Media diet, September
Sep. 28th, 2021 18:15![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
superborbIt's really hilarious how quickly I'll read an ebook that's on my phone vs one I have a physical copy of, and I really think it's that I can hold the phone one handed... I never feel motivated to read on my bf's ebook reader either. Do they make tiny e-ink devices? Are those too limited by screen refresh rates to be doable? Anyway, I have three physical library books + a gazillion unread ones sitting on my bookshelf and those have stayed unopened all month. Alternatively, the time pressure of an ebook that disappears in two weeks vs a physical book that I can have out for months...
Detention (2019): supernatural psychological horror movie set during Taiwan's White Terror. I think the horror was more-- atmospheric and then the true horror was, of course, the "real world" part of it. The symbolism was uh, extremely overt! Typical of the horror genre. I was not fully satisfied that [rot13 spoiler] gur Svany Bar Fgnaqvat vf gur obl, bs pbhefr, ercerfragvat ubcr sbe gur shgher, but it was foreshadowed from early on, I GUESS. Overall I liked it and would recommend! Note that a student-teacher relationship is pretty central to the story.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner: memoir about growing up half-Korean in rural Oregon and taking care of her mother as she died of pancreatic cancer. I was worried going in because the author is quite young to write a memoir, which usually leads to a bland, not-very-thoughtful book. The angsty teenage bits, I did find especially uncompelling, but the parts about caretaking for her mother were deeply affecting. The food descriptions had to struggle for that balance of how much and how to explain unfamiliar foods, but when it hit, it hit; I definitely came away with a serious craving for raw octopus, among others. I would probably only recommend this for people who like memoirs.
Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold: overly invested cocktail book. Never have I hated reading a physical book more (so heavy!), but I think this is just a cookbook thing bc people like having them lie flat. Anyway, overly invested stuff is my favorite. This isn't a great match for me content wise because I... don't really have an extensive list of cocktails I've tried? But the ideas in it were interesting. Personally, the places this fell flat were when the author was trying to explain a physical or chemical phenomenon and it fell into the "this is being pretentiously worded and yet is not a full explanation" pit. I did buy a refractometer (useful since I'm making a lot of shrubs!), but the centrifuge is a no from me for reasons of scary. Would recommend for nerds.
Becoming Eve by Abby Stein: memoir about growing up Hasidic while trans. I had the same reservation about young-memoir writer here, but in this case, it was saved by the very loving and evenhanded view of a world that's not often encountered realistically in books. This was a fast, engaging read, though if you experience dysphoria some parts might not be as easy. I think you'd like this if you were interested in reading about the Hasidic experience, as that was the bulk of the memoir.
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino: descriptions of imaginary cities through a frame story of a conversation. This was my second attempt at this book and I still Don't Get It. The prose is lovely and each city is fascinating! I just don't really understand it as a complete work?
Day of Becoming You (DNF): a male idol and female entertainment reporter swap bodies and shenanigans ensue. While I was away on vacation, the group watch I usually join (hilariously in the Qihun server) perfectly timed watching the whole show, so I tried to watch by myself. However, the second hand embarrassment was just too high ><. By suggestion, I tried to skip to halfway through, after the main characters are friends, but it was still too much. There were really cute scenes! Maybe one day my tolerance for second hand embarrassment will get better and I can watch this. Or I'll watch enough of the cute scenes to string together the plot lol.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong: a very poetic + experimental in style book about a Vietnamese-American boy growing up, intertwined with his family history. I read this for a book club, and am really glad I did, because discussion about it really clarified what worked and didn't work for me (and it was interesting to hear what worked for other people). I really liked the flashback structure that left the timeline to be inferred; it was really an exercise in how little could be said and still be fully understandable. I was not super in love with the poetic wording (though it obviously worked for others), and therefore felt like the book, despite being quite short, ran long for me. I also liked the way that Paul, the grandpa, and Trevor, the love interest, were placed, the way the imagery was green and living around both of them. Overall, I expect this is one of the major modern Asian-American works, and it definitely earned that status. For me, the poetry of it did put all the events at quite a distance, so despite the heavy matter, it wasn't that heavy a read? YMMV of course on that one.
Detention (2019): supernatural psychological horror movie set during Taiwan's White Terror. I think the horror was more-- atmospheric and then the true horror was, of course, the "real world" part of it. The symbolism was uh, extremely overt! Typical of the horror genre. I was not fully satisfied that [rot13 spoiler] gur Svany Bar Fgnaqvat vf gur obl, bs pbhefr, ercerfragvat ubcr sbe gur shgher, but it was foreshadowed from early on, I GUESS. Overall I liked it and would recommend! Note that a student-teacher relationship is pretty central to the story.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner: memoir about growing up half-Korean in rural Oregon and taking care of her mother as she died of pancreatic cancer. I was worried going in because the author is quite young to write a memoir, which usually leads to a bland, not-very-thoughtful book. The angsty teenage bits, I did find especially uncompelling, but the parts about caretaking for her mother were deeply affecting. The food descriptions had to struggle for that balance of how much and how to explain unfamiliar foods, but when it hit, it hit; I definitely came away with a serious craving for raw octopus, among others. I would probably only recommend this for people who like memoirs.
Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold: overly invested cocktail book. Never have I hated reading a physical book more (so heavy!), but I think this is just a cookbook thing bc people like having them lie flat. Anyway, overly invested stuff is my favorite. This isn't a great match for me content wise because I... don't really have an extensive list of cocktails I've tried? But the ideas in it were interesting. Personally, the places this fell flat were when the author was trying to explain a physical or chemical phenomenon and it fell into the "this is being pretentiously worded and yet is not a full explanation" pit. I did buy a refractometer (useful since I'm making a lot of shrubs!), but the centrifuge is a no from me for reasons of scary. Would recommend for nerds.
Becoming Eve by Abby Stein: memoir about growing up Hasidic while trans. I had the same reservation about young-memoir writer here, but in this case, it was saved by the very loving and evenhanded view of a world that's not often encountered realistically in books. This was a fast, engaging read, though if you experience dysphoria some parts might not be as easy. I think you'd like this if you were interested in reading about the Hasidic experience, as that was the bulk of the memoir.
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino: descriptions of imaginary cities through a frame story of a conversation. This was my second attempt at this book and I still Don't Get It. The prose is lovely and each city is fascinating! I just don't really understand it as a complete work?
Day of Becoming You (DNF): a male idol and female entertainment reporter swap bodies and shenanigans ensue. While I was away on vacation, the group watch I usually join (hilariously in the Qihun server) perfectly timed watching the whole show, so I tried to watch by myself. However, the second hand embarrassment was just too high ><. By suggestion, I tried to skip to halfway through, after the main characters are friends, but it was still too much. There were really cute scenes! Maybe one day my tolerance for second hand embarrassment will get better and I can watch this. Or I'll watch enough of the cute scenes to string together the plot lol.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong: a very poetic + experimental in style book about a Vietnamese-American boy growing up, intertwined with his family history. I read this for a book club, and am really glad I did, because discussion about it really clarified what worked and didn't work for me (and it was interesting to hear what worked for other people). I really liked the flashback structure that left the timeline to be inferred; it was really an exercise in how little could be said and still be fully understandable. I was not super in love with the poetic wording (though it obviously worked for others), and therefore felt like the book, despite being quite short, ran long for me. I also liked the way that Paul, the grandpa, and Trevor, the love interest, were placed, the way the imagery was green and living around both of them. Overall, I expect this is one of the major modern Asian-American works, and it definitely earned that status. For me, the poetry of it did put all the events at quite a distance, so despite the heavy matter, it wasn't that heavy a read? YMMV of course on that one.
no subject
Date: 2021-09-28 22:25 (UTC)I was intrigued by Crying in H Mart, more because I was interested in the way it was marketed than anything. I think we may have reached a food memoir saturation point at which food memoirs must be food memoirs+ -- plus cancer memoir, plus childbirth memoir, plus "pop analysis media essays." And, at the same time, where a memoir about your mother dying from cancer and an immigrant experience can be successfully marketed as a food memoir, even though it's… only kinda sorta Doing that sub-genre.
Interested to hear your thoughts on the Vuong, too. It was hands-down one of the best books I read in 2020, which was unexpected, because Vuong's poetry really doesn't hit for me. Feeling so intellectually and emotionally engaged by On Earth was a pleasant surprise. I do like poets writing prose, in general, so it could be that it just hit that button perfectly.
no subject
Date: 2021-09-28 23:12 (UTC)I think it must be that I don't generally fall in love with poetical prose! So it really made me hold it at a distance.
no subject
Date: 2021-09-29 00:07 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-09-29 00:29 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-09-29 05:41 (UTC)I switched to using my e-reader because I kept holding my phone one-handed and giving myself wrist problems due to how heavy my phone is facepalm
I definitely have this problem with library books, sometimes I am just not in the mood for reading a certain book that I know I want to read … at some point … (I say, looking at the books I purchased over a decade ago and have not read).
no subject
Date: 2021-09-29 12:54 (UTC)The time pressure kind of helps (it goes away forever!!), but still...
no subject
Date: 2021-09-29 15:35 (UTC)I enjoyed reading your reviews!
no subject
Date: 2021-09-29 15:53 (UTC)Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2021-09-29 16:13 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-09-29 17:40 (UTC)(I was taking a sip of water when I read your comment and promptly choked on it lol)
no subject
Date: 2021-10-01 07:22 (UTC)I just feel like I should, simply because I'm always after Vietnamese diaspora works and this is The One, you know, but I wonder if the whole thing will just be too.. wanky for me. Like, too *important*
I just want to be entertained.
no subject
Date: 2021-10-01 12:40 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-10-02 07:52 (UTC)A bit how you can tell a movie just oscar bait. I will give it a go.
no subject
Date: 2021-10-02 14:06 (UTC)