hfjarmer's Reviews (394)

I am not typically one to read reviews and book analyses before deciding on a rating, but this book was an exception. The primary reason for this was that while reading (actually, listening since I enjoyed this in an audiobook format) I could loosely connect the characters and their respective power dynamics to a larger social-political-economic picture, but without much knowledge of the time period during which One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest takes place, I didn't feel I could accurately judge the book until I had some further context.

I was immediately drawn into the "world" Kesey created upon introduction to our narrator - Chief Bromden. Utilizing a character who is presumed to be deaf and dumb by the other patients and hospital staff alike is one of the most intriguing narrative perspectives I've ever read. Bromden was essentially a 6 foot 7 inch fly on the wall for all of the hospital's goings on, and I absolutely loved his perspective.

And obviously you cannot discuss this book without talking about ol' McMurphy, our resident peace disturber who shakes things up on this psych ward. I think my favorite aspect of McMurphy's character is how he "lifts the fog" (as Bromden describes it) of the monotony of daily life for the patients. He is a living symbol to them of all the injustices they face on the ward and out in the real world and I think this metaphor is the most powerful of the whole book.

In reading more about this book, I saw another review that says Cuckoo's Nest, "focuses on the modern paradox of trying to be human in the well-oiled machine of a capitalist democracy, where you must be either a savior or a slave." McMurphy represents chaos and freedom from the system that is designed to keep people down, he challenges the idea of sticking to the status quo and remaining afraid to break the mold in favor of "lifting the fog" and designing a life of your own.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest will stick with me for years to come. I loved the characters and their respective stories as well as what the book discusses socially. I already find myself eager to read more perspectives and interpretations of Kesey's work, and I have a feeling that I've only begun to scratch the surface of what I can learn from this novel.

Hunger Games meets A Court of Thorns and Roses.

I completely understand why this book is popular among ACOTAR fans, but even so was a little surprised to see it has an overall rating of 4.5. I really enjoyed this book, it was a perfect, mindless romance. The main character - Oraya - had all the strength, willpower, and wit of some of my favorite fantasy FMCs and her entanglement with Raihn was inevitable and a classic of the enemies to allies to lovers trope. Broadbent's writing is descriptive, easy and engrossing in a similar vein to the SJM writing I've come to love.

My main complaint about this book is just that I wanted more detail. For all its 532 pages, I felt a lot of background and depth were missing within the world she has built here. The characters were relatively surface level and the world itself, while interesting, lacked detail. While the twists were certainly shocking, I think they would have packed a harder punch if the reader was provided the background needed for a full impact. I wanted more depth on Oraya, why was she so hellbent on finding her human family and what she wanted to actually do if she won the Kjari. How did we go from "I'm just a human" for the entire book to

Spoiler

I'm maybe half vampire and the heir to the Hiaj vampires

? That was really lacking for me. Same situation with Raihn.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and if I need another simple, quick, and juicy romance, I might be persuaded to pick up the second, but as of now, I'm not dying to read it.

Okay...I feel like being a little disappointed has been a theme for the last few books I've read and unfortunately this one is in that category as well.

This book received a LOT of hype, and it isn't that it was a bad book or a boring story, it's just that I expected more. It isn't primarily a romance novel, but the amount of discussion around the great queer love stories in this book led me to believe otherwise. In all, there were probably six total chapters of ~romance~ of any kind, throughout the entire 800 page book. I love the representation, but I wanted more more more.

Speaking of the length, I get world building is important in fantasy novels, and I was happy to be reading fantasy that was not faerie or vampire-based, but for the entire plot to be wrapped up in the last 20 pages of an 800 page novel is criminal behavior. I also had a really difficult time visually connecting with this book. Typically when I read, it's like a movie in my head, but for some reason I was just getting snippets as I read Priory, which made me feel a bit disconnected from the plot.

Things I did like: The number of strong female characters in this book, the magic system and lore, the picture of a world divided.

Overall, this is a good book, but it did not come even close to living up to the hype, in my opinion.

I overall enjoyed this book. I was engaged throughout the story, and I found it relaxing to read a book that wasn't seeking to create a massive adrenaline rush in the reader. There are no huge twists, no gut-wrenching drama, it is simply a story. Despite liking the easy-going nature of The Vanishing Half, this book did leave me wanting more. Brit Bennett touches on a lot of topics in this book - racism, domestic abuse, queerness, and classism - among others. I finished this book and felt I had read a story, but didn't feel overly moved to reflect on anything in particular, I felt unsure of what I was to glean from the story. I wish she had explored these topics in more depth.

I was pleasantly surprised by the trans story line in the book, and really loved Jude and Reese's relationship. I wish we had gotten more from Reese's story line in particular, but considering the four different narratives/story lines that we flipped back and forth between, I'm not really sure that was possible.

Overall, I thought this was an enjoyable story about identity and the ways our communities shape us.

Was this good? No. Did I read ravenously? Yes.

This book was exactly what I expected it to be. No more, no less.
Legends and Lattes follows an ork named Viv who leaves her life of headhunting behind to pursue her dream of opening a coffee shop, a "gnomish" delicacy and totally new concept to the people of Thune. The story is the embodiment of a perfect story plot line with a distinct intro, rising action, conflict, resolution format. The story is incredibly cozy and I could picture myself in the warm and inviting environment of Legends and Lattes. A simple and mindless read in all the right ways.

The one thing I've learned about myself is Jane Austen is likely to be the only author to ever convince me to read romance. There is just something about the feelings "You pierce my soul" evoked in me that no other author has come close to producing. Persuasion follows Anne Elliot, daughter of the incredibly vain Baronet Sir Walter Elliot and sister to the exceptionally pompous Elizabeth and ever-hysterical Mary. Finding themselves in a financial predicament, the Elliot family plans to move to Bath, to conserve funds. To produce an air of doing a favor, they let Kellynch estate to admirable Admiral Croft and his wife. Mrs. Croft is the sister of one Captain Frederick Wentworth, Anne's former fiancé. Tragically, Anne was persuaded (ding ding ding) to break off her engagement with Wentworth at the time, due to his lower position in society and lack of fortune. After weeks of forced proximity (as their families keep each other's company quite frequently), overcoming the attentions of cousin Elliot and Louisa Musgrove to Anne and Wentworth, respectively, Wentworth finally admits his unending love for Anne. They have been longing, yearning, pining for each other all these 8 years.
 
Persuasion is a tale of influence, lost love, and the familial duties of women. This novel draws excellent attention to intricacies of match-making during Austen's lifetime. Her characters never fail to amuse me, and I particularly loved Mary's character, as her absolutely inane and over-the-top personality is one of my favorite aspects of Austen's writing. The subtleties and nuances she writes in her character interactions are truly artful. Also, I'm very sad to say, I thought the movie was completely awful.

This story follows April May, a 23-year-old graphic designer/starving artist living in NYC. April discovers a large transformer-like sculpture on her way home from the startup where she works at 3am. She promptly calls her friend Andy, who meets her in front of the giant 'sculpture' despite the early/late hour and they film a pretend news YouTube video in which they dub the sculpture "Carl". Come to find out, Carls have appeared in almost every major city across the world. April and Andy, along with a group of friends (new and old) unlock the secrets behind these beings, believing them to be extraterrestrial in nature, and sent to unite humanity. It is a tale of the goodness of humanity, the toxicity of media, and the fragility of the human ego. 

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I ended up liking it. I am a long-time fan of Hank Green's and fellow fans of his will be delighted to see all the 'Hank-isms' sprinkled throughout this book. Hanks' personality certainly shines through in his writing and his faith in the goodness of humanity feels contagious. That being said, I feel the story could have been better executed, though he certainly hit a stride in the last third of the book. I listened to the audiobook version of this, and felt it hindered my experience, the narrator made the book feel more cheesy and cliché sounding than I think it would have if read on my own. Despite all this, I will still be reading A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (non-audio this time).