forestofglory

Here's some thoughts on media I read and watched recently

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen— This YA fantasy novel was really fun! There are lots of heists and disguises. All the moms are terrible but they aren't dead (being Death doesn't count). I really hated all italicized German words (it is not a problem that they were German I just hate it when “foreign” words are italicized, it's both othering and distracting to me as a reader) However this really sucked me in! It’s fast paced and twisty and the worldbuilding feels grounded.

Coffee Prince ep 5-20— I finished this classic of crossdressing girl media. It was cute and fun! I got a great comment on my post about crossdressing girl media about how crossdressing allows women to form friendships with men on more equal footing. This drama really leans into that and the pleasure of being ‘one of the boys” without having to justify oneself.

This did the best job of “The MC thinks he’s gay because he likes the crossdressing FL” that I’ve seen (Though I haven’t seen many) it could be even better but I was pleased with it nonetheless.

(Content note: Blink and you'll miss it miscarriage and fertility issues)

The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy— Somehow no one told me that it is a crossdressing story but trans. That is, the main character is a trans girl who starts the book thinking she’s a boy in disguise. Interestingly she "disguises" herself as a girl so that she can go out into the world and become a witch (mostly crossdressing men in media are trying to access "inner" spaces). The author even thanks Tamora Pierce in her acknowledgments, so it's very clearly part of that tradition.

What people did tell me about this book is that there are a bunch of meetings, in fact I was expecting more meetings based on how much people talked about them.There are some meetings, but they don’t drag out and are often summarized. But I was not expecting it to be quite as brutal as it was, there was a lot of fighting and some killing, and also quite a bit of phillosy about power and making choices. Definitely a book that gave me a lot to think about.

I don’t often go seek out reviews after I read a book, but this one I really wanted to see what other people said about it. I really liked Roseanna’s review.

The Truth Season 3 cases 4-5— I continue to really enjoy this show! I especially liked the set of costumes that looked part of a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. Also they have been playing with the format in fun ways with these two cases.

I can't think of an even vaugley clever subtitle for this post so I've just put the date. I read some books with varying levels of joy. Getting slightly better sleep for a bit helped, as did putting less pressure on myself to love everything I read.

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis—I was very charmed by this book! It’s not a book where I want to think too hard about the worldbuilding, nor is it a book that thinks too hard about its political systems. (There is an empire – it's bad because it wants to control magic and take over all the little kingdoms around it. But we aren’t going to think too hard about how all those monarchies work or about due process) But if you are in a mood to let those things slide and I was, it's a fun read. I liked and wanted to root for the main characters right away, especially the male lead who is a bit princess coded and becomes a librarian by accident. The plot is mostly a kind of tropey romance and I found that very soothing.

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer—This age of sail crossdressing girl book was recced in response to my crossdressing girl media post. Our main character Jack (née Mary) disguises herself as a boy to become a ship's boy on the HMS Dolphin, and has many adventures. This was a little too gritty for me, especially the early part of the book where her family all die, and then she lives on the street. That section featured a lot of the kids dying! Then ship life is rough and they are in battles and things so more people die. There’s also an attempted rape. Anyways this is a solid example of the crossdressing girl trope! (I actually checked the second book out form the library but it involved school bullying and I was finding that way too upsetting)

A Sky Full of Dragons by Tiffany McDaniel—I read this MG fantasy out loud to my kid over many bedtimes. I think it's a bit too whimsical, which is not a thing I thought I would ever complain about. I like whimsy! But so many unexpected things kept happening it was hard to follow the plot at first. Plus it’s just hard to hold narrative tension when absurd things just keep happening.

The Truth Season 3 cases 1-3— I’m so obsessed with this show! It’s a reality show where pretty people wear pretty clothing and play an elaborate game that’s like a cross between and escape room and a murder mystery dinner party. It’s got my fav Liu Yuning and several other people who I'm very fond of. I think the big thing that keeps me coming back is the group chemistry, which is very fun. I can’t really follow the mysteries – I can get the broad strokes, but to really follow you need to get the details. But it's fine because it's not really what I’m here for, and I enjoy the surprise reveals. This season's costumes are great so far!

Paprika—We did watch another Satoshi Kon film for our next movie night! This one is both very trippy and very creepy. I’m not sure I like it. It was good, just really intense. Anyways I’m glad I watched it. I continue to be impressed by Satoshi Kon’s cityscapes (content note: sexual assault, fatphobia)

Here's some thoughts on what I've been watching recently (Basically all I've been reading is non fiction for a research project my Chinese tutor and I are working on with a smattering of fic.)

The Truth Season 3 preview episodes—I loved the second season of this show so I’ve been greatly anticipating the third season! This is a reality show about pretty people wearing pretty clothing and playing murder mystery dinner party. But I think what makes it work is the chemistry between the group. I don’t yet have access to the actual episodes but this season started out with two and half prequel episodes where the cast just hung out and played variety show games, ate hot pot, and cooked (Liu Yuning got to show of his knife skills!) It was so much fun!

Tokoyo Godfathers—Another movie night pick on my group watch server. It’s about three homeless people in Tokoyo who find an abandoned baby on christmas. This is very good! It’s an unusual mix of some very serious things and very silly things, but the silliness somehow just makes the feelings more intense. I loved the animation. All the little details of the streetscapes give the flim so much texture. It’s gritty and beautiful all at once.

The Tale of Nokdu ep 1-20—I picked up this kdrama because it features a man crossdressing as woman and woman crossdressing as man. The ML is the main character and he spends most of the first half of the drama crossdressing, while the FL only crossdresses occasionally.

I’m enjoying this but also finding it really stressful! The first part was a bit more light-hearted but then there was a big twist and everything has been tense since then. I’m not sure what makes it so stressful either. There is a complex political plot and everyone is keeping lots of secrets from each other. Anyways I was finding it too stressful and had to take a break. I really hope I can come back to this.

Content notes: Corporal punishment, threats of rape including childern child threatened with rape, mentioded pass rape and murder of a child

Coffee Prince ep 1-4— This is what I started as a break for Nokdu. It's a modern day rom com and also a classic of the crossdressing girl genre. I somehow got the impression that this was very long but no, it’s only 17 episodes. So far it's very cute and charming, definitely a good break from a stressful show .

I have a new post out at ladybusiness "Adventures with Crossdressing Sword Girls" where I talk about some of the crossdressing girl media I've been watching recently and a bit about why I like this trope so much. Come tell me about your favorite crossdressing girl media!

I answered the fic writer meme that’s going around. I was a bit hesitant to do this because I’m not writing anything at the moment, and I’m not sure that I even want to write more fic. But it seemed fun so here it is.

( Read more... )

Here's some thoughts on what I've been reading and watching lately:

The Yin Yang Master (2021)— My group watch discord server has decided to have monthly movie nights as an activity that is easier for people who struggle to keep up with the dramas we are watching. This was our first movie. I liked it a lot! great visuals, including a bunch of dramatic vistas, cgi monsters (my favorite was the tree yao with petals drifting around her) and fun fights. Plus there are female characters!

A Garden of Marvels: Tales of Wonder from Early Medieval China by Robert Ford Campany—I think it's helpful to read more Chinese stories from this time period to get a better sense of the genre and see how other people do translation. This book is aimed at undergrads so it has less footnotes than To Live as Long as Heaven And Earth which was also translated by Campany. Personally I like the footnotes, so that’s not a plus for me. All of these stories are very short, mostly less than a page when translated, so there’s not a lot of story or character development, definitely something I read for intellectual reasons and not for the stories.

Love of Petals— It took me a couple of episodes to get into this drama, I didn’t like the relationship between the leads at first, but it got better fairly quickly and I’m glad I stuck with it. The FL is a gardener and the ML is a flower yao, and eventually they start a flower nursery with a group of formerly mistreated yao. There are several very beautiful sets with many many flowers. The ending is a bit rushed and confusing, but it's mostly pretty charming. I don’t have Deep Thoughts about this or anything, but it was cute and fun.
(Content note: attempted suicide)

Seawitch by Skye McKenna —The third book in the Hedgewitch series, read out loud to the kid. I think this is my favorite book in the series so far. In this book they go visit the main character’s cousin who lives in a seaside town in Cornwall, and I really liked all the sea mythology. This book also features a boy who wants to be a witch and I enjoyed his storyline.

Somehow I’ve already finished five dramas this year! Which is as many as the most I've watched in a whole year previously. All of these were 24 episodes or less, but still that’s a lot for me.

Reading joyfully continues to be a challenge, and I’m trying not to push it because I don’t think it helps. I’ve been anxious and depressed a lot recently and its just hard to do anything joyfully when one is in that state.

I’m in a bit of a reading slump which is not fun. I have mostly been reading academic papers, a couple of which were very good, but it's not the joyful reading that I want to be doing. I feel like I’ve lost the knack for finding SFF, and to a certain extent fic, that I want to read. Or maybe I never had that knack for my current brain. Either way it's a bit frustrating.

(I wasn’t going to say anything about the academic papers I’ve been reading but you know what I’m going to at least link you to my favorites : Tang ‘cosmopolitanism': Towards a critical and holistic approach by Shao-yun Yang and; The Song Rediscovery of Chang'an by Xin Wen)

But let's talk about what I’ve watched recently instead:

Legend of Yunze Season 2 —After starting watching a bunch of things and not getting very far with any of them, I really wanted to finish something, and I was reminded that I hadn’t watched the second season of this mini drama. I found this season harder to follow than the first season – not sure if that’s because I was tired or because there's a lot of dream sequences that make this confusing. Could be both.

Love Behind the Melody ep 1-6— This is a Chinese drama about a modern day pipa player who gets transmigrated back in time to vaguely tang dynasty olden times as a woman who plays the same pipa. She then gets involved with contests between various different music academies.

I totally decided to check this out for the shallow reason that it looked like it had a similar textile aesthetic to A Love Story of Oiled Paper Umbrella. And it does but I don’t like these textiles quite as much. I think LSoOPU did more interesting mixing and matching, and those textiles were more Tang-style. Still LBtM has some fun big dramatic textiles and lots of color.

I also appreciated that they have Tang style tea. The early Tang kind with tea leaves and spices and fruit in it was kinda like soup. Don’t think I’ve seen that in a drama before!

However I disliked the dynamic between the main couple. What I wanted from this show was a scrapy found family competing in music competitions while wearing pretty clothing, but instead what I got was people trying to manipulate each other.

Jade's Fateful Love ep 1-24— ( Read more... )

I was lucky that I watched several drama I liked and could finish recently but now I'm having trouble settling on something to watch. I did finish a book though!

Tao Yuanming and Manuscript Culture: The Record of a Dusty Table by Xiaofei Tian —I enjoyed this book about how variant version of Tao Yuanming’s poems might change how we view the poet. The first chapter which focused on how these variants were seen historically was especially good and the rest of the book didn't quite live up to it. I still liked how it added a lot of context that's helpful for understanding the poems. I didn't like some of the arguments about what the poet felt, which just seems overly strong for the evidence. Overall worth reading.

Other than that I have watched and given up after a few episodes several things ( Read more... )

Here's a few thoughts on recent media I've read and watched. But first an update on my Reading Joyfully project:

I've realized that I was trying too hard to read the exact right thing at the exact right time. I kept thinking that I must find the exact right thing to read in the exact right mood because then I’d enjoy the book the most possible, but it was stressing me out and making reading less fun. So I’m thinking about how to find a good balance between only reading what I feel like reading with that level of perfectionism

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong—This is a recent cozy fantasy novel that’s getting a lot of buzz. Though I don’t think I would have called in cozy if it wasn’t being marketed that way. I guess I really don’t understand what’s happening in cozy SFF these days

I had mixed feelings about the book. The worldbuilding felt very vibes based, and the pacing was bit uneven but I liked that it focused on friendship and didn’t have any romance, and the concept of small fortunes is fun! My friend Jenny has much more thoughtful review that you should check out.

Finder by Suzanne Palmer—I have several friends who really love this book so I decided to check it out even though it didn’t sound like the kind of thing I generally like. This is a really good example of the thing that it is but unfortunately I was right and it's not my kind of thing. Which makes it a bit hard to write about it. I’m just not into loner dude causes trouble while trying not to care about other people type stories. I liked it enough to read all of it, it's fun, the worldbuilding is good, the main character actually does care about other people despite his best efforts. But I don’t plan to read the rest of the series.

Sungkyunkwan Scandal ep 13-20— I raced through this, it was exactly the thing I needed to be watching at the time. This is a fun show, and I’m glad I watched it. I did think that the way the show handled queerness left a lot to be desired, and the show is at best ambivalent about monarchy as an institution. However I really liked the characters and enjoyed their friendships and shenanigans (also there is surprising amount of good fic for this show which I’m still working my way through)

I have been watching a lot of TV the last couple of weeks. I seem to be on a kdramas about women scholar kick (If two dramas in a row counts as kick) Here's what I've read and watched recently:

The Anonymous Letters of C Forestier by Felicia Davin — The third and final book of the French letters series, this one was grimer than the first two, and it took me a bit longer to get used to the characters' voices. Probably my favorite part though was Victor’s and Isabelle’s relationship with each other.

Keep Running Special Season ep 2-5— This continues to be fun! I want to make my own personalized tea cake. Not exactly a content note but there are some very touristy bits with ethnic minorities, and I don’t know enough about how racism against these groups functions to say anything about how well they are represented here.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung ep 16-20— AHHHH! This was really good! I loved it so much! I had so many feelings about so many things! History! gender roles! Siblings! I liked how the show depicted monarchy while not endorsing it, I guess some people might find it too on the nose, but after a lot of media that is not very critical of monarchy I thought it was a nice change. There are also a ton of great characters! I just really loved the whole show. (I think I could be really fanish about this in the right circumstances but, well, small fandoms are tricky, and I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment)

Sungkyunkwan Scandal ep 1-12—After I loved Rookie Historian I decided to watch another Korean historical drama about a woman scholar. I was a little worried that it would suffer in comparison, and it probably does a little bit, but they are different enough that it's not a huge deal. This drama is about a girl who has to crossdress to attend a prestigious all male school. So far it's very fun! There’s lots of roommate shenanigans, and school story tropes, but also a bigger political story that hasn’t come fully into focus yet. Though I liked the earlier bits where everyone was very passionate about ethics and scholarship more than the current storyline which is more romance focused. So far it feels less critical of monarchy than Rookie Historian did but I’m excited to see where it goes.

Do any of you have other recs for historical dramas about women scholars? They don't have to be kdramas.