Media diet, end of June
Jun. 27th, 2022 22:15![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
superborbA little early because I'll be traveling without my computer! (I'll check DW when I get back, since I haven't quite gotten the hang of mobile DW yet either...)
The Book of Form and Emptiness, by Ruth Ozeki: The story of Benny Oh, as told partially by his book, partially by himself, primarily after the death of his father, when his mother starts hoarding things and he begins to hear objects. Although the somewhat chaotic and elaborate descriptions would seem to be not to my taste, the prose actually worked really smoothly and well for me? I think the internal structure and careful attention to rhythm pulled it off. I found the descriptions of his mother's hoarding extremely unsettling, which I don't think has happened to me before. It was very unmoored in time/location and none of the characters were that compelling to me, so although it was an engaging read, I found it somewhat unmemorable by being so incohesive.
(PS: Disneyland is not in Florida.)
Things We Lost in the Fire, by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell: A collection of short stories set in Argentina, primarily along the lines of magical realism / social commentary. Frommeitachi's rec. The book seems billed as macabre and dark, so I expected more unsettling feelings from this collection, but I think it fit more as 'ghost story' than 'horror' levels of dark. While the stories were interesting social commentary (mostly on gender and poverty, always with the undercurrent of the desaparecidos) and I read them like potato chips, I think they're a little bit unmemorable for me? A common problem with short stories I guess.
Strange Beasts of China, by Yan Ge, translated by Jeremy Tiang: A novelist who once studied cryptozoology learns about and tells the stories of a series of beasts, slowly coming to understand her own story in the process. Recced byexcaliburedpan! The beasts are a rather straightforward metaphor for marginalized groups (as the author herself says); although I don't usually check goodreads, I was startled at the number of reviews that seemed to miss the point, is that normal? I enjoyed the imaginative beasts and their stories, the snarky relationship between the main character and her underclassman, and the slow reveal of the main character's backstory. I was not super impressed with the translation, which came across monotone, and I thought the social criticism was very unsubtle (though I guess maybe not, given the goodreads reviews...). Overall, I liked it a lot, as a book that tried to tell a complicated story about humans and beasts interacting and mixing.
Elatsoe, by Darcie Little Badger: In a world very similar to ours, but where some myths / magic are real, our protag has a family secret that allows her to raise dead animals; her cousin dies and comes to her in a dream to tell her he's been murdered. Fromsophia_sol's rec! It read more MG than YA to me, and in that light, it was perfectly cromulent. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions. However, it always felt weird that the world and its history were so similar to ours yet had these magics that should surely have affected things. If you're in the mood for MG, this would suit.
Ted Lasso S2: In season two, the show gets a chance to add more complex characterization and relationships, as the team tries to win their way back into the top level of English soccer, the Premier League. It remains mostly unstressful, except I kept getting VERY NERVOUS in all the Nate scenes because he was becoming more and more of an asshole. Two points annoyed me: the improper spotting and joking about someone having their neck crushed by weights is not actually funny??? And the TV psychology privacy practice of Sharon, the new team psychologist, discussing specific patients with her psychologist without anonymizing it. I remain very into the Ted/Trent dynamic, even if on screen interactions were sadly scarce. Overall, remains an entertaining and mostly light series, with enough humor to act as a hook, but not too much second hand embarrassment.
Go Ahead (以家人之名) (DNF): Three unrelated kids grow up together as family and support each other through family troubles. Given the presence of ZXC, this must have been ahalfcactus rec, lol. They were very cute as children, and I really did love the two dads trying to parent them together! It was just a little overacted / contrived and I can't build up the motivation to keep going... I think those who like modern family centric dramas would like it (based on the episodes I've seen!), it's just ultimately not my favorite genre, you know?
Bad Buddy (DNF): Two boys from neighboring rival families have competed since they were young; when they became close at the end of secondary school, one is sent away. Now, they've both entered university in rival faculties. Livetweeted here! Everyone loved this so much, and indeed, the fast pace and tightly focused scenes were great! I just... find the friends hating each other thing very stressful and all the really cheesy romance scenes Too Much q_q. Not for me, but definitely if you like tropey BL, I'd recommend.
The Male Fairy Fox Of Liao Zhai 3 (男狐聊斋3): A fox demon (fairy?) can't ascend until he repays the life debt from being rescued by a human a thousand years ago. Recced bydouqi! Livetweeted here. The plot and characters are pretty much standard, but it is quite overtly gay and the fighting is very swoopy, so it's a satisfying 1.5 h movie. (No Eng subs yet.)
CODA (2021): The only hearing child in a Deaf family needs to decide between staying to help her family fishing business or leaving for music college. Choosing singing as the plot device is rather loaded, and unsurprisingly led to some criticism of the movie. Overall though, it was pretty formulaic in plot, with enough well executed scenes and acting to make it worth watching if it's a genre you like.
The Book of Form and Emptiness, by Ruth Ozeki: The story of Benny Oh, as told partially by his book, partially by himself, primarily after the death of his father, when his mother starts hoarding things and he begins to hear objects. Although the somewhat chaotic and elaborate descriptions would seem to be not to my taste, the prose actually worked really smoothly and well for me? I think the internal structure and careful attention to rhythm pulled it off. I found the descriptions of his mother's hoarding extremely unsettling, which I don't think has happened to me before. It was very unmoored in time/location and none of the characters were that compelling to me, so although it was an engaging read, I found it somewhat unmemorable by being so incohesive.
(PS: Disneyland is not in Florida.)
Things We Lost in the Fire, by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell: A collection of short stories set in Argentina, primarily along the lines of magical realism / social commentary. From
meitachi's rec. The book seems billed as macabre and dark, so I expected more unsettling feelings from this collection, but I think it fit more as 'ghost story' than 'horror' levels of dark. While the stories were interesting social commentary (mostly on gender and poverty, always with the undercurrent of the desaparecidos) and I read them like potato chips, I think they're a little bit unmemorable for me? A common problem with short stories I guess. Strange Beasts of China, by Yan Ge, translated by Jeremy Tiang: A novelist who once studied cryptozoology learns about and tells the stories of a series of beasts, slowly coming to understand her own story in the process. Recced by
excaliburedpan! The beasts are a rather straightforward metaphor for marginalized groups (as the author herself says); although I don't usually check goodreads, I was startled at the number of reviews that seemed to miss the point, is that normal? I enjoyed the imaginative beasts and their stories, the snarky relationship between the main character and her underclassman, and the slow reveal of the main character's backstory. I was not super impressed with the translation, which came across monotone, and I thought the social criticism was very unsubtle (though I guess maybe not, given the goodreads reviews...). Overall, I liked it a lot, as a book that tried to tell a complicated story about humans and beasts interacting and mixing. Elatsoe, by Darcie Little Badger: In a world very similar to ours, but where some myths / magic are real, our protag has a family secret that allows her to raise dead animals; her cousin dies and comes to her in a dream to tell her he's been murdered. From
sophia_sol's rec! It read more MG than YA to me, and in that light, it was perfectly cromulent. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions. However, it always felt weird that the world and its history were so similar to ours yet had these magics that should surely have affected things. If you're in the mood for MG, this would suit. Ted Lasso S2: In season two, the show gets a chance to add more complex characterization and relationships, as the team tries to win their way back into the top level of English soccer, the Premier League. It remains mostly unstressful, except I kept getting VERY NERVOUS in all the Nate scenes because he was becoming more and more of an asshole. Two points annoyed me: the improper spotting and joking about someone having their neck crushed by weights is not actually funny??? And the TV psychology privacy practice of Sharon, the new team psychologist, discussing specific patients with her psychologist without anonymizing it. I remain very into the Ted/Trent dynamic, even if on screen interactions were sadly scarce. Overall, remains an entertaining and mostly light series, with enough humor to act as a hook, but not too much second hand embarrassment.
Go Ahead (以家人之名) (DNF): Three unrelated kids grow up together as family and support each other through family troubles. Given the presence of ZXC, this must have been a
halfcactus rec, lol. They were very cute as children, and I really did love the two dads trying to parent them together! It was just a little overacted / contrived and I can't build up the motivation to keep going... I think those who like modern family centric dramas would like it (based on the episodes I've seen!), it's just ultimately not my favorite genre, you know? Bad Buddy (DNF): Two boys from neighboring rival families have competed since they were young; when they became close at the end of secondary school, one is sent away. Now, they've both entered university in rival faculties. Livetweeted here! Everyone loved this so much, and indeed, the fast pace and tightly focused scenes were great! I just... find the friends hating each other thing very stressful and all the really cheesy romance scenes Too Much q_q. Not for me, but definitely if you like tropey BL, I'd recommend.
The Male Fairy Fox Of Liao Zhai 3 (男狐聊斋3): A fox demon (fairy?) can't ascend until he repays the life debt from being rescued by a human a thousand years ago. Recced by
douqi! Livetweeted here. The plot and characters are pretty much standard, but it is quite overtly gay and the fighting is very swoopy, so it's a satisfying 1.5 h movie. (No Eng subs yet.) CODA (2021): The only hearing child in a Deaf family needs to decide between staying to help her family fishing business or leaving for music college. Choosing singing as the plot device is rather loaded, and unsurprisingly led to some criticism of the movie. Overall though, it was pretty formulaic in plot, with enough well executed scenes and acting to make it worth watching if it's a genre you like.
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Date: 2022-07-05 20:30 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-07-06 13:38 (UTC)