Category: Review Time

Categories
#amreading Review Time

Dripping Thoughts from The Prayer Room

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been focusing on Shanthi Sekaran’s The Prayer Room. I met Sekaran last month at her Reading/Signing at Books Inc.; the excerpts she had read from her book built up anticipation within me to finish reading my then-current books and start on her debut novel.

This is the second time in my adulthood where I have read an author’s debut work; the first time, I’d prefer not to mention at the moment since it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. As a fellow writer, I do sincerely applaud Sekaran for her feats in becoming published and weaving together a lengthy novel. However, as a fellow writer, I can see some room for improvement in the future; and as just a reader, there are some aspects of the novel that bother me as I’m reading:

  1. Characters’ POV – From the start, I had assumed the novel would be about George, but, for most of the book, the focus actually seems to be on Viji, his Indian wife. I’m not sure if that was Sekaran’s intention, to shift the POV like that. Also, I’m not sure if it’s really necessary to change POV so suddenly within paragraphs/chapters among the other members of the family. It keeps the story going, but it has given me a slight wipe of confusion as I try to figure out whose POV I’m reading at the moment.
  2. The significance of the actual puja room aka prayer room – I understand that the puja room is where Viji feels the most safe, the most comfortable. However, I don’t currently understand why the spirits have to talk back to her, and why they seem to add a strange twist in humor to the overall sad mood of the novel.
  3. False turning points – There are a few parts of the novel so far where I felt like Sekaran really wanted to build up some suspense, some sort of climax, but in the end, I felt like it all built up to nothing. For example, the Thanksgiving “breaking point”; perhaps Viji’s actions were inferred the whole time, but I felt like I completely missed the point in the whole scene. Maybe I read too much of the face value and not enough between the lines.

As a reader, these are the aspects that bother me, but as a writer, I can understand the challenge of weaving together a long story. I’m still just a budding writer, so I may not be as well-versed in literary ways, but I suppose you can say I’m the average reader…and I don’t really “get” some parts of the book.

But, with all said and done above, I still genuinely do like the novel so far. I’m currently in the last quarter of the book, and it has been eye-opening in some ways to culture and how families handle the mixing of two cultures. It’s also refreshing to read about bits of Indian culture, since I’ve read more books about Asian culture/Asian-American culture before The Prayer Room.

I look forward to reading Sekaran’s future work, and hope to meet her again as well.

Categories
Review Time Thought of the Moment

The Ambiguity of Ratings and Numbers.

When it comes to rating systems, it seems like they almost always are accompanied by the 5-star system: 1 being the worst, 5 being the best. However, after realizing how often I use these 5-star systems….I realize in the end, they’re way too ambiguous to be taken seriously.

Take for instance, my iTunes library versus my reviews on Yelp.com.

Both use 5-star systems, yet, as I have noticed, I base my ratings quite differently at each place. On Yelp, my reviews generally fall down the middle, from 2 to 3 stars for most ratings. To me, these two generally describe how I feel about restaurants, services, etc.–“A-OK”. I am hesitant to rate too many places with “5 stars” with fear that I may come across a place even better than the previous one..and then, what shall I do with the ratings? Plus, nobody likes to read reviews that are constantly positive–they may be fun and/or uplifting to read, but really, how can one person stay so positive about all of the places he or she visits?

However, it seems that the 5-star system differs for me with my iTunes library. Granted, most of my song ratings generally fall within the 2 star category; to me, 2 stars means average on iTunes. If I give a song 3 stars, it means “better than average” to me. I used to give a ton of 4 and 5 stars to songs when I first started using iTunes, but I have come to notice that I have been stingy with the 4 and 5 stars since I want to reserve those ratings for those songs that simply cannot be compared to other songs.

Still, with the talk of these two different applications, I am sure others continue to interpret and rate their songs/restaurants/etc. a lot differently than I do. For instance, some people may think of most restaurants as “4 stars” because, to them, “4 stars” means average/really good. Some people may end up giving many places “1 star” because, to them, “1 star” means “average/so-so/meh”. The system is imperfect, since people are different in their interpretations all the time.

So, how do you interpret those rating systems?

Categories
#amreading Review Time

Review of "Water for Elephants"

Water for Elephants Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

My review


rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pretty good historical fiction; helped me learn a bit about circuses from the Depression era. The story itself was weaved very intricately, which I liked; novel had a great protagonist telling a sad yet invigorating story.

View all my reviews.

Categories
Review Time

hint (water) Lives Up to its Name.


I had noticed the advertisements for “hint” water for the past few months, since their ad is plastered on the back of the double decker bus in Union Square. Only recently, I took the time to look up product information online and to search for where I could buy the drinks.

Lo and behold, hint is sold at Whole Foods, so I took the liberty to buy the four available flavors. From first taste, all I can say is: they certainly live up to their name. I had the Pomegranate Tangerine flavor, and yes indeed, the fruit flavors were just a hint; just right if you ask me. The drink itself is still plain water, but has that added hint of flavor. Haha, I bet the hint staff must have a party every day with their puns upon their product name.

As stated before, hint is available at Whole Foods, and also at Stop & Shops, Sprout’s, Wild Oats, Big Bear, Earth Fare, Ralph’s, Giant, Dierbergs, Mrs. Greens & HEB. If none of those stores are available near you, look into ordering the drink online at hint‘s own website (www.drinkhint.com)! So far, I feel pretty satisfied with the drink since there’s no added preservatives/sugar/etc. It’s probably the only drink out there right now that definitely lives up to its standards. Kudos!

Categories
Japan Japanese culture Review Time

Maid Cafe in America?

I’m a bit turned off by the concept of this “maid cafe” in Culver City, CA. Not saying that I support the authentic maid cafes of Tokyo either, but after reading the article about Royal/T, it actually annoys me to understand that the owner had never stepped foot into a maid cafe in Japan, and that the cafe is decked out in the stereotypical/American view of what “Japan” is. It sounds like a place of real fusion, with tea, curry bowls, and other things included in the place. A real mish-mash, it seems.

The place has only been opened for a month now, so I wonder how well the business is doing. I personally think that if Ms. Susan Hancock (the owner) had wanted the place to be a “Japanese-style” maid cafe, she should have stuck with more Japanese pop culture items rather than make it into some weird fusion.