Above & Byonkers — a splendid name — is a stylish blog. As promised in her branding canvas, thus far, Bianca has promoted local resources in the Vancouver area that are book-related. Upon first impression, I was excited about the different reads that Bianca had posted about on her page. Bianca seems to make a concerted effort to feature diverse authors and bookstores, as in the case with her post about Moon of the Crusted Snow and the newly opened Vancouver Black Library in February. She states in her branding canvas that she is interested in her page’s capacity to educate and provide free resources, targeting “bookworms that are looking for resources.”

 In that sense, I think Bianca has done well by highlighting, for example, the free workshops that people can attend in the Vancouver Public Library. When she reviews books, she is emphatic and intriguing. Reading her Moon of the Crusted Snow post, for example, Bianca writes, “Rice forces the reader to confront the dark truths of starvation and lack of resources. Moon of the Crusted Snow is a dark but eloquent and necessary read.” Bianca uses evocative language that teases at the major themes of the books that she reads. Her reviews seem largely spoiler-free, which could be a plus for people just looking for books to check out. However, I would personally like to see her review some of the books’ powerful moments, or even some of their weaker moments. I think this would make her reviews more personable. I really liked when Bianca related reading Moon of the Crusted Snow to meeting the author, for example. It makes the review feel more unique to her experiences, and since this is from her perspective, that’s really good to see. One way to add some depth is adding particularly interesting quotes or chapters. It could be added as a pullquote, which would draw readers’ eyes in, and then Bianca would have the opportunity to discuss the quote’s significance if she wishes!

Designwise, Above & Byonkers is intended to attract a community. I think Bianca has done great in engaging with the writer/reader community. Her latest blog post, an interview with the owner of Iron Dog Books, is a great example of this. Hilary is a big name in Vancouver’s reading community in particular, and I loved hearing about her experiences. Bianca asked great questions for people like her audience, targeting people who are interested in entering the publishing industry. I also enjoyed that the bright white font is large and easy to read against the dark background.

I think the black and hot pink theme is really attractive and fun, but doesn’t necessarily communicate what the blog is. Although the latest posts are prominently displayed on the top, the reader only has the small icon in the browser to visually indicate what kind of blog they are on. I believe some warmer colours (like maybe if the pink were a burgundy, or if the pink were paired with a less contrasting shade of colour) or some icons of books on the homepage would help better convey that this is a reading/writing blog. I do like that this theme includes a reading length, though, it reminds me of the writing website Medium. 

Overall, I adore Bianca’s content so far. I think it’s really good to have a reading/writing website that uniquely focuses on resources people can find in Vancouver. I think that the website has potential to attract reading groups and communities, and as seen with Bianca’s interview with Hilary, opportunities to speak with authors and other writing professionals. Bianca could definitely receive sponsors one day to review books, or even book subscription packages. I am excited to see where her blog goes.

Thanks Bianca!

The post Peer Review 3: Above & Byonkers appeared first on Love, Kelly.

Dear readers,

Today, I’m exploring Chii’s Sweet Home. Right away, the sweet header, soft colour scheme, and this enticing image really speaks to me that this website is a comforting place. It’s downright dreamy to look at.

The image, by the way, is from Studio Ghibli film From Up on the Poppy Hill. What a good aesthetic to use! Most people associate Studio Ghibli animations with comfort and beautiful animations, and for the subtitle of the blog, “Cooking and Chill. Home-cooked recipes, inspired by Asian cuisine with a touch of Western-style,” that suits it quite well!

The picture of ramen on the top of the homepage looks delicious, too. But initially, I thought it was a recipe or a photo she took, so that’s what I looked for. But I think it’s just a photo used to sell the impression that the average reader will find Asian cuisine here. It looks like this header photo rotates once in a while, too, but with the muted colours, it always blends in with the blog.

I’m a bit confused by the side bar because the text, “About This Blog” makes me expect that there will be a short description of what the blog is about. I feel like a short blurb about who Chii is here would do, since there’s a subtitle underneath the title and an about page in the menu.

Content

Peeking at Jana’s peer review of Chii’s website, Jana notes that Chii has done an excellent job visually of communicating that there are comforting recipes to be found here, and some real heart in Chii’s inspirations to cook. One challenge Jana issues is for Chii to insert more of her personal memories or stories into her posts. She remarks that her “cross-cultural experience” could be the foundation for Chii’s branding and how she writes. In other words, tapping more into Chii’s relationships with Vietnamese and Western cuisine could help blog posts be more personable.

In general, I think Chii is also leaning into the theme of a college student cooking alone finding cheap and healthy recipes, too. In her second essay, she writes, “I notice that a lot of people are having a hard time finding fun things to do while spending their days in isolation. And because we all stay at home, cooking becomes a crucial part of our life.” This personally spoke to me. Having accessible recipes that could also draw people to Asian recipes is really heartwarming. Like Jana, I think future posts should thread this feeling of Chii talking about her feelings about the recipes that she’s making. I’d like to see not just an explanation of what food she’s making, but more about why she made it and how she feels about it.

When I read her egg white recipe post, for example, I kind of felt like I wanted to learn more about those macaroons! And maybe hear a little about how Chii came up with this recipe: did she just think egg whites, onions, and proteins went well together? Did she like it? Just two sentences explaining those details can add more personality to Chii’s recipes that I think would really help it skyrocket!

Also, her more recent recipes are centered on healthy foods. Is there a reason? I know personally that making healthy foods can feel difficult because it might be too expensive, so that’s something Chii can talk about when she’s introducing those specific recipes.

I also see a really good opportunity to start making Youtube or Tiktok videos making the recipes, and linking the full recipe in the description of the videos. In the blog posts, I would personally suggest putting a video link after the recipe so that people can see Chii make the recipe herself, and so people don’t have to scroll too far to get to the recipe. I also suggest a video link rather than embedding a video in WordPress outright because it might take longer for the post to load for the average user.

Still, if Chii would like ad revenue from her blog posts, it could be a good strategy to write a story about the recipe she’s making before having the recipe available so that users have to scroll past ads. But that may annoy other users, too, so these are some considerations Chii would have to make.

With all of this being said, I think Chii’s latest post on the signature noodles in Vietnam is really interesting! This isn’t a recipe post, but it does give a really cool overview of Vietnamese cuisine. I found my mouth watering as she explained these recipes. I liked that in some dishes, she inserts her memories of the dish and how she experienced them. For example, she writes, “I would like to tell you a couple of abstract meanings for this dish,” about Bun Thang. She explains the difference between what Hanoians call the soup and how her grandparents referred to the soup, with the former referring to the ingredients and the latter just meaning soup.

I thought to myself that “thang” is similar to how my Hakka parents pronounce a healing kind of soup rather than a regular soup. So it’s cool to make that connection. And I think having those moments where readers can feel Chii’s sincerity in day-to-day posts is really powerful. Sentences like how Chii would return home to eat all of the chicken pho her mom would make her is something that I think would speak to Chii’s audience: fellow students away from home that really miss their parents’ cooking. Maybe she could include recipes that her mom made. Or, if her mother is like mine, joke about how her mom doesn’t really have a strict recipe with what she makes. Having personal details like that in every post really solidifies, content-wise, the lovely branding that Chii has already established visually.

Conclusion

Overall, I find Chii’s Sweet Home to be a really comforting website. It’s visually very cozy, and the suggested recipes are approachable, too. My biggest comment is for Chii to find ways to insert herself into the recipes of her website.

Chii’s second essay for PUBL 101 really spoke to me. She says that writing can sometimes feel like a weakness for her. Reading this, and Chii’s about page, I think Chii expresses herself really well emotionally. I would like to see her talk a bit more about herself when she cooks a recipe. When I see Chii talk about her memories, or what it’s like to be a student living in a different country trying to make meals affordable, that’s when I relate to her the most. She could ask herself questions like:

1. What does this food remind me of?
2. Are there any memories I have about making this food that I can share?

Answering these questions in one or two sentences a post will really bring back the feeling of cozy home cooking that I get from reading through Chii’s blog. I think Chii already does a good job of explaining the flavours and textures of the food, but having these personal connections would help set Chii’s recipes apart.

I would also ask Chii to credit where her photos are from directly under the photo itself. When using images that aren’t yours, it’s ideal to check whether they are under Creative Commons licenses. One way Chii can do this is to do a Google Image search, and under “Tools,” click “Usage Rights,” then “Creative Commons licenses.”

Besides this, Chii also shows clear interest in developing videos for her recipes! This would be a wonderful addition to her website. To make the process less intimidating and less tiring, Chii could just set up a video camera and record herself making the recipe step-by-step with music in the background. She may need a friend to help her record, but overall, having something to watch would help bring the content to life.

Love,

Kelly