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jennyv24's review
3.0
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads
I am not a big poetry reader, so this book wasn’t something I would normally gravitate towards. The author does an excellent job getting the reader to have all the feels. The dark topics that the author addresses in her poems make this a book something that cannot be rushed through. Had this book been a regular novel, I would have been able to finish in less than a day. However, after reading each poem I would find myself reflecting and trying to put myself in the author’s situation, trying to figure what was going through her head when she wrote each and every one of these. The reader can clearly see that the writer of these poems pours her heart out and is so raw with her emotions, it feels so real.
I am not a big poetry reader, so this book wasn’t something I would normally gravitate towards. The author does an excellent job getting the reader to have all the feels. The dark topics that the author addresses in her poems make this a book something that cannot be rushed through. Had this book been a regular novel, I would have been able to finish in less than a day. However, after reading each poem I would find myself reflecting and trying to put myself in the author’s situation, trying to figure what was going through her head when she wrote each and every one of these. The reader can clearly see that the writer of these poems pours her heart out and is so raw with her emotions, it feels so real.
nasathespaceship's review
2.0
In compliance with FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
This poetry collection was slightly higher than 2 stars, maybe 2.5. There were somewhere near 100 poems in this book and out of those 100 poems, I only really liked (connected to?) about 10 of them. At the end of this review, I'll list some of those and some of the more memorable quotes in my opinion because I did enjoy some of it. Where do I start? ... Maybe it is because I am a little bit younger that I didn't personally feel a strong connection to any of these pieces. After reading the description of this book and the introduction, Sadness Becomes Her (which I thought was really well done and actually might like it more than some of the actual poems), I would have thought that I would enjoy this book more. Sometimes I felt like the poems went by too quickly and some of the metaphors and similes I had heard before. There was also a fair amount of cursing in the poems and I personally did not feel like a lot of it was necessary. It came out being sort of crude and out of place. Additionally, there were a couple of poems that contained some sexual themes, which is fine within itself seeing that it is a part of the human experience, but -- I don't know -- they just did not work for me. Yeah. I feel like it could have been done better. I am a lover of the spoken word and I read a lot of poetry, but something about this collection as a whole didn't quite click with me. BUT, on the brighter side some of the individual pieces did. Here is my list of my favorite poems from the collection and some quotes that I liked...
~ BLUE DIRT PRINCESS ~
~ SNAKESKIN AND THE INEVITABLE SIN ~
~ ARMY OF PASSION ~
~ POPCORN GIRLS ~
~ REJECTION LETTER ~
~ CONFESSIONS OF A CHRONIC BLEEDER ~ (Probably my favorite.)
~ WHY I LIKE PEPPER ~
~ SLEEP YOU AWAY ~
**Quotes**
"He says, 'It's been a long day.'
I say, 'It's been a long illusion of life.'
And we reach in unison to turn out the lights.
Then we scrape off our face paint with a knife." -- from Confessions of a Chronic Bleeder
"Pepper gets teased by freedom then consumed
by ungrateful mouths
but sometimes gets revenge
by hanging around a few extra seconds in lip cuts.
Pepper is dark like me." -- from Why I Like Pepper
So, while this book is not going to become a favorite of mine, I might revisit it in the future and I wouldn't totally be against trying something else by Casey Renee Kiser.
This poetry collection was slightly higher than 2 stars, maybe 2.5. There were somewhere near 100 poems in this book and out of those 100 poems, I only really liked (connected to?) about 10 of them. At the end of this review, I'll list some of those and some of the more memorable quotes in my opinion because I did enjoy some of it. Where do I start? ... Maybe it is because I am a little bit younger that I didn't personally feel a strong connection to any of these pieces. After reading the description of this book and the introduction, Sadness Becomes Her (which I thought was really well done and actually might like it more than some of the actual poems), I would have thought that I would enjoy this book more. Sometimes I felt like the poems went by too quickly and some of the metaphors and similes I had heard before. There was also a fair amount of cursing in the poems and I personally did not feel like a lot of it was necessary. It came out being sort of crude and out of place. Additionally, there were a couple of poems that contained some sexual themes, which is fine within itself seeing that it is a part of the human experience, but -- I don't know -- they just did not work for me. Yeah. I feel like it could have been done better. I am a lover of the spoken word and I read a lot of poetry, but something about this collection as a whole didn't quite click with me. BUT, on the brighter side some of the individual pieces did. Here is my list of my favorite poems from the collection and some quotes that I liked...
~ BLUE DIRT PRINCESS ~
~ SNAKESKIN AND THE INEVITABLE SIN ~
~ ARMY OF PASSION ~
~ POPCORN GIRLS ~
~ REJECTION LETTER ~
~ CONFESSIONS OF A CHRONIC BLEEDER ~ (Probably my favorite.)
~ WHY I LIKE PEPPER ~
~ SLEEP YOU AWAY ~
**Quotes**
"He says, 'It's been a long day.'
I say, 'It's been a long illusion of life.'
And we reach in unison to turn out the lights.
Then we scrape off our face paint with a knife." -- from Confessions of a Chronic Bleeder
"Pepper gets teased by freedom then consumed
by ungrateful mouths
but sometimes gets revenge
by hanging around a few extra seconds in lip cuts.
Pepper is dark like me." -- from Why I Like Pepper
So, while this book is not going to become a favorite of mine, I might revisit it in the future and I wouldn't totally be against trying something else by Casey Renee Kiser.
mckenzierichardson's review
5.0
I received a copy from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.
I don't normally read poetry, but for a collection with such an intriguing title, I made an exception. And I am very glad I did.
The best way to describe the appeal of Kiser's writing is beautifully ugly imagery. She painted amazing pictures in my mind with her words and things as simple as "cotton candy shower" and "'dry clean only' heart" took my breath away.
All of the poems have a wonderful flow to them yet there is a tremendous variety in tone, rhyme scheme, and language. While many of the subjects are dark and sorrowful, they are presented with a wit and humor that do not leave the reader feeling down and alone, but rather enfolds the reader in their words and offers a fellow traveller in the journey that is human life.
Even if you don't like poetry, give this collection a try.
I don't normally read poetry, but for a collection with such an intriguing title, I made an exception. And I am very glad I did.
The best way to describe the appeal of Kiser's writing is beautifully ugly imagery. She painted amazing pictures in my mind with her words and things as simple as "cotton candy shower" and "'dry clean only' heart" took my breath away.
All of the poems have a wonderful flow to them yet there is a tremendous variety in tone, rhyme scheme, and language. While many of the subjects are dark and sorrowful, they are presented with a wit and humor that do not leave the reader feeling down and alone, but rather enfolds the reader in their words and offers a fellow traveller in the journey that is human life.
Even if you don't like poetry, give this collection a try.
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