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Summary: The other side of Los Angeles
Review: Depth Takes a Holiday takes you to the reality of living in Los Angeles on the immigrant side. Sandra Tsing Loh's essays portrays the adventures of a girl interacting in one of the most diverse cities in the world. Using a very fresh style Sandra Tsing Loh approaches daily life problems in a very funny way. Los Angeles, California is a synonymous of rich and famous, paradise and glory, and Sandra Tsing Loh sees the city in a different manner. She explores Los Angeles with the eyes of a minority group, where a good meal is a fast meal and cheap. Depth Takes a Holiday is fun to read as if you were in a rolling coaster in which you laugh and yell for every essay you finish reading.
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Summary: Valley girl whines about the universe.
Review: Do you want to hear a valley girl whine because the universe does not revolve around her world view? If so, read this book. It's an excellent example of the "me generation" in action(or inaction). I traditionally give the books I finish to charity, but this one was put in the trash, as a public service.
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Summary: Depth takes a Holiday is very funny and enchanting to read.
Review: For anyone who interested in knowing about life experiences in the big city of Los Angeles I recommend Depth Takes a Holiday by Sandra Tsing Loh. Loh does a great job telling us about intresting experiences in a very humorous and funny way. Depth takes a Holiday includes and short stories such as Coming Home to Van Nuys, which talks about the big industry of the fast food restaurants in region of Los Angeles. Anyone who reads her book will be able to relate to at least one of her stories. Depth Takes a Holiday is enjoyable and funny book to read. I recommend this book to anyone who is ready to have some laughs.
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Summary: A Must If You Love LA
Review: I am a big fan of Los Angeles! I have lived here almost all my life, and love to celebrate all the wacky and diverse things that make this a great city. One of my favorite movies of all time is LA Story, because it really managed to capture LA at its time. Depth Takes a Holiday has provided a big slice of what this town is like now. The writing in this book is a bit unrefined, but that just seems to add to its charm. In all, this little book kept me laughing for hours, and wanted to make me live here forever.
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Summary: I was disappointed in this book.
Review: I have savored Tsing Loh's commentary on Morning Edition on NPR and have been impressed with her ability to dissect pop culture, so I was expecting the same from these essays. In my opinion they lacked the spirit and animation that Tsing Loh is able to convey through her voice. The pieces often seemed to ramble on and then fall flat and die. Much of it seemed like unedited journal musings. I am hoping that this is early, early work and that her later publications will be better.
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Summary: The adventures of fast foods in the valley...
Review: I have to say this is one of the best books I have read; it's not only easy to understand, but also very funny, and if you're from the valley you could understand what she talks about in her essay such as, "Coming Home to Van Nuys"...When I read this essay I felt like if it was me talking about my experinces with the fast-food restaurants in the valley. It is true what she says, everywhere we look, every corner has a fast-food restaurant...and yoshinoya, just around the corner taking over the valley...Overall, I really enjoyed reading her essays, and if you want to read something funny, read "Depth Takes a Holiday: Essays from Lesser Los Angeles by Sandra Tsing Loh".
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Summary: Insight Came Along for the Ride
Review: I just read three of Ms. Loh's books, and loved them all. My impressions here may reflect a bit of melding of all three of these books ("Aliens in America" and "If you lived here, you'd be home by now" being the other two; my wife hasn't yet let me have "A Year in Van Nuys").Here in "Depth ...", Ms. Loh has collected her often hilarious, sometimes sad, and always on-target observations of life in the La La land of mere mortals. It turns out that real people do live in LA (which may surprise many); that life is not fair, but that it is often good, at least for someone; that even the better parent can be cruel beyond words; that growing up is hard to do, which may be why so many of us just say "No!"; and that we really ought to sort our the whole sibling thing for the good of the GNP, if not our kids' mental health. Near-scams, legitimate by no more than the skin of their teeth, abound to prey on the dreams of would-be actors/models/rock stars, and manage at the same time to provide a valuable, school-of-hard-knocks education that breeds a kind of burnt-thrice, four-times-shy savvy. A message that I perceived in Ms. Loh's work is: being driven to the brink by 10 years of hard work can be be a memory to cherish as well as hate, whether or not all the work made you an overnight success. I'm glad that Ms. Loh is now that great success. Read this book for pleasure and you'll learn from its insights. Then indulge in the sardonic but ultimately human story where "late boomers" come of age in the author's novel, "If you lived here, you'd be home by now."
Rating:
Summary: Insight Came Along for the Ride
Review: I just read three of Ms. Loh's books, and loved them all. My impressions here may reflect a bit of melding of all three of these books ("Aliens in America" and "If you lived here, you'd be home by now" being the other two; my wife hasn't yet let me have "A Year in Van Nuys"). Here in "Depth ...", Ms. Loh has collected her often hilarious, sometimes sad, and always on-target observations of life in the La La land of mere mortals. It turns out that real people do live in LA (which may surprise many); that life is not fair, but that it is often good, at least for someone; that even the better parent can be cruel beyond words; that growing up is hard to do, which may be why so many of us just say "No!"; and that we really ought to sort our the whole sibling thing for the good of the GNP, if not our kids' mental health. Near-scams, legitimate by no more than the skin of their teeth, abound to prey on the dreams of would-be actors/models/rock stars, and manage at the same time to provide a valuable, school-of-hard-knocks education that breeds a kind of burnt-thrice, four-times-shy savvy. A message that I perceived in Ms. Loh's work is: being driven to the brink by 10 years of hard work can be be a memory to cherish as well as hate, whether or not all the work made you an overnight success. I'm glad that Ms. Loh is now that great success. Read this book for pleasure and you'll learn from its insights. Then indulge in the sardonic but ultimately human story where "late boomers" come of age in the author's novel, "If you lived here, you'd be home by now."
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Summary: I know of whence she speaks
Review: I love the writing of Sandra Tsing Loh because she is incredibly witty and acerbic, and doesn't take herself or anything too seriously. And, she can write about the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles in language that makes it sound downright pleasant. Loh is the Queen of the San Fernando Valley, once a farming community over the hill from Los Angeles, but now a burgeoning suburb. Los Angelenos consider the Valley a foreign country, and, truth be told, getting from Los Angeles to the Valley is, literally, an uphill battle over the Sepulveda Pass. But, even though I lived there and know of whence she speaks, you don't need to be a Valley Girl to appreciate her humor. This book is a collection of essays on everything from temp jobs to frozen foods, being the less-perfect sibling, her late German mother and her eccentric Chinese father (who keeps importing and losing Chinese brides, and hitch hikes rides with Angelica Huston). Loh's eye is keen, and she can make the most mundane seem downright hysterical. Loh is a self-professed procrastinator when it comes to pumping out her writing, and I wish she would do more. But, her columns in the late, lamented Buzz magazine were a scream, and I can only hope she gets more columns and books and maybe even a television show. She is a rare gem.
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Summary: I loved this book. Witty, insightful, and funny
Review: I loved this book. It was so funny. I have only lived in LA for a year and even I get her 'in' jokes. I wish there were 10 more chapters in it. Many friends will be getting this book as a present in the coming year. She is truly the voice of the IKEA generation. I want to read her other books now.
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