This was interesting and sad, truthfully. I've read a few of these "high-profile female celebrity" life books, and the common theme is just how much of a "normal" life they want, and how people around them betray them. I also think it's such a shame for people who's professional dream just happens to be one which makes them famous (not something that is likely to happen to me!), and then they suffer the consequences.

Of course there is also the story of the conservatorship, which personally I can't begin to understand how it's legal.

Overall, a very interesting and worthwhile read, and just a reminder, for me, of the importance of building self-empowerment in all children, and just the appreciation for a caring and supportive upbringing that I have had.

Really an exceptional piece of writing. A friend bought this for me, and at the time I didn't realise I had already read another of her books. This one is of a totally different character; basically telling the story of a woman's engagement with pregnancy, and the way society encourages it be handled. Being myself now a partner and a witness to this, I found it a very interesting perspective and helped me relate to the birth parent more. It's a stressful read, but an amazing one I think. Highly recommended!

I quite enjoyed this book; but it's probably not for everyone. Losada has an engaging and friendly style; extremely readable and enjoyable. The way she engages with the topic is pretty generous I think; perhaps the main criticism is that it's occasionally a bit too optimistic; but after all, that's basically what it promises on the cover! Overall, if you're looking for a bit of optimism and happiness, then take a glance! I'll definitely be trying to read more of her books :)

This was a strange one. I didn't know anything about this person or service, and I was expecting the book to be mostly funny. But it was actually far more serious and thoughtful than I had anticipated. I probably wouldn't recommend it to everyone; but it's at least refreshing for it's alternative take on what it means to live and relate to people. I also found it, I think, to be an interesting insight into some parts of modern Japanese culture. Quirky, for sure, a little depressing, even, but a worthwhile read nevertheless.

Extremely readable and enjoyable. Booth managed to write in such a way that the atmosphere of the journey and the places was very well conveyed. Made me want to be there! Just some really nice story-telling. Highly recommended :)

Absolutely extraordinary book. Extremely informative, powerful, emotional, inspiring, and poetic. I was struck at first by the amazing writing (which comes across really well in translation, I think, not that I've read the original ...), but stayed for the amazing story-telling and information about various illegal practices in Brazil.

It's really an impressive piece of work, I can highly recommend it, but do note that it is also, in parts, quite traumatic. Still; one of those books that you feel sad when it ends; well worth reading!

I picked this up after watching and enjoying the show. The book is quite different; and it's interesting actually to compare it with the show; the team that converted the book into the show have done an impressive job, I think! I like both. I really couldn't put the book down. It has compellingly written and just interesting. A great read for those interested in the workings of organised crime (and journalism!) in Japan. I loved it!

Really quite interesting and good. I think I'd seen Fern Brady before, and she's clearly and interesting person, but this an enlightening book for me, in particular in building some empathy for how people with autism experience life and their emotions, and in particular women. Great reading!

I've got mixed feelings about this book. Mostly, it was good; it was informative and I learned a lot. The graphic novel form is also just a nice way to convey a complicated topic with lots of personal feeling and information. On the other hand, I can't say I found the author totally likeable; but perhaps that just means she presented her story truly; after all, we all make mistakes and say things we regret. In any case, I'm glad I read this, and if you're at all curious about a personal perspective on Iran, I at least found it interesting and worthwhile.

Just simply an extremely enjoyable and engaging read about life in a bookshop :) I loved it; I've been reading a few of these "real-life bookshop" stories, to get a sense of what it might be like to work in one, and I think this story is particularly interesting because of the history associated with this particular bookshop, and of course the author is just a great story teller. Highly recommended if you want to get a sense of the magic that it could be, to work in a rare bookshop!

This book will always have a special place in my heart now, given that it happened to be the book I was reading at the time our daughter arrived, and as a result I finished it by reading it to her in her first few days of being out and about :) That said, on it's own merit it is pretty good. I learned some interesting facts about glaciers; enjoyed learning about her life, and overall got inspired about this kind of career. Pretty good!

This book wasn't what I expected, but it was still quite interesting. It's seems to be me to be roughly a biography of this persons life in the social sector, but is also an exploration of a whole bunch of "alternative" programs that focus the particular communities, marginalised groups, and aim to find solutions from within those groups, rather than "fixing" them from the outside, with metrics and impact reports, etc. I think it's a great source of inspiration on that front, and has some relevance for a project I'm part of in the climate space. Definitely worth a glance!

Picked this up after listening to the author talk about it during the a book festival in Edinburgh. I loved it. I'm excited also to try and read the Spanish version in Spanish; but that will probably be a bit of a challenge. In any case, a nice read about parenting, how to relate to people, and what our relationships could be like. It also almost made me cry on the first page, which I thought was impressive.

Loved this. Akala is a extremely knowledgable about history and politics, so this is an important and interesting read. Not being someone who has that much perspective on the UK, I also really valued learning more about how colonialism and racism have had an impact.

A pretty good book. I love the idea that language informs our thoughts and feelings, and this book explored that topic well. Probably the most interesting thing I found in this book was the thought of the author that they can take ownership of a language by adding words to it, as a way to feel at home. Worth a read, if you enjoy the intersection of language, identity, and politics!

Yet another book in a genre close to my heart: books featuring snow leopards in a poetic way. Naturally, I enjoyed this one. It has the feeling of a light and soft journey, filled with nice poetic titbits. One particular part of the book will, probably, blow your mind, just like it did mine. Recommended if you're into these poetic travel books.

This was a fun read. It's targeted at actors, but is in fact a fascinating insight into a totally different cultural experience, at least for me. I really enjoyed the bits of wisdom; the most memorable being the idea that, if you are watching an actor and think "wow, this is great acting", then that's bad; the actor should be invisible. In any case, I really valued this book for the insight into what an actor thinks about, and the various ways the prepare their bodies and minds for the work.

An unquestionably exceptional book. I've never seen writing like this before. It's so emotive and engaging and fast-paced; really, it felt like she was playing the violin with my emotions, and I loved it! Highly recommended; you'll never look at someone with a violin the same way again.

This was picked out for me by my partner, and I absolutely loved it! It's very funny and personal and interesting. I really enjoyed the way she writes, and while it didn't have a great deal of content about Antarctica itself, it was a very interesting and engaging personal story. It is just nice to read about how she experiences life. Well worth the read!

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I think it was certainly interesting to learn about her life, and what lead her to start her "Me Too" movement. That said, I can't say I could really relate at all to her experiences and choices. This makes it at least interesting and out of my comfort zone, but it also makes it hard to judge whether or not I enjoyed it, and what I got out of it. At least it let me build some empathy and understanding for how she's lived her life.

Recommended reading for the history and backstory, and understanding what goes on the mind of someone with a totally different life experience from my own.

I loved this. Don't be put off by the number of pages; almost all of them only contain a few lines per page. It's a collection of stories told be the residents of a small town in Sweden. It's a real slice of life and culture; mostly quite relatable. For me I found it very interesting to "listen" to these stories that I would find hard to listen to in real life. It made me reflect a bit on why I would find listening to these conversations in real life a bit hard. In any case, I really enjoyed reading this; it's a real gem.

Recommended to me by a friend, I got hooked on this book immediately and read it in two days; I couldn't put it down. It's very well written; easy to read, fast paced and compelling. If you've read "Educated", it's a lot like that, only with a wildly different context. I loved it. Really well conveys the stress and impact of living with a lie from your family, and how that impacts your personal life. Also very positively show the power of therapy, and generally of friendship and support. Just amazing!

I picked this up, being inspired by reading the Dan Simmons trilogy Hyperion. I've never read any "classic" poetry before, and I thought that this might be a nice entrypoint, because it promised to have some poems, but also some backstory about Keats and the context in which he wrote each poem. I loved this book. It's interesting for me personally, because for the longest time I haven't really "understood" poetry. But here, while I can't say I get everything, or even most things, I did start to get a feeling for why people enjoy it. And I also got a feeling of why people like Keats' poetry in particular. It's not a particularly short book, but I did find it quite accessible, and I think it's quite a nice way to engage with poetry. I'll probably try and find more books like this.

Honestly not too sure what to make of this book. Certainly it gives me a perspective into other lives that I would not normally get; the topic being the (quite differing) sex lives of three women. But the differing stories were all, for me, quite extreme, which made it a bit hard to relate. Nevertheless, it felt very raw and real and compelling. Not my usual thing, but I'm glad I read it.

Another amazing book, this one was written by a refugee who was imprisoned at the time. It is about his experience in the prison; something that had been totally covered up by the Australian government. At the time the book was published he was still in prison! It's exceptionally readable, interesting and engaging, but it does have some quite traumatic sections. It's has a beautifully written style interspersed with sections of poetry. You will certainly leave with very strong feelings for what people like this have been put through by our governments. I really gained a lot from reading it.

This was interesting reading, but probably overall not quite my kind of thing. I found the style quite stressful; but I do think that was the intention. The idea, I suppose, is to convey the chaoticness of reading Twitter every second; and constant changing of attention. But this is something that I personally find a bit stressful, and this was conveyed very accurately through the writing. I do think it had some nice jokes, and variously interesting bits of social commentary; and, as one review I listened to, clearly this author is very familiar with social media. But it's not one I'll likely read again. Might be of interest to those who want another perspective on what engagement with social media can look like!

This book was enjoyable, easy, reading. I got fully immersed in the feeling of the violin culture; in the history and the way the author is follows the story through different towns and countries. This idea of just taking a journey dictated entirely by a spontaneous interest is very appealing. Really enjoyed it!

I really loved this book. I think it's interesting for a few reasons. One is that I haven't read many books where an autistic person is describing their feelings and experiences. It's really interesting to learn. Another part that really impacted me was his discussion of how young people are being forced to be more active and outspoken, but, ultimately, are excluded from important decision making, and that adults praise them, but inevitably continue doing whatever they were doing before. That comment hit me quite strongly, and I'm not sure what to do about it yet. Overall, an exceptional read, and will help you appreciate nature!

I really enjoyed this book, a lot. I can't say the ending was a surprise, but there were little bits of joy and insight to be had in the middle, and overall reading the book left me feeling uplifted and positive. A great book!

I'm not sure how to feel about this. I read this *after* The Midnight Library (which I really really enjoyed), so perhaps that meant I had very high expectations. I think this book is probably good because of how personal it is, and how honest and open the author is about his life and his feelings. I think while I don't agree with everything in it (for example my view would be a bit more Buddhist than what the author says they are comfortable with), I do think it adds some useful thoughts to keep in mind when you're feeling depressed and hopeless.

I was really surprised and amazed by this book. I saw Ariel Levy talk at the amazing festival in Melbourne. I didn't know anything about her, but the image I did form didn't match what was revealed in this book. Very thoughtful and captivating, and a relatable account of one persons life and dreams. Definitely recommended reading for an insight into a life that is quite different from my own.

I love James Acasters comedy; his show Repertoire is one of the funniest I've ever seen; I also read his earlier book - Classic Scapes - which I really enjoyed, so I was already primed to like this one. It's quite different from Classic Scrapes; it's much more personal and vulnerable, which I really enjoyed; and it has a huge list of interesting music, which is great if you're like me and struggle to think of new artists to listen to! Great reading.