Rating: 
Summary: Another gem from the Queen of San Fernando Valley angst
Review: I love Sandra Tsing Loh's sense of humor, and having lived in virtually the same timeline and locations as she has, I can relate even more. I felt this book, a witty take-off on 'A Year in Provence' was a bit more angst-ridden than my previous favorite book of hers, 'Depth Takes a Holiday'. Perhaps it's age, frustration, the shallowness of the place she loves. It dragged in spots, but for the most part was incredibly amusing. I love the way she describes the most inane situations. My personal favorite moments were the night he "perfect" older sister does a "birthday intervention" with a plain-jane co-worker who seems to have more sex than anyone. Sandra thinks a jar of Loreal eye cream makes her irresistable to men. And she was going to spend the evening with Ben and Jerry, my two favorite guys!Her husband and even her resented sister sound extremely supportive through her year of varying heaven and hell. The sarcasm she imparts to the know-it-alls at the doomed Amelia.com had me in stitches. Sandra is down-to-earth, witty as can be, and even more neurotic than you can imagine. This book is definitely another winner. I just wish she came out with books more often!
Rating: 
Summary: FUNNY!
Review: I picked it up because of the clever title, but couldn't put it down once I started to read it.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of fun!
Review: I wasn't sure I would like this book when I first started it -- a bit too "self-consciously cool" for my taste. But I'm glad I read it all the way through. It was very fun, particularly for anyone from LA and/or involved with the entertainment industry or writing. I am passing it along to my best friend (a writer and film maker), and would recommend it to anyone who doesn't take life too seriously. And anyone who has eye bags. :)
Rating:
Summary: A lot of fun!
Review: I wasn't sure I would like this book when I first started it -- a bit too "self-consciously cool" for my taste. But I'm glad I read it all the way through. It was very fun, particularly for anyone from LA and/or involved with the entertainment industry or writing. I am passing it along to my best friend (a writer and film maker), and would recommend it to anyone who doesn't take life too seriously. And anyone who has eye bags. :)
Rating:
Summary: A qualified rating...
Review: I'd rate Sandra Tsing Loh's book a "qualified" 4. Sandra's a writer's writer, and we've all heard the quote:
"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." ~Ray Bradbury
Sandra gives us an admirable description of a year in her "fictional" life that completely illustrates the quote. However, if you've never tried to be a writer (whether you succeeded or not)...you won't get it.
Sandra's a great essay writer and a standout on NPR, but in this piece, she gets stuck horizontally on living in L.A., and aging. These semi-themes feed the underlying issue of the novel; how difficult the creative writing process can be; how obsessive are those who become a slave to it. As a result, unless you're in the book to laugh at her witticisms about living in the Valley, or you need some "women on aging" jokes, you may just hate this book!
While flying through a year in her life with hubby and near-perfect sister, while trying her hand at web writing and desperately trying not to finish a novel, Sandra dances off into flights of fancy which are illustrated in funny charts, graphs and pictures that help us visualize all of the soup floating around inside of her brain. Some would view this as a leap of faith for an ADHD female, others just think it is a clear illustration that women whine.
Hey, I'm an aging woman attempting to write, I love visualization and illustration in a story, and I even get some of the cultural references to Van Nuys, although I'm on the other coast. And I give it 4 stars. Unless you can relate or participate in at least two of these endeavors, you may want to steer clear of "A Year in Van Nuys"...which you'll consider a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: A qualified rating...
Review: I'd rate Sandra Tsing Loh's book a "qualified" 4. Sandra's a writer's writer, and we've all heard the quote:
"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." ~Ray Bradbury
Sandra gives us an admirable description of a year in her "fictional" life that completely illustrates the quote. However, if you've never tried to be a writer (whether you succeeded or not)...you won't get it.
Sandra's a great essay writer and a standout on NPR, but in this piece, she gets stuck horizontally on living in L.A., and aging. These semi-themes feed the underlying issue of the novel; how difficult the creative writing process can be; how obsessive are those who become a slave to it. As a result, unless you're in the book to laugh at her witticisms about living in the Valley, or you need some "women on aging" jokes, you may just hate this book!
While flying through a year in her life with hubby and near-perfect sister, while trying her hand at web writing and desperately trying not to finish a novel, Sandra dances off into flights of fancy which are illustrated in funny charts, graphs and pictures that help us visualize all of the soup floating around inside of her brain. Some would view this as a leap of faith for an ADHD female, others just think it is a clear illustration that women whine.
Hey, I'm an aging woman attempting to write, I love visualization and illustration in a story, and I even get some of the cultural references to Van Nuys, although I'm on the other coast. And I give it 4 stars. Unless you can relate or participate in at least two of these endeavors, you may want to steer clear of "A Year in Van Nuys"...which you'll consider a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: A qualified rating...
Review: I'd rate Sandra Tsing Loh's book a "qualified" 4. Sandra's a writer's writer, and we've all heard the quote:
"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." ~Ray Bradbury
Sandra gives us an admirable description of a year in her "fictional" life that completely illustrates the quote. However, if you've never tried to be a writer (whether you succeeded or not)...you won't get it.
Sandra's a great essay writer and a standout on NPR, but in this piece, she gets stuck horizontally on living in L.A., and aging. These semi-themes feed the underlying issue of the novel; how difficult the creative writing process can be; how obsessive are those who become a slave to it. As a result, unless you're in the book to laugh at her witticisms about living in the Valley, or you need some "women on aging" jokes, you may just hate this book!
While flying through a year in her life with hubby and near-perfect sister, while trying her hand at web writing and desperately trying not to finish a novel, Sandra dances off into flights of fancy which are illustrated in funny charts, graphs and pictures that help us visualize all of the soup floating around inside of her brain. Some would view this as a leap of faith for an ADHD female, others just think it is a clear illustration that women whine.
Hey, I'm an aging woman attempting to write, I love visualization and illustration in a story, and I even get some of the cultural references to Van Nuys, although I'm on the other coast. And I give it 4 stars. Unless you can relate or participate in at least two of these endeavors, you may want to steer clear of "A Year in Van Nuys"...which you'll consider a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: If You Read This Book, You'd Be Finished By Now!
Review: In the 70's, I fell madly in love with Pookie Adams, a fictional character from the book titled, "The Sterile Cuckoo," by John Nichols.
I knew that Pookie, who was intrigued about all the things that we overlook in our daily lives, was a loner, and disliked crowds of people exceeding two. She was bursting with a passion that few of us ever let ourselves come close to. She could hardly contain her feelings on a moment by moment basis.
Pookie was like a sponge, she absorbed anything and everything, that dared enter the realm of her senses, making an unconscious mental notation of the universe, this in turn made her eccentric/brilliant, yet when she tried to communicate she seemed to be speaking an unknown foreign language to the uninitiated listener.
She was ravenously hungry for adventure, and intrigue, but she was also afraid of life, and this kept her constantly at odds with her newly emerging self.
Why am I bringing up Pookie, in what is supposed to be my book review of Sandra Tsing Loh?
Because in reading her book, and listening to her on the radio, and seeing her in a local television interview, I realized that Sandra Tsing Loh, is the fictional Pookie Adams come to life.
Of course I've changed a bit since the 70's, and if I were to ever meet Pookie Adams somewhere, say at Trader Vic's, I would most likely run, not walk, in the opposite direction, have a restraining order issued against her, with a "never get within a ten square mile radius of me" clause written in, I most likely would also put my house up for sale, and move immediately, leaving no forwarding address, or telephone number referral.
I feel that if I ever met Ms. Sandra Tsing Loh, I would have to duct tape my mouth shut, and record all of our conversation. I would communicate with her by nodding my head slowly up and down, thus expressing that I agreed with a statement that she was trying to make, or gently turning my head from left to right, and then back again, signaling that her last declaration didn't make it on my comprehension list.
Later, when I arrived safely home, and had made sure that all the security locks were engaged, I would take out my tape recorder, rewind it, and play everything back at half speed so that I could understand what it was that she was talking about, but with no guarantee of any of it making the least bit of sense.
Did I read Sandra Tsing Loh's book, "A Year in Van Nuys?
Yes!
Did I enjoy Sandra Tsing Loh's book, "A Year in Van Nuys? Positively!
Would I recommend that you buy Sandra Tsing Loh's book, "A Year in Van Nuys?
Absolutely, without hesitation!
Rating: 
Summary: IT'S WAS FUNNY; BUT NOT i'M ROLLING, LIKE LEAD TO BELI EVE
Review: iT IS A FUNNY TAKE ON LIFE ABOUT A 36 YEAR OLD. iT TELLS ABOUT HER LIFE AND HER CONSTANT LEAPS AT FAME(THOUGH SHE DOESN'T THINK SHE'S YOUNG ENOUGH).
Rating: 
Summary: Complaining is Boring
Review: Looking forward to a send up of the amazing A Year in Provence? Instead you will be treated to 176 pages of one self centered woman's bitching and moaning and 56 pages of I think I'll shut up and enjoy life.
There are two funny scenes, page 89, Gwyneth's slushy and page 172, preparation for eye bag surgery. Skip the rest.
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