Evan – Page 2 – Perfect Leaves

Persepolis Part 1: The Story of a Childhood

persepolis cover — Pantheon, 2003. 153 pages

Title: Persepolis

Author: Marjane Satrapi

Synopsis: An adult Satrapi recounts her childhood experiences living in Iran during the Iranian Revolution and resulting turmoil. The story covers roughly four years of her childhood, between 1980 and 1984 (ages 10 to 14).

Rating: 3 stars

The Review:

I finally got around to reading this cult classic.

If I had a dollar for every time a friend of professor recommended this title, I’d have a solid 50 bucks. Persepolis appeals to a wide variety of people. In my media classes, we discussed Persepolis as an “inventive way to tell the story of the Iranian Revolution and its aftermath.” In my writing classes, we fawned over the flow of the narrative, dissected the symbolism in the images and fawned over the writer’s gender. In my political and Islamic circles, people hold Persepolis as the pinnacle of #MuslimahExcellence because she “gives a voice to those who would otherwise be silenced” (problematic, I know).

Curiosity eventually drove me to buy the book. I’m interested in the history of the Gulf States and figured this graphic novel would both help me learn a bit about what happened during the Revolution and give me a glimpse into Iranian lives. I suppose you could say the book served its purpose, but it was nothing spectacular. Perhaps I knew more about the Iranian Revolution than I thought I did, but I didn’t really learn anything new from Persepolis. The more interesting parts of the book dealt specifically with Satrapi’s life.

It’s impossible to tell whether she’s embellishing her story, but she seems to have had a pretty deep understanding of the situation despite her young age. I’m guessing her analytical skills came from her family’s apparent wealth, her parents’ political leanings and her secular French education. Based on Satrapi’s telling, the less-educated children were more susceptible to believing the propaganda of the “Islamic” regime. Still, her family’s status lead to several uncomfortable moments for me throughout the story.

Near the beginning, when Satrapi discusses the nation-wide veiling mandate, she drew an image that equates the veil to oppression, without much context. The protesters on the left are women covered head-to-toe in black garments while shouting, “veil! veil! veil!” The women opposite them have their hair exposed and they’re wearing light clothes while shouting, “freedom! freedom! freedom!” Here the reader is supposed to assume that wearing hijab is something evil, oppressive and wrong, whereas not wearing an outer covering is the “correct” choice.

persepolis, p5 veil — Persepolis, page 5

Seeing as the regime mandated the covering, I can see how Satrapi would conflate covering with oppression, but the lack of nuance in the story telling is precisely what leads Western societies to assume all women who cover are doing so by force. It also leads Western governments to take actions that prevent Muslim women from exercising their choice to cover. Despite being irked by Satrapi’s choice, I appreciate that she later told the audience that both women and men were subject to strict dress codes.

persepolis p 75, dresscode — Persepolis, page 75

persepolis p75, a note on mens dress codes — Persepolis, page 75

About halfway through Persepolis, Satrapi begins discussing the exodus of her friends and family. The image she uses to illustrate this moment in history implies that the majority left simply by obtaining a passport and flying out of the country.

Passports at that time were expensive and increasingly hard to come by. This blatant display of wealth left me cringing and wondering about those who were less fortunate. How did they leave the country? Did they choose to stay or were they forced to? Did they use smugglers to illegally cross borders in hopes of seeking refugee status? This is her story, so I didn’t expect her to go into too much detail about it, but I expected such a smart child to at least consider the question. The only times we hear about people hastily crossing the border are when the people a) have a direct relationship with Satrapi and b) are being pursued by the police.

persepolis p 64, exodus — Persepolis, page 64

Perhaps this particular scene bothered me because in a way, I’m also choosing not to live in my own country for political and financial reasons. I chose to work outside of the US because I couldn’t find work that justified the insane amount of tuition I paid for my undergraduate degree. On top of not being able to find a decent-paying job, I’m constantly targeted for my race, gender and religion. Why would I live through that when I can just go find work elsewhere?

I’m aware that my choice to leave is an exercise of privilege, and sometimes I feel guilty about not “weathering the storm” but I’ve got health and other issues to worry about, without my environment making it worse. I don’t plan to leave the US permanently, at least not yet, but I’ve chosen to leave in search of a safer, more comfortable life, which is precisely what Satrapi’s friends and family did.

Right under the image of people lining up to leave, we see a picture of Satrapi’s family in their car. When her mother suggests they also leave, her father brushes off the idea, suggesting they’d “sink” to the level of taxi drivers and cleaning ladies in the US. This, to me, meant he was attached to his material wealth, and that he thought himself better than people in those service industries. I was raised to treat everyone equally, regardless of where they come from or what they do for a living (assuming they’re not in the business of harming people), so this scene rubbed me the wrong way. Satrapi’s father placed his wealth in higher regard than his family’s safety. This isn’t the only scene where we see his attachment to worldly goods.

persepolis p 64, taxi driver and maid — Persepolis, page 64

While I was reading, Satrapi’s parents’ judgmental attitudes continued to bother me. Satrapi didn’t illustrate their judgement as a form of criticism. Rather, she illustrated their character in a way that was boldly honest. I’ve witnessed women all over the world criticize/judge anyone and everyone around them. Regardless of whether they were South Asian, Chinese, Black or Arab, they all found fault in the women (and teenage girls) around them. When I think about it, I wasn’t so much bothered by Satrapi’s parents specifically; I was bothered by global trend I’ve noticed. I could understand some level of political judgement during the Iranian Revolution or during other similar times of war and upheaval, but usually the judgement is petty and unnecessary, and it revolves around someone’s appearance.

persepolis p 75, judgement — Persepolis, page 75

Despite all of my issues with it, Persepolis isn’t a bad book. I can see how it’s important in the cannon of Middle Eastern female writers. Persepolis, however, obviously isn’t meant for people like me. If you know nothing about Iran or the Iranian Revolution, then perhaps you’ll enjoy the novel. If you’ve never met an Iranian person and have no hopes of meeting one, then give Persepolis a go. Since I’ve already learned at least the basic situation and having met several Iranians in my life, Persepolis didn’t add anything to my knowledge base. That said, I kept reading because I wanted to see what happened in Satrapi’s life, and the graphic novel ended on a little cliff hanger. I’m intrigued enough to want to read the second part, but I don’t feel compelled to read it right away.

Do I think Persepolis is overrated? Yes, absolutely. Would I still recommend it? Yes, why not? Persepolis gets three dim stars from me while I try to figure out what I missed. If you’ve read it or plan to read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you loved it, please help me understand why Persepolis is so popular.

Read more Persepolis reviews on Goodreads.

Buy the book: Amazon | Thriftbooks (click here for 15% off your first order)

Wudong Tea: “Dawuye” （大乌叶）

Tea: Dawuye is a a type of fenghuang dancong. In other words, it is a single tree phoenix oolong.

Company: Wudong Tea

Brewing Method: I debated whether to brew the tea Dawuye in Guangdong style (lots of leaf, with a long steep time) or Wuyi Style (lots of leaf, with unusually short brewing times). I ultimately decided to go with Guangdong style because I wanted to push this tea to the edge.

Dawuye’s leaves were beautiful. They were long, dark and twisted. They were mostly dark green with a few flecks of grass and hay-yellow leaves mixed in. The leaves reminded me of a higher grade Shou Mei (white tea). Before I heated the gaiwan, the leaves smelled like smoked dried plums or waxberry or similar dried fruit. After I heated the gaiwan, the leaves smelled green. I’d compare it to Fukamushi tea of Biluochun. Overall, the leaves smelled grassy and vegetal, a little like asparagus, but not overwhelmingly so. You could also compare the smell to cooked cabbage.

First Steep

For the first brew I steeped the tea for a full minute. Interestingly, the wet leaves smelled like macaroni and cheese and the leaves were even more gorgeous than before. The greens were glistening; they really popped. Dawuye’s tea liquor was very, very golden. Once again, it reminded me of the vibrancy of Japanese green tea. You could also compare the color to certain sheng (raw) puers. The liquor was surprisingly cloudy. There were a lot of particles and dust, even though I used a filter. I’m not sure whether the dust came from the shipping or whether it’s a feature of the tea, but if it’s a flaw I doubt it was the farmer’s fault.The leaves I received were, for the most part, quite long and unbroken.

Despite the beautiful leaves, the vibrant liquor and decent aroma, my first sip of the tea was unpleasant. It tasted like a bad Tieguanyin (Iron Goddess). The tea was extremely bitter with an after taste of baking soda. Though I like the flavor of baking soda, this particular tasting note offended me. I was unhappy drinking the tea, but I decided to take another sip. When I aerated the Dawuye liquor (by slurping it) and breathing out of my nose, I could sense a hint of a floral note, but it was unclear what that flower was. I eventually just poured the tea out. The empty fairness pitcher smelled exactly like the floral note I detected while drinking the tea. It faintly reminded me of Milan Xiang (Honey Orchid).

Second Steep

For the second brew, I decided to steep for 30 seconds. The liquor remained cloudy. I read somewhere on the internet that you can’t really start to fully appreciate phoenix oolong teas until the third steep, so I wasn’t about to give up so soon. I hoped the second steep would be better than the first.

With the second brew, the initial bitterness had gone away. Because I changed the steeping parameters (I shortened the time, and the water had cooled down a bit), I’m guessing the milder flavor was a result of the combination of changes, rather than a result of a single change. After this experience, I would not recommend brewing tea Guangdong style. I’d suggest reducing the amount of tea or increasing the amount of water. I have gaiwans that are around 120 or 150 milliliters, which would be better for 8 grams of dancong. The brew had a medium mouthfeel. It wasn’t thin like water, but it wasn’t something you could chew on; Dawuye’s liquor was slightly viscous. I also detected a dry finishing note, which I enjoyed.

The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) flavor was still present. I guess that particular tasting note might have to do with the minerality of the tea and my water. For health reasons, I must use bottled water when in China, but I try to use water that still has some of the naturally occurring minerals in it. I use the same water for all of my tea.

The huigan (aftertaste) was highly floral. The vegetal notes were still present, but the floral aroma was the most prominent feature of this brew. Wudong Tea’s Dawuye was not bad; I just don’t think it was my style.

Third Steep

I added ten seconds to this and subsequent brews, which means the third steep was about 40 seconds long. The showed no signs of letting up; it was certainly a tea that I could brew for a long time if I chose to. It was stubbornly dark. On the third brew the bitterness calmed down even more while the dryness ticked up. The floral-ness became more apparent in the initial taste, but it still mostly lived in the aftertaste. Aerating the tea did almost nothing for the flavor, which is strange for a phoenix oolong. While I was slurping, I actually tasted more astringency in the back of my mouth.The tea tasted like bitter medicinal herbs. I could only describe the tea as ku (bitter).

Subsequent Steeps

The fourth and fifth brews of the tea were better than the first three, but I stopped drinking because I wasn’t enjoying it. I’m grateful for the samples Wudong Tea (Chaozhou Tea Grower) sent me but I had to give up on it. I’m excited to try the other samples they sent. Perhaps I’ll find something I like.

“How to Love a Jamaican” (OR “How Much Trauma Can I Fit In”)

Title: How to Love a Jamaican

how to love a jamaican picture — Ballantine Books, 2018. 256 pages

Author: Alexia Arthurs

Synopsis: How to Love a Jamaican is a collection of short stories about different Jamaican people living in either the US or on the Island.

Trigger Warnings: Depression, eating disorders, verbal abuse, identity issues, LGBTQ* issues (coming out, living), death in the family, child loss, absentee fathers, sexual assault, pedophilia, drugs, death, breast cancer

Rating: 3 or 3.5 stars

First Impression: What on Earth did I just read?

The Review:

I really wanted to love this book, but I couldn’t. I’ll say outright that the first and last stories are the most poignant, the others are forgettable. Though I love the idea of having Caribbean representation, I feel How to Love a Jamaican failed to provide a holistic picture. Because Arthurs opted to write a series of short stories, I expected to see multiple different aspects of Jamaican life. Instead, all of the characters are more or less the same, and they’re all victims.

Most of the characters have absentee fathers who sleep around, almost all of the mothers are portrayed as overbearing, and all of the children suffer from trauma related to their dysfunctional family. There are several gay and lesbian characters, and none of them are fully accepted by their families. Most of the characters see moving away from the island as the ultimate goal in life. While I was reading, I kept feeling like I’d seen the story before. In fact, one of the stories seemed lifted directly out of the New York Times. I felt like I was reading trauma porn.

To be honest, I wouldn’t have minded the trauma porn if there were character growth and if the composition has a bit more artistry. I actually think it would have been better for Arthurs to choose a selection of the stories and drawn them out more. I’d have liked to seen more sides of the characters, rather than the same aspect portrayed in all of them.

Besides the structural issues, I found a problematic thread running through the stories. There were both implicit and explicit declarations that fair/yellow skin, wavy hair and “European features” are more beautiful and that those bearing them are more deserving of success. I’m sure Arthurs included these threads simply to illustrate Caribbeans’ unnatural obsession with fair skin, but I would have appreciated more commentary on the subject. As it stands, I’m not sure whether the characters fetishize “biracial beauties” or whether Arthurs herself (who is neither particulary fair nor particularly dark) actually subscribes to this colorist propaganda.

But Sarabi, if you hated the book so much, why are you giving it three stars instead or just one or two?

Well.

Even though the book is not for me, I will still acknowledge that it’s not that bad. I’m not Caribbean, but I still see myself represented in How to Love a Jamaican. I’m sure there are plenty of others will see themselves as well. There are also moments when Arthurs makes a very good point, laying bare the internal struggles PoC face. The relatability is also part of the reason I included so many trigger warnings. I had to stop reading at times to sort myself out before continuing.

In the first story, which is my favorite of all of them. Arthurs explores the intersection between race and class. She places two adult children of Jamaican immigrants side my side. One is rich, the other is not. The narrator (the poorer Jamaican) discusses how she feels interacting with the rich Jamaican. There’s a sense of camaraderie because they are both black and both Jamaican, but she’s acutely aware that there is a slight distance between them because they have had very different life experiences, and because they each can’t imagine what the other went through. We experience the narrator feeling slightly uncomfortable, embarrassed even, when introducing the rich girl to her home life. We see her disgust when the rich girl only uses black guys to get back at her white lover. The rich girl’s family wealth allows (or perhaps causes) her to behave similarly to the people who once oppressed both of their families.

Later on, we see several versions of sexuality. We see men with men, women with women, men with multiple women and women with multiple men. Each of these stories shows us the Jamaican attitude towards sexuality, and make it clear that while “slack” men are frowned upon, their sexual exploits are much more acceptable than those of “slack” women in the Caribbean community. All of the stories with homosexual characters tell us that Caribbean communities consider homosexuality unacceptable, even if one’s friends claim to tolerate it. None of this information is new, and the stories aren’t particularly good, but the self-acceptance in them is healthy and could possibly help someone still struggling with their identity.

Arthurs even touches on the perception of psychiatric medication in the Caribbean community. The mention of the medicine is so brief you might miss it, the one-liner sends the message that depression isn’t supposed to exist in Jamaicans. Having depression and seeking help is something shameful. I know from experience that this is true not only of Caribbean communities, but PoC communities as a whole. Each community handles mental health issues a little differently, but most of them sweep it under the rug one way or another.

Frankly speaking, even I’ll admit that three stars is a little harsh for this book, but 3.5 is also too much. It has the potential to be a four star collection but it’s just not there for me yet. Some days I think about the book and I want to give it two stars, then I remember some truly terrible collections (like Her Body and Other Stories, which I plan to review… eventually) get two stars and I want to give How to Love a Jamaican four stars.

Ultimately, I decided three stars was a fair compromise, but if I’m feeling generous I’ll call it 3.5. I can see this book winning awards. It ticks all the boxes: it’s a debut collection from a Black female author, it discusses sexuality in detail, it serves trauma for breakfast and it’s full of introspection rather than action. All of the books that have been nominated recently seem to be pretty much the same thing: “innovative” ways to see women’s/minority’s stories. There’s nothing particularly innovative if you belong to that community, but the people making the decisions usually don’t, therefore the novels are praiseworthy.

If you made it this far, thanks a ton. ❤ You’re the real MVP.

If you want to read it, you can find it on Amazon or wherever you usually buy books.

If you have recommendations of books by minority authors, please drop them in the comments. I’m always looking for something that’s actually new. (I.E. The Vegetarian was PHENOMENAL.)

ARCiverssary: State of the ARC #12

This isn’t actually the first time I’ve decided to try the State of the ARC meme, but it’s the first time I’ve organized my ARCs in enough time to write the post. The way it works:

My ARCs are spread across three main platforms, and I occasionally receive ARCs in my inbox. NetGalley is by far my preferred platform. Edelweiss basically requires you to write a blog post just to request the ARC and LibraryThing ARCs are usually PDFs, which are more difficult for me to read and manage than a MOBI (kindle) file.

Here’s a complete picture of my ARC collection:

https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?olz

State of the Arc
Infogram

I’ll get around to the Edelweiss, LibraryThing and Author ARCs eventually, but clearly NetGalley needs the most attention. Fortunately, I’ve already read two of them: The Newcomers and How to Love a Jamaican. The reviews should be coming out this Thursday and next Thursday. That means by the next State of the ARC, my list should be at least two books shorter. 😀

Other than those two, August might be a slow ARC reading month. I’d like to read some of the physical books on my shelf instead. I rarely stick to my reading plan though, so we’ll see what happens.

As part of the State of the ARC meme, I’m also participating in the ARC Bingo!

Evelina says we can add the books to the BINGO as soon as we finish reading them, but I know I’ll forget to review them if I do that. Instead, I won’t add to the BINGO until after I’ve published my review. The goal is to get BINGO before the end of the year. We’re coming up on August, which leaves 4 months. I think I can do this. I’ve already crossed off two categories, once they’re reviewed I’ll put em up. This game is actually useful for helping me decide which ARCS so read next. Thanks, Evelina, for your genius, lol.

Look out for a book review on Thursday and a tea tasting next Tuesday! 🙂 If you want to join the meme or see who else is in, head over to Avalinah’s Books.

Song of Blood and Stone Review & Author Q & A!

Hey birdies, long time no see! *nervous laughter*

I came back from the dead to take part in L. Penelope’s Song of Blood and Stone blog tour. To be honest, I thought I’d snagged a copy of Children of Blood and Bone (by Tomi Adeyemi), but by the time I realized my mistake I’d already signed up for the blog tour. I figured I’d give the book a try; the premise was interesting enough:

“Orphaned and alone, Jasminda lives in a land where cold whispers of invasion and war linger on the wind. Jasminda herself is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her gift of Earthsong is feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive–an injured spy who threatens to steal her heart.

Jack’s mission behind enemy lines to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and Lagamiri is about to fall nearly cost him his life, but he is saved by the healing Song of a mysterious young woman. Now he must do whatever it takes to save Elsira and it’s people from the True Father and he needs Jasminda’s Earthsong to do it. They escape their ruthless captors and together they embark on a perilous journey to save Elsira and to uncover the secrets of The Queen Who Sleeps.”

In the end, L. Penelope really delivered with this novel.

The Review

When I actually got around to reading Song of Blood and Stone, I’d forgotten the premise. Within the first few pages, it became clear to me that Jasminda, a dark-skinned citizen, is an outcast among her light-skinned peers. She suffers humiliation and discrimination at the hands of countrymen who refuse to believe she belongs there. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? My immediate recognition of Jasminda’s plight drew me into the novel.

In the beginning, Jasminda’s ferocity, intelligence and strength of character are the center of focus. She’s determined to keep the rights to her land and make a life for herself, despite the government working against her. She knows how to navigate the mountains and make herbal medicine, and she even stops to heal an Elsiran, despite having no real reason to do so. When the Lagrimari soldiers invade her house and attempt to abuse both her an Jack, she doesn’t hesitate to defend herself with whatever weapons she could find.

Later, as Jasminda falls in love with Jack and as she starts to take on more responsibility to saving the country, Jasminda’s original fire seems to die a little (booo ☹️). She fails to connect dots and starts making stupid mistakes that threaten her life more than once. Jack’s thoughts, motivations and emotions take center stage, and his motivations almost always have to do with keeping Jasminda near him.

Fortunately, the “save-the-world” storyline isn’t completely lost in the “star-crossed lovers” subplot. Though L. Penelope’s set up leaves no doubt as to how the novel will end, the execution was near-flawless and I found myself literally gasping as all of the threads came together. I was so engrossed in the action I stayed up until 3 AM one night to finish the last 100 pages.

Was Song of Blood and Stone perfect? No, not by a long shot. I received an uncorrected advance reader copy, so I’ll leave comments about awkward word choices and sentence fragments out of my assessment. Instead, I’ll focus on the actual content.

For one, the main plot was too predictable. Fortunately, there are plenty of subplots and secondary characters to focus on, which make the story all around more interesting. Second, each chapter begins with “collected folktales,” which are L. Penelope’s version of Aesop’s Fables for Song of Blood and Stone. While I commend her for the effort, I often found the folktales confusing and distracting. If I put thought into it, I probably could have figured them out, but as the action in the novel got more intense I was less willing to put my mental energy into decoding the folktales. Lastly, Jack and Jasminda’s characters are both rather flat. They experience very little character growth throughout the novel. Song of Blood and Stone is the first novel in the Earthsinger series, so I sincerely hope they develop more over the course of the saga.

All in all I’d give this book 4.5 stars. It had its flaws, but I found it incredibly difficult to put down and I don’t regret reading it. Be forewarned: there are multiple detailed (but not explicit) descriptions of sex throughout the novel. People who are triggered by tales of discrimination, race wars, wartime violence, refugee camps, family death and rape might want to proceed with caution.

I recommend Song of Blood and Stone to people who enjoys tales of magic, afro-futurism connection with nature. I’d also recommend it to anyone looking for a strong(ish) black female protagonist. Though St. Martin’s Press classifies the book as YA, the themes are mature and suitable for an older audience as well.

Song of Blood and Stone goes on sale today. If you plan on grabbing a copy, I’d be greatly appreciative if you purchase it through my Amazon link. You’re under no obligation to do so, but the few cents I earn on every novel are helpful to me and cost you nothing. 🙂 For more purchasing options, visit the book’s page on the St. Martin’s Press website. Undecided? Check out other people’s reviews on Goodreads.

Like most of my books, I received this ARC from St. Martin’s press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. If you think this review is too positive to be honest, check out some of my other reviews. I promise I’m not always so nice, haha.

The Q & A

Due to the nature of the blog tour, some of these questions and answers may be the same as on other blogs. I’ve included both my questions and the general Q & A put forth in the Song of Blood and Stone press release.

1. What inspired you to write this series? What came first: The characters or the world? What was your inspiration for the magic of Earthsong? Were you inspired by other books? Movies?

When I first wrote this book, up until the time I gave it to my first editor, I thought it was going to be a novella. It was always meant to be a fairytale-esque story of a girl’s journey from the margins of society straight to its upper echelons. The characters Jack and Jasminda were there before the world was ever clear in my mind. The first scene I wrote was the one where they meet in front of her cabin. I knew they were from different, warring countries and they came from very different sorts of lives, but that was all. Through the magic of revision (lots and lots of revision) I discovered the journey that the characters would go on and all the conflicts they would face.

I love fantasy and there were so many inspiring series that I soaked in prior to writing the book, from Graceling* by Kristin Cashore to Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. But I think this book owes its biggest inspiration to the Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta. Her fantasy world felt well realized and complex, filled with incredibly detailed characters, groups, nations, and settings. But I also wanted to write a kinder, gentler fantasy novel that wouldn’t double as a doorstopper. And mix in a really strong romance like some of my favorites Nalini Singh or Kresley Cole.

*Sarabi’s note: Graceling is also a great series. I remember loving it in high school.

2. What were your favorite scenes to write for SONG OF BLOOD AND STONE? What was the hardest scene to write? Is there a scene or moment that really sticks with you?

Though Usher, Jack’s valet, spends relatively little time on the page, I loved writing the scenes with him and Jack. When two characters have known each other for a long time, it can be really fun to play with how to show their relationship. Usher has known Jack his entire life and so the way they interact is unique. I also loved writing the visions that Jasminda gets from the stone. They were in a different voice, from a totally different perspective and the peeked in on a vibrant, fully formed world that’s different to the one of the main story. Hardest to write were the ones where Jasminda is confronted with the racism and bias of Elsirans.

The scene that sticks with me is when Jack and Jasminda are in the army base and he sleeps on the ground beside her, holding her hand. I find it really sweet and romantic.

3. How involved were you in the cover art process?

Since this book was initially self-published, and St. Martin’s Press decided to keep the cover when I signed on with them, I was extremely involved in the cover art process. I choose the designer after over a year of looking for the right artist, while I was writing the book. And that was probably the best decision I made. He was fantastic, and took all of my notes and ideas and created a cover that I just wasn’t ready for. It seriously blew my mind the first time I saw it.

4. Is there a character in SONG OF BLOOD & STONE that you most relate to? How do you select names of your characters?

I think Jasminda represents various aspects of myself both as I am and as I’d like to be. She’s definitely bolder than I am, but her struggle to feel a part of things is one that I understand.

As for naming my characters, for each nation, I asked questions about how the names should generally work. Things like: which prefixes and suffixes are common? Which letters and sounds are prevalent? Which letters or sounds either don’t exist or are more rare? So the Elsirans have a lot of double vowels in their names. Qs, Vs, and Zs are prominent, but there are no hard Cs.

Lagrimari names generally don’t use Js. I set up which suffixes were for men and women and the types of sounds the names would have. There are only 9 last names in Lagrimar, corresponding with the Houses. Jasminda as a name is an exception. Her parents didn’t follow the naming conventions of either country for her or her brothers. Because their interracial relationship was unique, they wanted their children’s names to be distinctive as well.

. Have you heard Emily Wapnick’s TED talk about being a multipotentialite? Both the talk and your bio really resonate with me, because I’m also interested in doing many different things. Do you or did you find it difficult to switch careers and make all of your interests work together?

I hadn’t heard of that before, but I listened to the TED talk and wow! Mind blown! I’ve found my people J It can absolutely be hard having so many different interests. Right now, I’m trying to figure out how I can start taking Krav Maga classes and obstacle course racing classes at the local Ninja Warrior gym. While I continue to rock climb and practice with my piano lessons app and still have time to make websites and write books! I can’t do all the things! It’s frustrating. But usually things happen in cycles, because they need to. At one period in my life, it was relatively easy to get a group of people together and make a short film—these days it’s much tougher. So I do other things.

And if/when you are making money from your interests, focusing becomes easier. The closest deadline gets the most attention. When deadlines converge, however, you’re in for some rough days, and some things you just need to let go of. For me, that aligns with when those things stop making me happy. I’m in a constant juggling act of letting something old go to make room for a new interest or opportunity, but life is cyclical like that. And if you think of it as your super power instead of a detriment, you can use your power for good!

6. What advice would you give aspiring authors, especially authors or color, striving to have their stories and truths shared?

I would tell aspiring authors to really investigate your goals and be frank with yourself about why you want to do this. It’s a difficult path emotionally, creatively, and professionally and what will get you through the low points is being very clear about your “why”. It can also be incredibly rewarding, but knowing what you’re getting yourself into is key.

Writing and publishing are two different disciplines. Your “why” will inform whether you pursue traditional publishing or seek to self-publish. It will keep you going through rejections, delays, bad reviews, disappointment, and the imposter syndrome that we all go through.

The other very important thing is to have a community to fall back on. Whether that’s a chapter of a professional organization like RWA, SFWA, SCWBI, and others, or a Facebook group, critique group, or writer’s circle, having others to commiserate and celebrate with you makes the journey much easier.

I’d like to thank L. Penelope for taking the time to answer blogger questions. 🙂

Old Assignment: “In the Machine, I See Everything…”

…and it all looks the same. On the surface, “The Machine Stops” (by EM Forster) seems like another typical dystopian sci-fi story, however closer inspection of the story’s history yields one important find: it’s old. This leaves me with the assumption that “The Machine Stops” in some way paved the road for its subject matter. I will admit, I have not read every single technology-related dystopian novel, nor am I well versed in the history of the entire movement, but I’ve read enough to realize particular patterns.

**Note: this post contains mild spoilers for The Giver, Brave New World, and the Uglies Series.**

The first thing I picked up on was the characters’ lack of original thought. It quickly became obvious that the majority of the people in the world of the Machine were not accustomed to coming up with their own ideas, and even when they did their ideas were either of little substance or rehashings of the ideas of other people. I imagine this lack of originality is a direct consequence of the Machine. When there are buttons that do everything, there is no real need to do anything.

Immediately, I made the connection between this story and Scott Westerfield’s Uglies series. The people in Westerfield’s novels also lived in a world so technologically advanced that there was very little a computer could not do. Westerfield’s novels, like Forster’s story, refer to a previous version of human civilization in which is apparently less advanced than the current one, so much so that that version of society is obsolete, its members extinct. The difference between these two stories lies in how the humans use the technology. Forster’s short story prompted me to think about technology in new ways. Whereas the people in Westerfield’s novels for the most part used technology to bring themselves to things, the people in Forster’s narrative used technology to bring things to them. This relationship between humans and technology never occurred to me before.

While describing the human relationship with technology, Forster chooses adjectives that suggest a vast emptiness. He actually repeatedly uses the words “nothing” and “empty.” He emphasizes the idea that while the people are seeing their friends and the rest of the world through the machine, they are are actually very much alone in their rooms. He never explicitly states that each citizen lives alone, but it is implied through Vashti’s lifestyle and the repeated assertion that face-to-face interaction is rare and touching is absolutely barbaric (“[the attendant] behaved barbarically… People never touched one another,” page 8). I concluded that the nothingness/emptiness doesn’t particularly bother the humans because they have the machine, and because everyone has approximately the same surroundings, technology and lifestyle.

The idea of sameness is another frequent theme within the dystopian science-fiction genre. The Giver (Lois Lowry), The Uglies Series, and Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) all deal with the idea of sameness. In the Lowry novel, citizens look more or less the same, they all see in black and white and they all follow the same steps into adulthood. The only variances lie in their particular occupations when they grow older, but these differences are inconsequential (unless on is assigned the occupation of “The Receiver,” like Jonas).

The Westerfield novels depict a socially accepted plastic surgery that makes everyone “pretty.” Before having the surgery, one is referred to as “ugly.” The surgery is designed to keep everyone young and pretty, while suppressing original thought (more on that later). In Brave New World people are manufactured in a laboratory. The lower a person’s rank in society, the more copies of them their are. The sameness in these novels suggests that eliminating variance is the most effective way to rid society of trouble and dissent. After all, if everyone is identical (or nearly identical), what would be the point in coveting another’s belongings and life?

Until the end of the story, religion in “The Machine Stops” was faint but present. Religious rituals were alluded to through Vashti’s habit of crying “O Machine!” and kissing “the book.” In Brave New World there is a similar pattern of humans worshiping technology. The religion in Huxley’s world is called “Fordism,” so named because Henry Ford invented the assembly belt, which, according to the novel, is the beginning of technology as we know it (I also couldn’t help but notice the sheer number of products- people included- in Brave New World that were produced on an assembly line).

The inclusion of religion in these two works confirms a hunch I had a few years back: society cannot exist without some form of religion. People are constantly searching for something to give meaning to their lives; they want something to turn to when things go wrong. Vashti’s actions when the Machine begins to stop further strengthen my point. She fervently performs her rituals (chanting, kissing the book and pushing buttons) as if her belief alone would spare her. It is important to note, however, that every person in Brave New World and in “The Machine Stops” follows the same religion. There would be too much dissent if people followed different religions. It is also important to note that both religions are tied to the technologies that lie at society’s foundation. This forges an powerful bond between, humans, religion and technology. Just as the humans cannot live without religion, they cannot live without technology.

As mentioned earlier, original thought is not common in Forster’s fictional world. Towards the end, around the same time the Machine starts propagating religion, original thoughts are more publicly rebuked. Original thought is the beginning of disunity, so it’s best to curtail the flow of such thoughts. Both Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Westerfield’s novels address this topic. In Westerfield’s novels, only the members of the government and the members of the rebellion are aware of the true purpose of the “pretty surgery.” Being pretty and happy are incentives to undergo the procedure, however the happiness is created through what is essentially an implanted tumor on the brain. The tumor rests on the areas of the brain responsible for creativity and unpleasant emotion.

In Bradbury’s novel, original and dissenting ideas are eliminated through near-ritual book burning, while the masses are kept happy by technology that takes care of all their needs. Technology essentially distracts the population from the larger problem. All of these stories paint humans as gullible, adaptable creatures (with the exception of a few main characters who can see through the charade) that don’t question what’s going on as long as they are pacified by their televisions and computers. In a way, there is a similar pattern forming in society today. News is more accessible than ever with the invention of the internet and smartphones that can run news apps, but people tend not to be as informed because there are “more important” matters to attend to, such as achieving a high score on Angry Birds.

I’ve spent the majority of this analysis talking about the similarities between EM Forster’s story and novels of the same genre, but that isn’t to say “The Machine Stops” doesn’t have anything new to add to the conversation. On the contrary, “The Machine Stops” brings forth two new insights. The first concerns a new point of view in the human-technology interaction and the second concerns the result of the fall of technology.

In dystopian novels, the audience usually only gets to see the thoughts of the dissenter. Those who acquiesce to “the system” are obviously present in the stories, but they do not have much dimension beyond the face that believes “the system” is best for society. In EM Forster’s narrative, the audience sees the Machine from the perspective of an ardent believer in its powers. We see Vashti’s disgust towards her son’s dissenting thoughts and even her failure to comprehend the idea that anything could be wrong with her beloved Machine. Had the story been told only from perspective, and excluded her son, the audience may well have converted to a believer in the Machine (until the end, that is). Speaking of the end, I have yet to read another dystopian or science-fiction novel which concludes with the nearly immediate death of every person within the novel’s world. In “The Machine Stops,” people were so dependent on the Machine that they accepted its shortcomings, and died within minutes of its ultimate failure. The humans literally could not survive without technology.

At times, modern attachment to technology feels similar to the relationship described by EM Forster, albeit less extreme. It is still possible to live without technology, but it’s becoming increasingly more difficult. Fortunately, the progression and production of technology relies on creativity, so we’ve thus far avoided the pitfall of ceasing to come up with our own ideas. We also have yet to achieve sameness. While people are more and more able to acquire similar things, and while people are expected to have certain “baseline” technology (namely a car, a cellphone, and a computer) the variety among these products is astonishing and there are still areas of the world that are untainted by the “modern world’s” incessant coveting.

Though unrelated to the bulk of my analysis, I can’t help but take “The Machine” as a metaphor for the social side of “modern” society as well. Our world is very much a machine. We are expected to follow the scheme and complete the tasks in order. I won’t get into that right now, I’ve written about it here. The main idea is that we all must remain vigilant, lest we become so settled into our way of life that we do not notice the machine taking over.

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I originally wrote this post in 2014. I was going to write a long, updated political conclusion but such rambling has no place on my blog right now. Besides, the post is long enough. Suffice it to say that reading this post concerned me. I’m frightened by just how similar current events are to the action in the short story. That said, I remember immensely enjoying the tale, and I highly recommend it. I don’t remember enough to give an exact star rating, but The Machine Stops is definitely somewhere in the 4-5 star range.

“The Machine Stops” is in the public domain, which means you can read it for free. I’ve chosen to link Feedbooks and the Wikipedia audiobook, but you can also find “The Machine Stops” on LibriVox (a free audiobook app). If you do choose to buy it, I’d be grateful if you use my Amazon link. It costs nothing for you and gives me a few cents towards maintaining this blog. ❤

A Reimagining of a Childhood Classic + a Not-So-Good Read

Heads up, two graphic novel reviews are coming our way.

anne of green gables cover image — Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2017. 232 Pages

Anne of Green Gables, written by L.M. Montgomery, adapted by Mariah Marsden, illustrated by Brenna Thummler and edited by Erika Kuster.

I think I read Anne of Green Gables for the first time in fifth grade. It wasn’t a book I particularly loved, but since the new remake came out in 2016 and the graphic novel popped up on NetGalley I snagged a copy.

My first impression of this version of was that the art is beautiful. It’s detailed yet not overly so, and it suits the material at hand. Anne’s whimsical nature comes across in the bright colors and patterned surroundings.

Overall, the novel is short and sweet. It begins around the time the Cuthberts adopt Anne and ends after she graduates from college. This adaptation trims the fat of the novel and sticks to the most important scenes. I’d have appreciated just a little more story, but Anne is fine as it is.

Because it’s been so long since I read the novel version of Anne of Green Gables, I’d forgotten the majority of the plot. This made reading the graphic novel a pleasing experience. I’d forgotten how cute Anne and Gilbert are together; I started shipping them almost as soon as Gilbert entered the narrative. Whenever the elders punished Anne for a mistake, I too felt the harshness and unfairness of it all. I’d also forgotten Anne has such a lovely vocabulary. Her ability to tell tales, is pretty much unrivaled. Huck Finn comes close, but Anne’s language is much prettier. I bet she’d make a great author or blogger.

The Anne of Green Gables graphic novel is short; I read the entire thing in the span of an hour or so. It’s great for people who want to re-read the story without sinking a huge time commitment into it. It’s also a great way to introduce a graphic novel reader into classics. I know there are kids and adults alike who are adamant in their belief that the classics are no good, perhaps this version of Anne of Green Gables will change their minds. This version may also help those who find the novel version too difficult. The visual aspect can help people follow along. There’s no need for people of differing abilities to miss out on a great story.

I really couldn’t find fault with this graphic novel, so I’m giving it five glowing stars.

image of pos cover — Lion Forge Comics, 2017. 256 Pages

POS: Piece of Sh*t, written by Pierre Pacquet and illustrated by Jesus Alonso Iglesias

Oh boy, what do I even say about this one? Take pretty much all of the positive energy from the Anne section and drop it in the trash. POS‘s art was nice, but that’s about where my praise ends. I understand that dog is important to the story but the plot has no real cohesion. The graphic novel jumps from scene to scene in a rambling flashback that ends in anticlimax. There are too many scenes that have nothing to do with the dog, if the dog is indeed the focus.

I guess it was kind of cool to see the struggles of someone trying to get into the publishing business. POS is a french novel that’s been translated and released for English speaking readers. I honestly wouldn’t recommend simply because there’s no story. If i had time to get to know Pierre and get invested in his life, maybe it would be a better story. As it stand, the reader is immediately thrown into Pierre’s life, with no real reason to care about anything he does. Skip this one, pick up a second copy of Anne instead, lol.

Since zero stars isn’t an option I’m giving POS once rousing star for the POS that it is.

Anne of Green Gables on Goodreads | POS on Goodreads (apparently there were people who found POS riveting)

I received both of these graphic novels from NetGalley.

February Stats

I’m out of my slump for an undetermined amount of time, so I might as well make the most of it. It’s been a productive month and if the momentum continues, March will be productive as well.

I haven’t been keeping track of Instagram and Twitter followers just yet, but based on my notifications I gained quite a few. I seem to receive a notification every couple of days. Several appeared to be spam accounts/ follow-for-follow accounts, so I’m not sure how many of those followers will stick around.

Last month, I published published three posts (click the image to read ’em):

Sadly, I only managed to taste one tea in Feb but my tasting notes should be out on the 8th. I’ve been trying to recover from this weird evolving flu-mixed-with-food-poisoning. My stomach can’t tolerate caffeine at the moment. 😦 I’ll try again soon; life without tea is boring, haha.

Though I told myself I wouldn’t request any books in February, I couldn’t resist these Black History Month titles:

White Privilege by Kalawant Bhopal, Pub Date: Feb 15th, 2018
Denmark Vesey’s Garden by Ethan J. Kytle and Blain Roberts, Pub Date: April 3rd, 2018
James Baldwin and the 1980s by Joseph Vogel, Pub Date: March 30th, 2018

The respective publishers approved me for all three but I have no idea when I’ll get around to actually reading them. Thankfully, two of them don’t have archive dates set. However, a couple of the pub dates are about a month away so I might pause my China readings and read these instead. I’ll finally be ahead of the curve! I’m a little scared of Denmark Vesey’s Garden though, because it’s nearly 500 pages. It’ll take me at least two weeks of dedicated reading to get through it.

I also requested Song of Blood and Stone, which is an afro-futurist novel. I didn’t include it with the Black History Month titles because those are all political, but this one definitely deserves a mention because afro-futurist novels tend to be pretty good. I think I’m most excited to read this one.

I’m almost finished reading Imperial Woman (Pearl S. Buck), so that review should be out soon (the 12th?) anyway, but do you think I should continue with my original plan or do the Black History Month reading first? Alternating is also an option, but I like themes.

General Reading Stats

Books Finished: 3

Read but Unreviewed Arcs: 5

Unread Arcs: 15 from Netgalley, 5 from Library Thing

I promised myself I wouldn’t sign up for Edelweiss until I cleared my NetGalley and Library Thing ARCs. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me.

One Word: Yikes

beijing smog cover — Matador Publishing, 2017. 326 pages

I’ve got to be very careful with what I say in this review.

Though Beijing Smog is fiction, it is political in nature, I’ll stick to reviewing the novel without going on tangents. To be honest, the book was awful.

What it’s about and who’s involved:

Beijing Smog follows the stories of three seemingly unrelated groups of characters who all have a hand in dangerous cyber-business. After the scheme comes crashing down, several of the characters meet and no one is really sure of the truth. The only reality is that everything relates to the Party.

US Team

The most relevant member of the US Team is is Chuck Drayton, the screw up “Cyber Guy” who is unqualified for his job as a US Ambassador in Shanghai. We meet other members of Team USA, but these diplomats and hackers don’t do much to advance the plot.

Hong Kong Team

Calling Anthony “Tony” Morgan part of the Hong Kong team is not quite right, considering he actually lives in Shanghai (like Chuck). His wife (Cindy Wu) has a house in Beijing as well, but most of Tony’s story takes place in Hong Kong and Macau. He meets some people there, but these people are mostly irrelevant.

Beijing Team

The Beijing Team is actually just a group of flunkee college students who spend too much time online. Wang, Liu and Zhang are a group of friends who live and study together, though they focus more on getting rich quick than their courses. I can’t remember their full names because Ian Williams mostly refers to them by their surnames. None of the boys are particularly bright.

The Review

There are so many issues with Beijing Smog I don’t even know where to start. Within five minutes of opening the book, I already hated Chuck Drayton. He’s what I’d call the typical entitled American expat. If things don’t go his way he flies off the handle, and he seems to have almost no understanding of China and Chinese culture. He complains that a mix up at the hotel and bad traffic forced him to take the metro, and that he’s going to be late to his function. The thing is, he’s only four stops away from the venue. If four metro stops (8-10 minutes on the Beijing metro) is going to make you late, then not even a cab will save you.

Besides, Chuck doesn’t take his job seriously and he’s always making mistakes. He hardly knows the first thing about software, let alone anything about cyber security. His knowledge amounts to what you can learn from spending a few hours on Google. Throughout the novel, Chuck’s ineptitude and his contempt for others make him my least favorite character. He also puts other people in danger.

When I met Tony I thought he was a nice enough guy, but the way Williams describes his wealth is unrealistic. I can’t remember how much his apartment costs, but unless he actually bought the place there is no rent in Shanghai that is as high as Tony’s supposedly is. I’m extremely familiar with Shanghai and its rent prices. The number may seem like nothing compared to New York prices but it’s astronomical compared to the average Shanghai price, even for an apartment in Shanghai’s financial district.

Tony doesn’t have too many character flaws. He frequently visits of massage parlors, but that’s pretty much to be expected of his sort (that doesn’t make it right). He and his wife have a mechanical relationship (also common). He’s just a man doing what he can to make money. His greed is off-putting but he’s still not as bad as Chuck.

Finally, we come to the Beijing Team. The boys are so maddeningly daft I had to take breaks after reading their sections. For the first part of the novel, Williams spends time talking about Zhang and his issues. Zhang, however, turns out to be an unnecessary character, as is his friend Liu. Wang is the only character that matters in the end, but we only really start to get to know him in the last third of the novel.

On that note, Beijing Smog is incredibly slow-paced. It’s not obvious to the readers how the characters are connected until about halfway through the novel, and even the characters’ stories don’t really start overlapping until about the 75% mark. When the characters do meet each other, it’s only Chuck that meets Wang, and their interaction only lasted a handful of pages. Tony never meets Wang, but Wang meets one of Tony’s new enemies. Chuck and Tony meet early on, but there’s so much filler that their interactions become boring.

In fact, there are entire chapters of filler and the dialogue is terrible. I found myself actively thinking “who talks like this?” I also found it hard to believe that after being confronted by the Party about his online activity TWICE, Wang still doesn’t understand the ramifications of his online posts. His excuse is always, “it was just a joke!” or “I post so many things everyday, how can I remember that one post?” I also make a million posts a day, but I still generally remember what I posted. Are there posts I regret? Yes, but I haven’t forgotten them. Wang starts seeing one of the main symbols from his posts popping up at the protests around the country and can not wrap his pea-brained head around why it is problematic from the government’s point of view. By extension, he can’t figure out why the authorities keep hounding him. HIS FRIEND EVEN WARNS HIM ABOUT THE CRACKDOWN ON THE USAGE OF CERTAIN WORDS AND SYMBOLS. HE IGNORES THE WARNING AND CONTINUES TO POST, DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHY THE AUTHORITIES WON’T LEAVE HIM ALONE. How can someone be so thick-skulled?

Clearly, I am angry.

Perhaps it’s unfair to judge a novel based on the characters, but since the characters are the substance of the novel, what choice do I have? Even if the characters were perfect, it’s not like Beijing Smog is a literary masterpiece.

In summary, this book is the story of a bunch of idiots that and could have been reduced to the size of a novella. There are loose ends in the novel too, which is just great. I’m giving Beijing Smog two stars because I actually finished it, but I hated every single second.

The book is still too new for Thriftbooks and other secondhand sites, but here’s Beijng Smog on Amazon and Goodreads.

Beijing Smog is somewhat similar to Ray Hecht’s South China Morning Blues, so I’ve linked that review as well (but SCMB was actually a much better book). I wrote it a couple years ago and haven’t updated since, so it still follows the older format.

If you prefer the older format, let me know! I’ll go back to it. 😛 For the record, I received Beijing Smog as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

How Much Tea Do I Own? (Feb 2018 + January Tea Haul)

I generally try to be frugal, but in the spirit of ~research~ and for the sake of the blog, I’ve become somewhat of a compulsive tea purchaser. When I went to Shanghai at the end of January, I wound up buying much more than I intended.

I used to think I was getting good prices from Baobao, the woman I usually go to at Laoximen Tea City, but now I’m not so sure. Per quantity, her prices are much higher than a place like Teasenz, but I haven’t compared her tea side by side with the others so I can’t speak on quality. She claims her tea is amazing quality but I have yet to be blown away by what she has to offer. Still, her price-to-quality ratio is better than the other tea sellers I’ve found. I’ve already bargained the price down, but I also understand the lady has costs to cover and she lets me taste a lot of different things so I guess that’s okay.

During this trip I got:

Rou Gui at 80 RMB (~13 USD) for 50 grams
Gaoshan Xiaozhong at 60 RMB (~10 USD) for 60 grams
Dian Hong at 20 RMB (~3 USD)
Tie Guan Yin at 10 RMB (~1.50 USD).

I get the feeling that my lady was just trying to get rid of some of that tea, haha.

Jan 2018 Tea Haul Image — My January purchases. First row (from left): Tieguanyin, Rou Gui, Dian Hong
Bottom row: chinese dates, goji berries, barley, Milan Xiang, Tian Cha

After I finished chatting with Baobao, I went upstairs to a guy who sells better tea, although it’s much more expensive. I got Milan Xiang (Honey Orchid) at 100 RMB (~16 USD) for 50g. Originally he said the Milan Xiang was 200 RMB but he was about to leave for a holiday dinner and gave it to me for half price. He also gave me something called “Tian Cha” and I have no idea what to make of it. It smells terrible and looks like little pellets so I’m a little afraid to try it.

When I returned to my apartment in Jiangxi Province, I noticed my tea drawer was full, so I decided to take inventory. I’m actually somewhat ashamed by how much tea I have; I think I need to take a break from buying for a while. This list doesn’t even include the teas I left in my parents’ house, haha. I’d still like to visit the tea mountains, but perhaps I should wait until I have a proper stream of disposable income.

tea drawer picture — My very shameful tea drawer. Yes, I know this is not the proper way to store tea, but the packaging is good enough that this works in the short term.

Here’s what I found in the drawer (with links to posts, if I have one):

A Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess) gift
Gushu (Ancient Tree) Red Tea
Naturalia Gunpowder Green
Maojian (a type of green tea)
Fukamushi Cha (a Japanese green tea)
“High Quality” Green tea (it doesn’t even have a name. I tried hard to find it)
Two different grades of Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe)
Rooibos
Ripe Pu’er Cake (I didn’t look at the details, I just saw it peaking out of its storage place)
Raw Pu’er Cake
Teasenz Chocobar Pu’er

There are also some dried herbs in the drawer:

Rose buds
Goji berries
Chinese dates
Mint leaves
Barley

I also bought the dates, berries, and barley in Shanghai, but I don’t remember what I paid for them because I got them for cooking rather than casual drinking.

I have about five months to get through all of these because I don’t want to carry them in my luggage when I visit my parents over the summer. didn’t look at the quantities, and some of these teas are only sample-sized packages, so it should be doable. I’ll try to document the flavors as I go. I might even do a blend or two to break up the monotony, haha.