JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The Little Veggie Patch Co: An A-Z Guide to Growing Food in Small Spaces

After years of helping clients grow fruit and vegetables, the Little Veggie Patch Co. crew believe anyone can grow their own food, in most any area in Australia. And in this bestselling easy-to-use guide they show you how simple it is!

Fundamentals such as Soil, Climate, Watering, Composting, Worm Farms, Saving and Sowing Seeds, and Raised Garden Beds and Crates are all covered comprehensively – each with fully illustrated step-by-step plans that show how to create your own little veggie patch in any space.

A complete A-Z of Edible Plants gives you vital information on more than 40 vegetables (and fruit trees), including detailed planting information, ongoing maintenance advice, tips on best companions and when to harvest. And the Weekend Activities scattered throughout the book will get the kids involved too, whether they’re Making a Scarecrow, Building a Spud Tower or Growing Beans in a Bean Can.

Lots of fun, and packed full of all the knowledge you’ll need – plus recipes and some hilarious stories – this colourful guide is for anyone interested in growing their own food.

Back in April, when COVID-19 was spreading at a rapid rate and I started working from home, we built two veggie boxes in the backyard and started growing vegetables — snow peas, Brussels sprouts, carrots and onions. The Brussels sprouts got eaten by birds, twice, the snow peas are currently flourishing and providing an abundance of greens to my weekly stir fry, and the carrots and onions are still growing. With the end of Winter and the start of Spring, I’ve just planted lettuce, parsnips, eggplant, capsicum and radishes, and I’ve also built a herb box on the concrete wall next to the veggie boxes.

When I was embarking on this new hobby of mine, I watched every Youtube video by The Little Veggie Patch Co. I read every blog post. I also tried really hard to buy their earlier books, but struggled to find them in stock anywhere.

Enter their latest release, An A-Z Guide to Growing Food in Small Spaces. It’s hard to explain how excited I was to read about the upcoming publication of this book. This is a re-release of their first book, a compact guide to cooking vegetables all year round in Australia. This is the perfect book for anyone else who has been interested in growing vegetables during COVID-19, or any time in their lives really. This is for anyone who would like a companion guide on their shelf to refer to whenever embarking on a new vegetable plant.

“Capsicums are typically a late summer vegetable but in some areas can be harvested into winter. If you have trouble deadline with the glut, slow roast them, then preserve them in good olive oil — a delight to eat on a crusty loaf with a rub of garlic.”

I’ve lost track of the sections in this book that I’ve followed religiously since it arrived on my doorstep — I’ve read every chapter at least twice, studied every vegetable so I could decide what to plant next. I’ve already decided I’m going to build a spud tower in the backyard when I have a spare weekend, and I’m also working out the best spot to plant a lemon tree.

This book includes information on every major vegetable, from tomatoes and carrots to beans and corn. You’ll find out when to plant, how to plant, when to harvest, and how often to water. Scattered throughout the book are also some fun activities to involve the kids, as well as DIY tasks around the backyard to help you on your gardening journey.

Information is clear and concise, very easy to follow. You’ll read this book and then want to plant absolutely everything. The zone map is particularly helpful, as well as the section at the back on pests and insects, and how to fight them off when they’re trying to eat your food!

“If you intend on growing bulbing onions, be prepared for a lengthy growing period, as it will take 4-6 months before they’re ready for harvest. For the home vegetable garden, where space is at premium, multiple bulbing and bunching varieties are a better investment of your veggie-growing real estate.”

The only thing I feel is missing from this book is an indication of how long each vegetable takes to grow. I just planted parsnips in the backyard veggie box and then googled it, only to find out they take six months to grow! I would’ve liked to know the average time from seed to harvest without having to resort to the internet, but other than that, this book has everything.

Recommended for keen gardeners — from novice to experienced, this book will be a welcome addition to any household library.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Little Veggie Patch Co: An A-Z guide to growing food in small spaces
Mat Pember and Fabian Capomolla
September 2020
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Everything Isn’t Terrible by Kathleen Smith

Licensed therapist and respected mental health writer Dr. Kathleen Smith offers a smart, practical antidote to our anxiety-ridden times. Everything Isn’t Terrible is an informative, and fun guide – featuring a healthy dose of humour – for people who want to become beacons of calmness in our anxious world.

Like Sarah Knight’s No F*cks Given guides and You Are a Badass, Everything Isn’t Terrible will inspire readers to confront their anxious selves, take charge of their anxiety, and increase their own capacity to choose how they respond to it. Comprised of short chapters containing anecdotal examples from Smith’s personal experience as well as those of her clients, in addition to engaging, actionable exercises for readers, Everything Isn’t Terrible will give anyone suffering from anxiety all the tools they need to finally … calm … down. Ultimately, living a calmer, less anxious life – one that, in other words, isn’t terrible – is possible, and with this book Smith will show you how to do it.

Everything Isn’t Terrible by Kathleen Smith is designed to help readers conquer their anxieties and their anxious habits, and discover ways to move forward without as much stress and worry.

Kathleen Smith works as a therapist and in each chapter, she gives an example of a patient she’s met whose anxiety was negatively impacting their life in some way. We meet Monica, whose strained relationship with her mother and brother was causing issues between her and her father. We meet Richard, who was worried about introducing his boyfriend of two years to his family.

The structure of the book allows for an easy and quick read — each chapter is relatively short and focuses on a different example. A different type of anxiety.

“I can’t overstate how important observation is when it comes to lowering anxiety in your family. Often people will try to jump in and change themselves (or others!) without getting a good sense of how their family functions.”

Katherine Smith is interested in a particular type of anxiety, and she follows Bowen Theory to guide her patients to a calmer, healthier life. Bowen Theory believes that our anxieties stem from our relationships, and that if we study the relationships in our lives and work to manage them better, it’ll have a natural flow-on effect towards our anxious minds.

Because we meet different patients and scenarios in each chapter, there’ll be parts of this book that you won’t feel connected to, and parts of the book that you read and think ‘yes, I recognise this in my own life’. I’m guilty of skipping a couple of chapters because I felt no connection or similarity with the anxious issue that was being discussed.

“Dr. Bowen taught that if anxiety is generated in our relationships, then it can also be fixed in our relationships. Therefore, long-term change doesn’t happen in isolation, or even on a therapist’s couch. It happens when we’re willing to work on being our best selves in our most difficult relationships.”

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I read a lot of these kinds of books. I’m an anxious over-thinker who stresses too much. I wouldn’t say books like these are going to ‘fix’ that — at least not instantly — but they’re helpful in making you feel like you’re not alone. Books like Everything Isn’t Terrible pass along useful knowledge, insights and advice for people who spend too much time worrying about things they can’t change, and stressing over things they can change but don’t know how to.

Kathleen’s writing is insightful, instructive and clear. Readers will find her advice realistic and easy to follow, and this book feels like a hands-on approach, and the perfect companion to any bookshelf.

Everything isn’t Terrible teaches us that we can’t always change the situation — or relationship — we’re in, but we can adapt how we react or respond to that relationship. People tend to act a certain way when they’re stressed or anxious, and Kathleen allows us to take a step back and observe the situation from afar with fresh eyes. This may help readers confront a part of their lives that has been bringing them worry.

“When you go into relationships and try to do something different, people usually aren’t going to like it. Your family or office doesn’t want you to upset the balance they’ve cultivated to keep things calm. So when you change, there will be a temporary increase of anxiety in the system.”

This book does deal with a very specific type of issue, and it asks the reader to examine the relationships in their life. I think the title, cover and blurb implies a much broader focus, so some readers may be misguided and not find what they need inside these pages.

Helpful, insightful and a welcome addition to the family bookshelf. Recommended.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Everything Isn’t Terrible
Kathleen Smith
February 2020
Hachette Book Publishers

The Book of Overthinking by Gwendoline Smith

Overthinking, ruminating, worrying: bestselling author Gwendoline Smith explains this common form of anxiety and offers helpful advice for overcoming it.

Overthinking is also known as worrying or ruminating and it’s a form of anxiety that many people suffer from.

Psychologist and bestselling author Gwendoline Smith explains in clear and simple language the concepts of positive and negative overthinking, the truth about worry and how to deal with the ‘thought viruses’ that are holding you back.

She helps you understand what’s going on in your head, using humour, lots of examples and anecdotes, and she offers powerful strategies for addressing your issues.

Based on cognitive behavioural theory, this book will help you in all the key areas of your life: from your personal life to relationships and work.

The Book of Overthinking by Gwendoline Smith is a guide to worrying less — an instruction manual for those who are anxious and stressed, and who are looking for ways to calm their thoughts.

Filled with information, advice, exercises, and even homework, at the very least this book will make you feel like you’re not alone — like there are other people who worry as much as you do, and there are ways you can manipulate your mind to stop stressing so much.

Gwendoline fills the pages with plenty of modern day examples, so that even the most confused reader can understand the messages and advice in the book.

“Let’s take a look at negative overthinking. Studies show that getting stuck in your head, focusing on negative events (and therefore experiencing feelings of regret, self-blame), can be the biggest predictor of some of todays’ most common mental-health problems, such as anxiety and depression.”

The beginnings of the book are dedicated to how overthinking can have an impact on our physical and mental state — our bodies, our minds, our emotions, our relationships. Evidently, there is a strong connection between overthinking and anxiety, and also overthinking and depression.

There will be some moments where you recognise yourself in Gwendoline’s descriptions, and it can be a sobering moment. It’ll make you feel like picking up the book was the right decision.

Gwendoline has a really warm, inviting ‘voice’ in the book. Her language is easy to understand, and readers will find comfort in how she explains concepts and terminology.

The ‘homework’ in the book is structured like a therapy session — “It’s just you, me and the whiteboard” — and Gwendoline asks readers to reflect on what they’ve been worrying about. There are sections of the book where you’re encourage to write down your emotions and feelings, in an effort to confront your worrisome state of mind. This helps build a connection with the reader, and allows them to examine their own behaviour in a non-confronting manner.

“Look back on the worst situation you have ever been through in your life. You may have lost a parent, had a nasty divorce, lost your job. You are still here, so I’m guessing you got through it OK. It would appear that thinking based in truth could go more like this: ‘This isn’t great, but I’ve been through worse and made it to the other side.’”

Gwendoline acknowledges that there is a certain level of worrying that is healthy. If you’re a parent, for example, there are going to be moments when worrying about your family is natural. But it’s about understanding when that worrying tips over into the unhealthy, negative space.

I found the diagrams and accompanying visuals to be just as helpful as Gwendoline’s words. I’m a visual learner, so the charts or drawings really helped me understand how worrisome overthinking can be both understood, and confronted.

For any reader who feels overwhelmed by the content in the book, there is an appendix at the back with a lot of summary information, and there are summaries scattered throughout the book which will help ease readers as well.

“With endless overthinking the brain becomes hyper-vigilant, constantly on the lookout for anything it perceives to be dangerous or worrisome. This creates a state of living in fear and agitation.”

Truthfully, I read a lot of these books and I have yet to come across one that I really feel solves the problem. I’m not sure that any book — or multiple books — have the power to really stop a worrier from worrying all the time. I think it’s just important for people who are anxious and stressed to have these kinds of books on their shelves so they can pull them out in a moment of need.

I’m not sure that the homework in the book is necessary, and not sure how many readers will actually complete it. Instead, they may just follow it through in their minds, which could be just as helpful.

Recommended for the seasoned worrier. A quick read and suitable companion for a bookshelf.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Book of Overthinking
Gwendoline Smith
February 2020
Allen & Unwin Publishers

The Talking Cure by Professor Gillian Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship

The essence of successful therapy is the relationship between the therapist and the patient, a dance of growing trust and understanding. It is an intimate, messy, often surprising and sometimes confusing business -but when it works, it’s life-changing.

In The Talking Cure, psychotherapists Gill Straker and Jacqui Winship bring us nine inspiring stories of transformation.

They introduce us to their clients, fictional amalgams of real-life cases, and reveal how the art of talking and listening helps us to understand deep-seated issues that profoundly influence who we are in the world and how we see ourselves in relation to others. We come to understand that the transformative power of the therapeutic relationship can be replicated in our everyday lives by the simple practice of paying attention and being present with those we love.

Whether you have experienced therapy (or are tempted to try it), or you are just intrigued by the possibilities of a little-understood but transformative process, this wise and compassionate book will deepen your sense of what it is to be open to connection – and your appreciation that to be human is to be a little bit mad.

The Talking Cure by Professor Gillian Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship brings together eight common struggles brought to therapists.

In each chapter, we meet a different patient with a very different issue that they’re struggling with, and Gillian and Jacqui track their progress and break down their struggles for the reader. Whilst each story in this book is fictional — for confidentiality reasons — the patients are an amalgamation of real patients that exist in the world.

Each hidden struggle in the book is something that is commonly experienced by people within — and outside — of a therapist’s office, including difficult children, closed-off boyfriends, spouses shaken by an unexpected affair, people-pleasers, and more.

It’s quite surprising to recognise yourself in some of these patients. You find yourself genuinely fascinated to see some of your own behaviour in these fictional people, and you can’t help but glimpse the checklist at the end of each chapter to see how much of that ‘category’ you might fit into.

“Meredith had spent so much time thinking about Jade, and imagining her needs and wishes, that her capacity to observe and see her daughter’s actual needs and wishes was impaired. Jade had become a creation of Meredith’s own making.”

Insightful and interesting, The Talking Cure will entice many adult readers interested in learning more about psychology of humans. Don’t try to diagnose yourself with this book though. As I’ve mentioned, the stories in each of the chapters are fictitious and the checklists are merely there as a guide, so take this experience with a grain of salt.

“As I sat in the room with Charlene I experienced her loneliness. Yet even as she was sharing her distress, I felt strangely unmoved. I didn’t feel invited into her world. I felt spoken at rather than spoken to; it seemed to me that I was being asked to bear witness to a story Charlene was telling, but I was prohibited from participating in a dialogue with her.”

Admittedly, The Talking Cure feels a little formulaic after a while. You meet the patient, the psychiatrist reflects on what the ‘struggle’ is and what its effect is, the psychiatrist asks about their childhood and determines that their relationship with their parents and/or siblings explains how they are now, the psychiatrist asks questions to make the patient realise this on their own, and then there’s a checklist for readers to follow. It’s obviously part of the process, but to be completely honest, I was a bit bored by the 5th or 6th chapter.

Additionally, I found Gillian and Jacqui to be incredibly cold in their exchange with the patients (or at least their documented exchange), and truthfully, I never felt that I warmed to either of them throughout the book. There’s something removed about reading these stories, where you never really feel like you’re ‘there’. You feel like a fly on the wall, and sometimes it’s not that interesting.

I’d recommend this book to adult readers who are genuinely interested in the psychology of the human experience, but if you need a little guidance or help with your life, I don’t think this is the first book you should pick up in your journey.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Talking Cure: Normal people, their hidden struggles and the life-changing power of therapy
Professor Gillian Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship
June 2019
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Body for Rent by Anna Hendriks and Olivia Smit

Two ordinary young girls lured into the sex trade. The horrifying true story of life behind the curtains of Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

Growing up in a quiet, middle-class suburb outside of Amsterdam, childhood best friends Anna and Olivia had their whole lives ahead of them. But every parent’s worst nightmare came true when the teenagers fell in with the wrong crowd. Eleven years their senior, Ricardo was charming and good-looking – and Anna and Olivia easy prey. Blind to his grooming, the girls were soon trapped in a terrifying cycle of sexual and physical abuse.

But their nightmare was only just beginning.

Trafficked to the neon-lit windows of Amsterdam’s Red Light District, Anna and Oliva were forced to work as prostitutes, servicing countless men night after night against their will.

Body for Rent reveals the disturbing truth behind Amsterdam’s Red Light District, and the shocking ease with which ordinary girls can be exploited. But despite the unimaginable horrors they endured, the damage done to their bodies and their minds, their friendship remained as strong as ever, giving them hope that one day, they would escape…

Body for Rent by Anna Hendriks and Olivia Smit is a harrowing and shocking memoir from two women who were forced into prostitution in Amsterdam’s Red Light District as teenagers.

Anna and Olivia are childhood best friends who both grew up in unstable homes — Anna’s father left the family when she was young, and when Anna had the option of choosing which parent to live with, her mother said “If you go to live with him, I shall hang myself.” Anna’s relationship with her mother was forever strained, and her father’s attention was thereafter focused on his new girlfriend.

Olivia’s father was violent and abusive towards their mother and Olivia never felt she could form the right bond with her parents after the childhood she endured. When she met Anna, the two bonded over their dysfunctional home lives and found family in each other.

“It was Olivia who came up with the idea to write notes to the school, faking our parents’ signatures and saying that we were too ill to come to class. Although I was more than ready and very willing to play truant, she was the one with the guts to actually say it out loud that we should do it.”

Whilst Olivia and Anna desperately needed each other, their friendship was toxic. They skipped school, stole, and became heavily reliant on drugs and alcohol. And then they met Ricardo, an older man who slowly began grooming them for prostitution.

It would be easy for a reader to learn about this story and fail to understand how the girls became entrapped in this situation, but Anna and Olivia use their voices to educate readers on grooming, manipulation, control, and how easily young girls can find themselves in a similar situation.

At its core, Body for Rent is about friendship and the strength that it can give individuals — Anna and Olivia were able to get through their years of prostitution because they had each other for support. There were incredibly terrifying moments for each of them — abuse, violence, abortion, rape — but the girls always had each other to help pull through.

“Over. It was over. My first customer as a full-time window prostitute. I reached for the whisky, the Red Bull, cigarettes — and my phone. As much as I craved my numbing shot of alcohol and the soothing pull of nicotine into my lungs, my most urgent need was Olivia; I had to hear her voice, and feel the warmth of her love for me as I told her that it was done and I was safe.”

Highly recommended. At times, it’s hard to read. What happened to these girls is horrifying and just very upsetting, but Olivia and Anna wouldn’t be the only girls to have gone through this and I’m sure there are young girls currently going through this situation right now. It’s important to read these kinds of stories to understand how they happen so they can be recognised in the future.

Will the Red Light District change because of this book? Probably not, it’s a huge business and very popular. But will people who are naive about the workings of the Red Light District — like me — come to understand more about this world? Yes, they will. This book is important for educating society.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Body for Rent
Anna Hendriks and Olivia Smit
December 2019
Hachette Book Publishers