Tag Archive reviews

ByGD

Uniqlo Airism Mask Review

A year into the pandemic and I still haven’t learned how to wear a mask. Fogged glasses, pulled ears, poked under-eyelids, excess moisture, and worst of all, the powerful psychosomatic sensation of suffocation have contributed to a lifetime record of 26 minutes in a mask before I succumb to hyperventilation or even a full-blown panic attack. I’ve tried online DIY patterns and spent hundreds of dollars on masks and mask accessories. So before I start accidentally repurchasing failed masks, I’m going to track what I try, starting with Uniqlo’s Airism.  

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ByGD

A Nine-Year-Old Reviews Pickathon

Pickathon Mt Hood StageI’ve written a bit here and on Three Imaginary Girls about my family’s first experience of of the Pickathon music festival this summer. I also made my 14-year-old write a teenager’s review. But Pickathon is truly a festival for the whole family, so I made my 9-year-old do a write up, too. I think you’ll find it helpful.

I made only very slight edits for spelling and punctuation (and added headers) to the following review, which was written without supervision or adult input.

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A Brief Wondrous Read – Oscar Wao

OscarWaoCover

Since I started hanging out with writers, I’ve discovered that I don’t read the Right Sort of Books. Even though I read all the time, and don’t spend too much time in the genre ghettos, I never seem to have read the authors that everyone is buzzing about, or the ones that get included in MFA curricula, or the ones that authors cite as influences in interviews, or any of the books in those online “how well-read are you” quizzes. Sometimes I’m left wondering, “Well, what have I read?”

Once I took an online quiz about modern Japanese authors, and got a whopping six out of ten – a record for me in online book quizzes. I mentioned it to another writer friend, “I guess what I have been reading is modern Japanese fiction,” I said with some relief (after all, what an impressive niche, right?)

“Ooh,” she responded excitedly, “What did you think about the new Ishiguro?”

“I haven’t read it.” Read More

ByGD

A Five Star Dilemma

I love the speech at the end of the movie Ratatouille that talks about critics. It starts with the statement,

Negative criticism is fun to write and even more fun to read.

[Proof that it is true.] But even a negative review can turn a reader on to something they love. A critic may write, “The food was a confused mishmash,” or “The band was obscene,” but the reader may love fusion food and punk music. I had a friend in college whose movie reviews I trusted completely; the more enthusiastically he spoke of a movie, the more certain I was that I would hate it. Reviews are valuable; but a five star rating tells me nothing. Three stars tells me even less. Read More