actual books and things
I feel like I didn't read anything last year because I didn't keep track and post my annual booklist. I read at least 2 books (the first two Liz Williams' Inspector Chen books -- which I loved), but I can't remember if I read more than that, which is sad on many levels.
This year I'm trying to keep better account. Last weekend I finished Eliot Pattison's Prayer of the Dragon, the next Shan Tao Yun mystery, set in Tibet. This weekend I devoured Lynn Flewelling's Shadows Return, the fourth Nightrunner series book.
I like the Shan Tao Yun series a lot, even though they're always a little depressing, too. Pattison is good at sketching interesting peripheral characters, and the ones in Prayer of the Dragon were particularly vivid. And I always ache for Shan -- this one had some hard but necessary realizations for him in his friendships with Gendun and Lokesh. Poor Shan. I have the newest book in the series, The Lord of Death, but I may go for Liz Williams first since I finally got her latest Inspector Chen book from Night Shade Books! Yay.
I wasn't terribly surprised that once I picked up Shadows Return I couldn't put it down. Not only was the story gripping -- the stakes are *so* high in this one! -- but I had really missed Alec and Seregil, so reading about them again made me happy. *sigh* I enjoy how they have both changed since the first book, but remain the same characters I loved to begin with.
I liked her Tamír trilogy, too -- there's some stuff in Shadows Return harkening back to some of the creepier elements from the Tamír books, and I liked that sense of connection and broad scale within her universe. Shadows Return had some parts that were hard for me to read because I was so worried about the characters. But I appreciate that, because it's a darkening world she's built there, and it's fascinating. I can't wait for the next book (already on pre-order!).
And actually, in Paris, I read an Alexander McCall Smith book that was in the apartment, The Sunday Philosophy Club.
And... I'm not sure I'll be reading any more. This one left me cold, and I got annoyed by it by the end. We're so deep inside Isabel's head the whole time, but there's something detached about her that I think I was supposed to find intellectually interesting, but it just made me wish there were more scenes about other characters and less time spent inside her head. Really, after a few chapters, her pithy observations about daily life in Edinburgh were not interesting to me.
I also watched stuff! I'm nearly caught up on Kings -- holy moley! -- but am at the point where I'm stressing over where it's going to end, since it was canceled (will there be anything like closure?).
This week's Legend of the Seeker was "Denna."
Next to Charlie Jade's "Through A Mirror Darkly," this is one of my favorite torture episodes! And I'm not a fan of torture! But. Wow. I admire "Denna" for embracing the kink factor and running with it. It's not my cup of tea per se, but I like that the show said, "To hell with it. Let's pander!" instead of flirt around the idea. The moment when Richard tells her, "You taught me to withstand pain." Wow. It's seriously intense.
Another point I like about "Denna" is showing the other confessor, who has become a "mistress" in her own way. It adds weight to the potential scariness of Kahlan's powers as well as drawing a disturbing parallel to Denna.
Bonus: shirtless sweaty Richard through almost the entire episode. :)
(Speaking of Charlie Jade [I mentioned it in passing behind the cut], everyone knows it's out on DVD in the UK, right? You can finally get it on DVD without Japanese subtitles! Whoo-hoo. We saw it at HMV but did not buy. It's still not cheap, but it is a series I feel warrants DVD quality because it's so gorgeous.)
Between Shadows Return, Kings, and "Denna," it was kind of a dark weekend, so I added a little bright'n'shiny with DBSK.
Tokyo Friend Park 2! DBSK+goofy Japanese game show=LOVE. I ended up downloading the HD version, even though the file's corrupted and ends before the last 5 minutes (so no HD of Yoochun going wild after Changmin wins the snowboard set!;_;) I dunno what was with Yoochun that day, but whatever it was, OMG, *love*. Has he ever smiled that much on a Japanese show before? I can't remember, but it was great to see. Yunho with his nicknames, being adorkable. And Jaejoong, well... but at least he kicked ass with the shuriken attack game, and that was *hard*. He did okay with the cubridge game, too -- poor Junsu with that one! Changmin was all kinds of awesome, from his reaction to the wall'o'velcro to his reaction at winning Yoochun's snowboard set. Total Junsu moment: when they're deciding to hand over the gold coins to try the dart game, everyone's attention is on the MC except for Junsu, who's examining the coin plaque.
The HD was too tempting not to screencap. I went a little overboard with Yoochun because: long hair!
And with Changmin, who kept randomly being too cute.
Hugs for everyone! With Yunho handporn as a bonus.
I knew Yoochun would cut his hair, but at least it was still long for the Tokyo Dome, so it'll be on the DVD. But I have to admit, I'm a little bummed about the DVD because it looks like there won't be any MC or behind-the-scenes bits. :( I have watched the MC/behind-the-scenes parts of FITB and T *to death*. I can only hope some of that stuff will surface in another release, somehow, especially since I missed seeing the fancams on YouTube.
This year I'm trying to keep better account. Last weekend I finished Eliot Pattison's Prayer of the Dragon, the next Shan Tao Yun mystery, set in Tibet. This weekend I devoured Lynn Flewelling's Shadows Return, the fourth Nightrunner series book.
I like the Shan Tao Yun series a lot, even though they're always a little depressing, too. Pattison is good at sketching interesting peripheral characters, and the ones in Prayer of the Dragon were particularly vivid. And I always ache for Shan -- this one had some hard but necessary realizations for him in his friendships with Gendun and Lokesh. Poor Shan. I have the newest book in the series, The Lord of Death, but I may go for Liz Williams first since I finally got her latest Inspector Chen book from Night Shade Books! Yay.
I wasn't terribly surprised that once I picked up Shadows Return I couldn't put it down. Not only was the story gripping -- the stakes are *so* high in this one! -- but I had really missed Alec and Seregil, so reading about them again made me happy. *sigh* I enjoy how they have both changed since the first book, but remain the same characters I loved to begin with.
I liked her Tamír trilogy, too -- there's some stuff in Shadows Return harkening back to some of the creepier elements from the Tamír books, and I liked that sense of connection and broad scale within her universe. Shadows Return had some parts that were hard for me to read because I was so worried about the characters. But I appreciate that, because it's a darkening world she's built there, and it's fascinating. I can't wait for the next book (already on pre-order!).
And actually, in Paris, I read an Alexander McCall Smith book that was in the apartment, The Sunday Philosophy Club.
And... I'm not sure I'll be reading any more. This one left me cold, and I got annoyed by it by the end. We're so deep inside Isabel's head the whole time, but there's something detached about her that I think I was supposed to find intellectually interesting, but it just made me wish there were more scenes about other characters and less time spent inside her head. Really, after a few chapters, her pithy observations about daily life in Edinburgh were not interesting to me.
I also watched stuff! I'm nearly caught up on Kings -- holy moley! -- but am at the point where I'm stressing over where it's going to end, since it was canceled (will there be anything like closure?).
This week's Legend of the Seeker was "Denna."
Next to Charlie Jade's "Through A Mirror Darkly," this is one of my favorite torture episodes! And I'm not a fan of torture! But. Wow. I admire "Denna" for embracing the kink factor and running with it. It's not my cup of tea per se, but I like that the show said, "To hell with it. Let's pander!" instead of flirt around the idea. The moment when Richard tells her, "You taught me to withstand pain." Wow. It's seriously intense.
Another point I like about "Denna" is showing the other confessor, who has become a "mistress" in her own way. It adds weight to the potential scariness of Kahlan's powers as well as drawing a disturbing parallel to Denna.
Bonus: shirtless sweaty Richard through almost the entire episode. :)
(Speaking of Charlie Jade [I mentioned it in passing behind the cut], everyone knows it's out on DVD in the UK, right? You can finally get it on DVD without Japanese subtitles! Whoo-hoo. We saw it at HMV but did not buy. It's still not cheap, but it is a series I feel warrants DVD quality because it's so gorgeous.)
Between Shadows Return, Kings, and "Denna," it was kind of a dark weekend, so I added a little bright'n'shiny with DBSK.
Tokyo Friend Park 2! DBSK+goofy Japanese game show=LOVE. I ended up downloading the HD version, even though the file's corrupted and ends before the last 5 minutes (so no HD of Yoochun going wild after Changmin wins the snowboard set!;_;) I dunno what was with Yoochun that day, but whatever it was, OMG, *love*. Has he ever smiled that much on a Japanese show before? I can't remember, but it was great to see. Yunho with his nicknames, being adorkable. And Jaejoong, well... but at least he kicked ass with the shuriken attack game, and that was *hard*. He did okay with the cubridge game, too -- poor Junsu with that one! Changmin was all kinds of awesome, from his reaction to the wall'o'velcro to his reaction at winning Yoochun's snowboard set. Total Junsu moment: when they're deciding to hand over the gold coins to try the dart game, everyone's attention is on the MC except for Junsu, who's examining the coin plaque.
The HD was too tempting not to screencap. I went a little overboard with Yoochun because: long hair!
And with Changmin, who kept randomly being too cute.
Hugs for everyone! With Yunho handporn as a bonus.
I knew Yoochun would cut his hair, but at least it was still long for the Tokyo Dome, so it'll be on the DVD. But I have to admit, I'm a little bummed about the DVD because it looks like there won't be any MC or behind-the-scenes bits. :( I have watched the MC/behind-the-scenes parts of FITB and T *to death*. I can only hope some of that stuff will surface in another release, somehow, especially since I missed seeing the fancams on YouTube.