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hfjarmer's Reviews (394)
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein may just be the best book I’ve read so far this year.
I found the Goodreads summary a little underwhelming, so here’s my own take:
In Doppelganger, Klein draws from her personal experience of being mistaken for Naomi Wolf—a feminist scholar turned alt-right conspiracy theorist—to explore what she calls the “Mirror World.” This concept serves as a lens through which she examines the doppelgänger not just as a personal phenomenon, but as a broader cultural metaphor. It becomes a way to understand Western society’s fractured identity, as well as a surface-level dive into the alt-right political pipeline. Klein’s use of the doppelgänger as a device to reflect society back to itself is both compelling and effective.
What I appreciated most about Klein’s writing is that she doesn’t simply use the book to chastise individuals across the political spectrum. Instead, she digs into the roots of our increasingly polarized world, challenging the reader to examine their own beliefs. While Doppelganger is certainly not a defense of alt-right ideology or its enablers, it does offer nuanced reflections on how we might begin to bridge divides—anchored in the idea that true power lies not in individualism, but in collective action.
Klein uses the COVID-19 pandemic as a jumping off point into the Mirror World, conducting a sort of post-mortem on how lockdowns affected society well beyond physical health. The result is a thought-provoking and timely exploration of identity, ideology, and the strange parallel realities we now inhabit.
I took pages and pages of notes while reading this, and I highly recommend it.
I found the Goodreads summary a little underwhelming, so here’s my own take:
In Doppelganger, Klein draws from her personal experience of being mistaken for Naomi Wolf—a feminist scholar turned alt-right conspiracy theorist—to explore what she calls the “Mirror World.” This concept serves as a lens through which she examines the doppelgänger not just as a personal phenomenon, but as a broader cultural metaphor. It becomes a way to understand Western society’s fractured identity, as well as a surface-level dive into the alt-right political pipeline. Klein’s use of the doppelgänger as a device to reflect society back to itself is both compelling and effective.
What I appreciated most about Klein’s writing is that she doesn’t simply use the book to chastise individuals across the political spectrum. Instead, she digs into the roots of our increasingly polarized world, challenging the reader to examine their own beliefs. While Doppelganger is certainly not a defense of alt-right ideology or its enablers, it does offer nuanced reflections on how we might begin to bridge divides—anchored in the idea that true power lies not in individualism, but in collective action.
Klein uses the COVID-19 pandemic as a jumping off point into the Mirror World, conducting a sort of post-mortem on how lockdowns affected society well beyond physical health. The result is a thought-provoking and timely exploration of identity, ideology, and the strange parallel realities we now inhabit.
I took pages and pages of notes while reading this, and I highly recommend it.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Okay SO, don't let the 3.5 fool you, I did really enjoy reading this, but I put it down and lost some steam which I think tainted my reading experience in the end. I'll keep this short and sweet with a classic pro/con list.
Pros:
- I really enjoyed Saeris and Fisher's dynamic. The romance scenes had me giggling and I thought they had great chemistry/banter by and large.
- I liked that the world was beyond just your typical fae realm and incorporated a lot of different types of mythical creatures all in one
- I got to go head empty, no thoughts mode here which is exactly what I wanted to achieve out of this book
Cons:
- I would have liked a little more worldbuilding, if 2D is surface level and 3D is immersive, this was about 2.5D. I liked the world but for the context of the larger story I wish we got a little more.
-I know this sounds counter to my previous point, but this book also should've been 100 pages shorter. If those 100 pages were well spent, the length would be fine, but as it is, we really could've lost a few pages.
- The last quarter felt like a different book. I hate how fantasy books all happen in the last 25% and I was left with a lot of questions which I feel should have been answered for the sake of the story feeling complete. There were quite a few plot points toward the end that seemed to come out of nowhere which frustrated me and not necessarily just for the sake of set up for book 2.
All that being said, I will almost definitely read the second book.
Pros:
- I really enjoyed Saeris and Fisher's dynamic. The romance scenes had me giggling and I thought they had great chemistry/banter by and large.
- I liked that the world was beyond just your typical fae realm and incorporated a lot of different types of mythical creatures all in one
- I got to go head empty, no thoughts mode here which is exactly what I wanted to achieve out of this book
Cons:
- I would have liked a little more worldbuilding, if 2D is surface level and 3D is immersive, this was about 2.5D. I liked the world but for the context of the larger story I wish we got a little more.
-I know this sounds counter to my previous point, but this book also should've been 100 pages shorter. If those 100 pages were well spent, the length would be fine, but as it is, we really could've lost a few pages.
- The last quarter felt like a different book. I hate how fantasy books all happen in the last 25% and I was left with a lot of questions which I feel should have been answered for the sake of the story feeling complete. There were quite a few plot points toward the end that seemed to come out of nowhere which frustrated me and not necessarily just for the sake of set up for book 2.
All that being said, I will almost definitely read the second book.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nobody is Ever Missing follows Elyria (name slay) as she descends into a downward mental spiral and de-realization, abandoning her husband without warning and fleeing to New Zealand. There, she wanders aimlessly, searching for something even she can’t define. The novel feels like The Guest meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation—a self-destruction narrative that will either resonate deeply or frustrate readers with its detached, meandering style.
I was drawn to what Elyria describes as her "wildebeest" form—that raw, animalistic self-destruction. Lacey’s writing has moments of brilliance, and as Elyria unravels further, the prose mirrors her disorientation, becoming increasingly manic and difficult to follow.
On paper, this book had everything I love—fractured, self-destructive protagonist, stream-of-consciousness narration, a woman unraveling in real time—but something was missing for me to fully connect. I found myself more gripped by her present breakdown than the flashbacks explaining how she got there, which left me feeling distanced from the story in a way I wish I hadn’t. I wanted more in some places, less in others, but ultimately, I wanted to feel it more than I did.
I was drawn to what Elyria describes as her "wildebeest" form—that raw, animalistic self-destruction. Lacey’s writing has moments of brilliance, and as Elyria unravels further, the prose mirrors her disorientation, becoming increasingly manic and difficult to follow.
On paper, this book had everything I love—fractured, self-destructive protagonist, stream-of-consciousness narration, a woman unraveling in real time—but something was missing for me to fully connect. I found myself more gripped by her present breakdown than the flashbacks explaining how she got there, which left me feeling distanced from the story in a way I wish I hadn’t. I wanted more in some places, less in others, but ultimately, I wanted to feel it more than I did.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Paladin’s Grace is a cozy, comforting read—perfect for when you want to disappear into a story and keep your heart rate steady. The premise is intriguing without feeling like cookie-cutter fantasy, and the plot moves along at a steady pace without high-stakes urgency.
The story follows Grace, a master perfumer running from a past life, and Stephen, a paladin whose god is dead, leaving him struggling to find his place in the world. Their chance encounter at the beginning is a comical, somewhat untoward meet-cute, and their connection blossoms from there. I can’t stress enough how refreshing it was to read a fantasy novel where the main characters are fully grown adults in their 30s.
Stephen’s knitting is absolutely to die for, though I have to admit the berserker element felt a bit overplayed by the end. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will likely continue the series when I’m in the mood for another light, whimsical escape.
The story follows Grace, a master perfumer running from a past life, and Stephen, a paladin whose god is dead, leaving him struggling to find his place in the world. Their chance encounter at the beginning is a comical, somewhat untoward meet-cute, and their connection blossoms from there. I can’t stress enough how refreshing it was to read a fantasy novel where the main characters are fully grown adults in their 30s.
Stephen’s knitting is absolutely to die for, though I have to admit the berserker element felt a bit overplayed by the end. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will likely continue the series when I’m in the mood for another light, whimsical escape.
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funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cold Comfort Farm follows 19-year-old Flora Poste, who, after the death of her parents and discovering her meager inheritance of £100 per year, decides that instead of getting a job (queen), she’ll write to distant relatives in hopes of securing a place to live. This plan lands her at Cold Comfort Farm in Sussex after receiving a reply from her cousin Judith, who alludes to Flora’s supposed “rights” to the farm due to some long-ago wrongdoing suffered by her father at the hands of the Starkadder family.
A parody of the rural farm novels popular at the time of its publication, Cold Comfort Farm had me worried that the humor wouldn’t translate well for modern readers—but I was pleasantly surprised to find the opposite. The novel is packed with delightfully inane and eccentric characters, all of whom Flora immediately sets out to reform. The plot is somewhat reminiscent of Emma, with a “woman of society and culture” taking it upon herself to “fix” people, molding them into a neater, more civilized existence. Her greatest challenge? Aunt Ada Doom, who—I believe, but don’t quote me on this—saw something nasty in the woodshed.
Silly, sharp, and brimming with personality, Cold Comfort Farm is a playful and refreshing take on a genre that can often lean serious. A classic.
A parody of the rural farm novels popular at the time of its publication, Cold Comfort Farm had me worried that the humor wouldn’t translate well for modern readers—but I was pleasantly surprised to find the opposite. The novel is packed with delightfully inane and eccentric characters, all of whom Flora immediately sets out to reform. The plot is somewhat reminiscent of Emma, with a “woman of society and culture” taking it upon herself to “fix” people, molding them into a neater, more civilized existence. Her greatest challenge? Aunt Ada Doom, who—I believe, but don’t quote me on this—saw something nasty in the woodshed.
Silly, sharp, and brimming with personality, Cold Comfort Farm is a playful and refreshing take on a genre that can often lean serious. A classic.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The final installment of the Red Rising trilogy had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I was completely immersed in this world, unable to pull myself away. Pierce Brown masterfully creates characters you love, hate, tolerate, and want to shake—despite the sci-fi, dystopian setting, they feel so real that I found myself frustrated with them as if I were right there on that ship.
What sets this series apart is Brown’s willingness to genuinely shock his readers. Few fantasy authors have the boldness to kill off a main character , but this daring choice adds a level of authenticity and stakes that I often find lacking in the broader sci-fi/fantasy genre.
I highly recommend this series to almost anyone—it’s a gripping, emotional, and unpredictable ride that stays with you long after the final page.
What sets this series apart is Brown’s willingness to genuinely shock his readers. Few fantasy authors have the boldness to
I highly recommend this series to almost anyone—it’s a gripping, emotional, and unpredictable ride that stays with you long after the final page.
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I Who Have Never Read A Book Like This Before - This haunting short novel is one of the most eerie and original works of fiction I've ever read. The premise is striking in its simplicity, yet it unravels into something deeply unsettling - a study of what remains when everything else that makes us human is stripped away, leading us to the core question: what makes us human?
Much like the main character, the reader loses hope of ever fully understanding what has happened in this world, yet the suspense and lingering possibility of answers keeps you turning the page. Every sentence serves a purpose, and the sheer originality of the storytelling left me constantly wondering "Who on earth would think of this?"
My absolute favorite aspect of this novel was seeing the main character - who we know simply as "child" despite her aging - grapple with the limited knowledge available to her, using it to problem-solve and make sense of the world around her, the only world she has ever known. “Because I want to know! Sometimes, you can use what you know, but that's not what counts most. I want to know everything there is to know. Not because it's any use, but for the pleasure of knowing, and now I demand that you teach me everything you know, even if I will never be able to use it.” Her extract meaning and extrapolate the smallest fragments of information, in a reality where she seems to be the sole inhabitant, was mesmerizing. It is one of those books that lingers on your mind long after you put it down.
Much like the main character, the reader loses hope of ever fully understanding what has happened in this world, yet the suspense and lingering possibility of answers keeps you turning the page. Every sentence serves a purpose, and the sheer originality of the storytelling left me constantly wondering "Who on earth would think of this?"
My absolute favorite aspect of this novel was seeing the main character - who we know simply as "child" despite her aging - grapple with the limited knowledge available to her, using it to problem-solve and make sense of the world around her, the only world she has ever known. “Because I want to know! Sometimes, you can use what you know, but that's not what counts most. I want to know everything there is to know. Not because it's any use, but for the pleasure of knowing, and now I demand that you teach me everything you know, even if I will never be able to use it.” Her extract meaning and extrapolate the smallest fragments of information, in a reality where she seems to be the sole inhabitant, was mesmerizing. It is one of those books that lingers on your mind long after you put it down.
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
American Bulk: Essays on Excess is a thought-provoking collection of essays-turned-memoir in which Emily Mester confronts a childhood and culture shaped by overconsumption—the hypothetical "capitalism final boss." While the collection started off a bit slow for me, as I moved through her essays, I found her insights speaking to a broader audience: the American consumer. She weaves her own experiences with a larger critique of the deep-rooted excess in American culture, forcing readers to confront the ugly truths of capitalism, examine their own consumption habits, and challenge the complacency behind the phrase, "no ethical consumption under capitalism."
Beyond its content, Mester’s writing is technically phenomenal. I often found myself marveling at her word choices, just as captivated by her language as I was by the stories she told. I reccommend American Bulk to anyone wishing to explore their own relationship with consumption or just seeking a refreshing new essay collection.
Beyond its content, Mester’s writing is technically phenomenal. I often found myself marveling at her word choices, just as captivated by her language as I was by the stories she told. I reccommend American Bulk to anyone wishing to explore their own relationship with consumption or just seeking a refreshing new essay collection.
I don't even really know where to begin with this book, there is so much that could be said. In short, I loved it. Yellowface was like a train wreck that I just could not look away from.
Yellowface is the story of a white author who capitalizes on the death of an Asian-American author (and "friend") by publishing the late author's unfinished work about Chinese laborers in WWI. What is brilliant about R.F. Kuang's storytelling here, is that she really forces the reader to come to their own conclusions regarding the morality of the situation. On one hand, you have June who is clearly capitalizing off the work of an AAPI author, both socially and monetarily. On the other hand, Kuang paints Athena to be just as bad of a person in many ways. I absolutely LOVE an unreliable narrator, and having the story narrated through June, the plagiarizer, was genius. Allowing June the space to console herself for her own crimes made Yellowface all the juicier. June prides herself on never technically lying to anyone about what has occurred, but the world we live in is full of nuances that ultimately led
I am typically pretty anti-contemporary fiction. There is something about reading a novel that takes place in present day that really takes me out of a story, and it often reads as cringy pandering. I did not feel that way about Yellowface. Kuang's employment of social media as a means to drive the story was riveting and so well done that it was like watching an online controversy in real life.
Reading as a white woman, it was so intriguing to me to see the ways June, despite efforts to appear culturally sensitive/inclusive, always reverted back to her whiteness in times of discomfort. Her brand is supposed to be this sociopolitically in-tune author who takes on larger issues and gives a voice to the marginalized, but we see her discomfort in that space any time she comes under threat. One such example is when June complains that she had to write about Chinese people because her work is not diverse enough, and the publishing industry only wants "their" stories, to the point where she now feels she is suffering the same marginalization as POC authors. She's delulu. She becomes the victim. June is a great example of whiteness even outside of the publishing world. June claims she wants to do as much as she can for the AAPI community, but only when she herself is doing well (again, socially/monetarily). This is exemplary of a larger issue, of white people with any social, political, financial, or cultural power saying they want to lift up marginalized voices and advocate for equality, but only as long as they themselves are still at the top of the food chain, so to speak.
My one qualm with the novel which relegated it to 4-stars instead of 5-stars, was the ending. For me, the Candice debacle was not carried enough throughout the entire book for the ending to feel authentic. June thinking she was being haunted by Athena's ghost just simply felt too gimmicky for me and I feel like there could have been an ending that was better suited for the novel.
Many reviewers are faulting Kuang for using "too much of her own voice" in this novel and I can't help but disagree here. Kuang does an excellent job of utilizing (what may be) her real life experiences, but through the lens of someone like June. This novel following The Poppy War series and Babel, just highlight's Kuang's incredible range. I am excited to see what she comes out with next!
Yellowface is the story of a white author who capitalizes on the death of an Asian-American author (and "friend") by publishing the late author's unfinished work about Chinese laborers in WWI. What is brilliant about R.F. Kuang's storytelling here, is that she really forces the reader to come to their own conclusions regarding the morality of the situation. On one hand, you have June who is clearly capitalizing off the work of an AAPI author, both socially and monetarily. On the other hand, Kuang paints Athena to be just as bad of a person in many ways. I absolutely LOVE an unreliable narrator, and having the story narrated through June, the plagiarizer, was genius. Allowing June the space to console herself for her own crimes made Yellowface all the juicier. June prides herself on never technically lying to anyone about what has occurred, but the world we live in is full of nuances that ultimately led
Spoiler
to June's downfallI am typically pretty anti-contemporary fiction. There is something about reading a novel that takes place in present day that really takes me out of a story, and it often reads as cringy pandering. I did not feel that way about Yellowface. Kuang's employment of social media as a means to drive the story was riveting and so well done that it was like watching an online controversy in real life.
Reading as a white woman, it was so intriguing to me to see the ways June, despite efforts to appear culturally sensitive/inclusive, always reverted back to her whiteness in times of discomfort. Her brand is supposed to be this sociopolitically in-tune author who takes on larger issues and gives a voice to the marginalized, but we see her discomfort in that space any time she comes under threat. One such example is when June complains that she had to write about Chinese people because her work is not diverse enough, and the publishing industry only wants "their" stories, to the point where she now feels she is suffering the same marginalization as POC authors. She's delulu. She becomes the victim. June is a great example of whiteness even outside of the publishing world. June claims she wants to do as much as she can for the AAPI community, but only when she herself is doing well (again, socially/monetarily). This is exemplary of a larger issue, of white people with any social, political, financial, or cultural power saying they want to lift up marginalized voices and advocate for equality, but only as long as they themselves are still at the top of the food chain, so to speak.
My one qualm with the novel which relegated it to 4-stars instead of 5-stars, was the ending. For me, the Candice debacle was not carried enough throughout the entire book for the ending to feel authentic. June thinking she was being haunted by Athena's ghost just simply felt too gimmicky for me and I feel like there could have been an ending that was better suited for the novel.
Many reviewers are faulting Kuang for using "too much of her own voice" in this novel and I can't help but disagree here. Kuang does an excellent job of utilizing (what may be) her real life experiences, but through the lens of someone like June. This novel following The Poppy War series and Babel, just highlight's Kuang's incredible range. I am excited to see what she comes out with next!
Coming off reading Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (and not loving it), I was really looking forward to reading another novel in that same literary vein to scratch that Austenian itch. Age of Innocence was almost that book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I loved the portrait of 1870s New York we got, especially as a fan of the "proper English society" genre this was a refreshing setting. I was certainly dissapointed by the ending, and felt as though Wharton essentially gave up on her own story 2/3 of the way through. There were so many avenues she could have taken to tie this novel together, and ultimately it fell flat.
I really enjoyed the characters and, though the plot was lacking, the characters were all so well portrayed that I felt I could predict their responses to nearly anything. Newland definitely strikes me as a modern day version of a mansplainer who thinks he's a feminist and I enjoyed watching him sniff after the first woman who is in any way different from the society he was molded by. Men are so simple.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I loved the portrait of 1870s New York we got, especially as a fan of the "proper English society" genre this was a refreshing setting. I was certainly dissapointed by the ending, and felt as though Wharton essentially gave up on her own story 2/3 of the way through. There were so many avenues she could have taken to tie this novel together, and ultimately it fell flat.
I really enjoyed the characters and, though the plot was lacking, the characters were all so well portrayed that I felt I could predict their responses to nearly anything. Newland definitely strikes me as a modern day version of a mansplainer who thinks he's a feminist and I enjoyed watching him sniff after the first woman who is in any way different from the society he was molded by. Men are so simple.