February 2024 Media Recap

[tullycat]

I'm still here!

Books:

• Emma, Jane Austen (carried over from January)
  • A reread with Popliar to go along with our Emma au fic. I read it 15? years ago and remembered it being funny and enjoyable and my opinion has not changed! Honestly I didn't realize Emma was a controversial character because I love her. You shake your head when she's being foolish and cringe when she's rude to Miss Bates. But you also root for her!! This time around I noticed a lot more clearly just how sly Frank Churchill is.....cad! As an adult it's also easier to see that the moral of the story from Emma's perspective is 'you should stay within your social class' lol though knowing that Jane was middle-lower class, I assume that is tongue in cheek poking at the nobility of her time.
• Into the Riverlands, Nghi Vo
  • This novella follows cleric Chih as they travel the riverlands with new companions. The novellas are all standalone and can be read in any order and focus on storytelling. I wish I had read it all in one go instead of trying to stretch it out (it's about 100 pages). I had forgotten who some of the characters in the 'inner' story were by the end of the novella because we don't spend much time with them, so the final 'hook' didn't have much of an impact on me. Completionists will probably still want to read it, but I thought it was weaker than the first two.
• Sunburn, Chloe Michelle Howarth
  • Lucy experiences her first love with her (female) friend in a 1990's small Catholic Irish town, where everyone expects her to marry her childhood male friend. The book follows Lucy through all of high school and into a few years of adulthood. This book was for the tumblr girlies I think. It's less driven by plot and more driven by Lucy's inner turmoil. The book spans quite a few years so it does feel like none of the years are really deeply lived in. The prose was a bit heavy and affected for my liking - I don't know how to explain it but you knew you were Reading. There are lines that it absolutely worked for and some narration that I just skimmed. There is a hopeful ending but it's a struggle and sometimes heart wrenching to get there.
• The High King's Golden Tongue, Megan Derr
  • A man who has been raised as a Silver Tongue and essentially bred into the role of Prince consort arrives in the King's court, ready to be married off. The king scorns him...so enemies to lovers I guess. Ughhh. This book didn't know if it wanted to be political/action or romance and as a result both parts were bad. I did not care about the alliances and political marriages of characters I barely knew. Any time the action picked up, the book jumped to the resolution of the action?? Absolutely undercut any of the tension. And then the romance....These characters were in the same city (I say city because that was about as close as they got) for 150 pages of out 400. They start to have feelings for each other near the middle and then one of them leaves for 6 months???? WHERE IS THE WOOING?? The author is a fandom person I believe so I honestly expected more.
• Donut Fall in Love, Jackie Lau
  • Read for a bookclub with friends. Lindsay is a baker and helps Ryan, an actor, learn to bake for a Netflix-type celebrity baking competition. Near the end of the book, the media tries to create a cheating scandal with Ryan and I found myself almost wishing for one just so something would happen? Ryan as a character was so perfect(ly boring). This book’s plot is not groundbreaking and the conflict between Ryan and Lindsay did make me roll my eyes a bit. It kind of felt like a “cozy romance” which isn’t my preferred genre but I’m sure other people would enjoy all the food descriptions (I had to eat a cupcake as I read this). My bookclub's opinion was mid to negative as well.
• The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden
  • During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise. It's told from the sister (Laura)'s perspective and Freddie's perspective, 6 months in the past as he disappeared. The author mentioned the Odyssey as an influence and I could absolutely feel it as I read the book - the characters are on a journey through France/Belgium, the supernatural, the horrors of war, and their memories to find their way back to each other and themselves. The prose is very fluid and beautiful and pulled me along. I enjoyed it! It was full of emotions. My only qualm is that I do not like historical fiction set in WWI/II and this book didn't quite overcome that for me - I feel like it still kind of romanticizes war - but if that doesn't bother you then go for it.
• Bride, Ali Hazelwood
  • Also for a (different) bookclub. This is published omegaverse lol. Vampyre Misery agrees to a political marriage with werewolf Alpha Lowe, even though Vampyres and werewolves have been enemies for forever. Well Ali is a fic writer so she can write a readable story for sure. Halfway through pop told me the trademarks of a reylo au and I realized that yes this was also a reylo au so that was fun. Honestly I don't have much to say about this except that compared to the other romances I read this month, this one had more believable chemistry between the characters for me. Also now I have a record of reading knotting on Goodreads, where my mother follows me.
• House of Flame and Shadow, Sarah J Maas
  
  • Ughhhhhhhh lol I'm not even going to summarize this. It's the third book in a series. If you've read the first two, there is nothing I could say to stop you from reading this book. If you haven't started the series, do not read it. Somehow the ending managed to be rushed after 2500 pages yet also didn't close all the storylines. I think SJM's talents are being wasted in 2024 - she should be back in the 1800's with Charles Dickens, getting paid by the word, because then the page count would at least make sense.

Best books this month were Emma and The Warm Hands of Ghosts.

Watched:

• Clueless (1995)
• Pride and Prejudice (2005)
• Pride and Prejudice (1995)
• Abbott Elementary Season 3 (airing)
• Severance (Season 1, Apple TV)
• One Piece (episode 5 😭)
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (like 5-6 eps of a random season)

My watching this month was clearly very inspired by finishing Emma. Clueless is a very charming adaptation imo, I really think Alicia Silverstone perfectly played Cher as spoiled and ~clueless while still being so endearing. To me, at least. I really enjoyed Severance - I thought it was a dark comedy show set in an office but it's a thriller/mystery/sci-fi/dystopian/social commentary show? It's about people who sever their memories into their work lives (their innies) and their non-work lives (their outie). All the innie knows is work......so it's no surprise that the innies start trying to figure out what their outside lives are like and fight back. I really wanted to finish One Piece but Netflix kicked me off the family account :(

Fic:

• Read 552,870 words - most of this was Ateez Yunho/San, and then I also read a 190k Pride and Prejudice soulmark au. The fic spent so long on the Elizabeth/Colonel Fitzwilliam relationship that I had not signed up for, rip
• Wrote 3890 words. A slow month but I did write most days
• Posted: nada

Music:

• Artists:
  • Seventeen, 160
  • Ateez, 124
  • Red Velvet, 106
  • NMIXX, 101
  • Le Sserafim, 100
• Tracks:
  • God of Light Music, Seventeen, 17
  • Dash, NMIXX, 17
  • Fighting, BSS, 16
  • Lunch, BSS, 14
  • Crazy Form, Ateez, 13
  • Not Mine, Day6, 13
  • Lovers or Enemies, CIX, 12
  • Flash Forward, LSF, 12
  • Bazooka!, GWSN, 11
  • But I Like You, Boy Next Door; Blue Flame, LSF; Run for Roses, NMIXX; Poppin' Love, WayV all tied for 10
• Albums:
  • Ateez, The World EP. Fin: Will, 62
  • NMIXX, Fe304: Break, 53
  • Le Sserafim, Unforgiven, 48
  • BSS, Second Wind, 37
  • WayV, On My Youth, 37

Comments

[tullycat]

Haha we have now discussed The Warm Hands of Ghosts and Bride, but yeah Ms. Maas.......I will say I did enjoy the acotar series but yeah she's definitely a writer that you have to be /into/ to enjoy, I would say. There is no reason to be that long!

[kpopwinemom]

I am so happy for the people who like ACOTAR, but I am simply going to say Not For Me for now, and move on. Maybe I will one day pick them back up!