, the official says:
“You don’t look deaf?
can you prove it?”
This reminded me of the times when I would have to pull up my sons trouser leg to show his splints when challenged about queuing for the disabled toilet (please don’t do this, it’s not cool) - something he rightly wont let me do anymore, I should add!
It was really good to read this on The Pigeonhole, too, and to have some discussion about the poems. I do hope they repeat this soon. Oh, and I bought the book as well, because I really like to read poetry again (and again!). I’m a bit of a ‘poetry dipper’ 😉
It made me really think about what it is to have an invisible disability too. In ‘Miami Airport’, the official says:
“You don’t look deaf?
can you prove it?”
This reminded me of the times when I would have to pull up my sons trouser leg to show his splints when challenged about queuing for the disabled toilet (please don’t do this, it’s not cool) - something he rightly wont let me do anymore, I should add!
It was really good to read this on The Pigeonhole, too, and to have some discussion about the poems. I do hope they repeat this soon. Oh, and I bought the book as well, because I really like to read poetry again (and again!). I’m a bit of a ‘poetry dipper’ 😉
Irene M (130 KP) rated And I Thought Divorce Was Bad: With Other Life Lessons in Books
Dec 7, 2018
I received this book for free for an honest review.
A collection of poetry, words of wisdom and short stories, all surrounding the subject of a relationship gone wrong, and through the healing process. After a short prologue poem the first item of prose is called “A Shiner” … a hard hitter in more way that one.
There was one or two small grammatical things I saw, but that's just me being a bit picky as it was not enough to take away from the heart-string pulling writing.
Well worth a read
A collection of poetry, words of wisdom and short stories, all surrounding the subject of a relationship gone wrong, and through the healing process. After a short prologue poem the first item of prose is called “A Shiner” … a hard hitter in more way that one.
There was one or two small grammatical things I saw, but that's just me being a bit picky as it was not enough to take away from the heart-string pulling writing.
Well worth a read
Ari Augustine (10 KP) rated We Shed Our Skin Like Dynamite in Books
May 4, 2020
The prose of WE SHED OUR SKIN LIKE DYNAMITE is beautiful, thoughtful, and a complicated mess of life.
I fully expected the usual confessional poetry and was pleasantly surprised by the depth of many poems, which touch on subjects such as abortion, sex, and substance abuse. I found the word play interesting and alluring, while occasionally surpassing boundaries I wasn't aware existed. Though it's not my *favorite* collection, it's certainly a cerebral and fluid one, offering up a depth of experience difficult to find in these shallow modern poetic waters.
I fully expected the usual confessional poetry and was pleasantly surprised by the depth of many poems, which touch on subjects such as abortion, sex, and substance abuse. I found the word play interesting and alluring, while occasionally surpassing boundaries I wasn't aware existed. Though it's not my *favorite* collection, it's certainly a cerebral and fluid one, offering up a depth of experience difficult to find in these shallow modern poetic waters.
Becs (244 KP) rated Words That Kill in Books
Oct 2, 2019
I’ve always had a thing for poetry and have loved every single poetry collection that I have gotten my hands on. My husband got me Words That Kill by Vivid Vega for this past Christmas. When I started to read it, I couldn’t put it down, it was just so good and so emotional. But I eventually had to take a break because it was starting to mess with me. There are not many poetry collections that touch on the mental health subject and I’m glad that there is now one available to the public.
Genre: Mental Health, Young Adult
Audience: Young Adult but also mature audiences as well
Reading level: Middle to High School
Interests: Depression, Mental Health, Anxiety, Suicide, Abuse, Hope, and Love.
Style: Light to hard – depending on the person.
Point of view: First person
Difficulty reading: Very easy to read but be warned, it does make you very emotional.
Promise: Words That Kill promises a poetry collection that talks about mental health and it delivers.
Quality: I believe everybody should read this even if they haven’t dealt with mental health.
Insights: Not taking the grammatical and spelling errors, the poems were a lot lighter to read compared to Rupi Kuar or even Shakespeare.
Ah-Ha Moment: There wasn’t really a moment where I went ‘Ah yea, that’s the turning point’. This is only because it wasn’t really a story, more of a poem that brings memories of the past back to life.
Favorite quote: “There is no need to hide in the shade, the light will come and your pain will fade.” – This is a great representation of how depression works. You have your good and your bad moments.
Aesthetics: The thing that drew me to the book in the first place, minus the topic of mental health of course, was the fact that the entire book is white words on an entirely black background. I’ve never seen a book have that aesthetically pleasing style and I love it!
“Like a flower, I will bloom again – depression.”
Genre: Mental Health, Young Adult
Audience: Young Adult but also mature audiences as well
Reading level: Middle to High School
Interests: Depression, Mental Health, Anxiety, Suicide, Abuse, Hope, and Love.
Style: Light to hard – depending on the person.
Point of view: First person
Difficulty reading: Very easy to read but be warned, it does make you very emotional.
Promise: Words That Kill promises a poetry collection that talks about mental health and it delivers.
Quality: I believe everybody should read this even if they haven’t dealt with mental health.
Insights: Not taking the grammatical and spelling errors, the poems were a lot lighter to read compared to Rupi Kuar or even Shakespeare.
Ah-Ha Moment: There wasn’t really a moment where I went ‘Ah yea, that’s the turning point’. This is only because it wasn’t really a story, more of a poem that brings memories of the past back to life.
Favorite quote: “There is no need to hide in the shade, the light will come and your pain will fade.” – This is a great representation of how depression works. You have your good and your bad moments.
Aesthetics: The thing that drew me to the book in the first place, minus the topic of mental health of course, was the fact that the entire book is white words on an entirely black background. I’ve never seen a book have that aesthetically pleasing style and I love it!
“Like a flower, I will bloom again – depression.”
Roxanne (13 KP) rated Stupid Poems 11 in Books
Nov 14, 2018
<i>I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>
_____ <b>5 Star Rating</b> _____
I thought this collection of poetry was fantastic as it gave me proper belly laughs.
This author really knows how to write great poetry...
<img src="http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/2/1/4/7/7/1/a3234523-52-animated-laughing.gif?d=1273492044"; width="300" height="280"/>
It was weird, random, hilarious and I honestly could not fault the rhyming; that is some skill!
If I was really hunting for anything negative I would say that it could do with a bit more editing as I did notice a few mistakes, not enough to knock off any points though.
If you would like something random to read I would recommend picking this one up as it is a short, easy to read book that once you start you just have to finish it.
_____ <b>5 Star Rating</b> _____
I thought this collection of poetry was fantastic as it gave me proper belly laughs.
This author really knows how to write great poetry...
<img src="http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/2/1/4/7/7/1/a3234523-52-animated-laughing.gif?d=1273492044"; width="300" height="280"/>
It was weird, random, hilarious and I honestly could not fault the rhyming; that is some skill!
If I was really hunting for anything negative I would say that it could do with a bit more editing as I did notice a few mistakes, not enough to knock off any points though.
If you would like something random to read I would recommend picking this one up as it is a short, easy to read book that once you start you just have to finish it.
Becs (244 KP) rated Heart Talk in Books
Nov 1, 2018
An inspirational book that will help you gain that little push we all need every once in a while.
I was honestly not expecting to love this little book so much. As I first began the book, I was so iffy about it being just another self-help book and that it wouldn't really phase me. Boy, was I wrong! I got emotional. I got motivated. I got inspired. This book appeases to my feminist side. It is a wonderful inspirational poetry collection that I feel like everyone should read.
You can find more of this review on my blog at bookingwayreads.wordpress.com
You can find more of this review on my blog at bookingwayreads.wordpress.com