Media Round Up: Actually Read Some Novels
Oct. 10th, 2022 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forestofglorySince I last posted a media round up I've read several novels which is nice because my ability to read novels has not been great in pandemic times. I just started reading a very long fic and things have been very busy so who knows when my novel reading brain will return again? Here are some thoughts on recent media.
Chinese Architecture and Metaphor: Song Culture in the Yingzao Fashi Building Manual by Jiren Feng— This book is super detailed, and I sometimes couldn’t understand why all the details mattered. However it was about a very interesting topic and I’ve come out of it with new appreciation of architectural brackets. I also liked that this book included the original literary Chinese as well as a translation when quoting historical documents. It was good pratice!
Who Rules the World eps 39-40 — Wow they packed a lot of plot into these last two episodes! I’ve got mixed feelings about the ending but I’m glad I watched this drama.
My Fair Princess ep1-4 — This has several English titles, but I’m going with this one because that’s what Viki, where I’m watching it, uses. This an cdrama from 1998 which focuses on two women, one who was raised well off and the other a bit of a street rat. It’s fun watching something a bit older, and really like the focus on the relationship between the two women.
Restart After Coming Back Home and Restart After Growing Hungry by Cocomi, trans Anna Schnell & Ryan Parker— This a pair of very cute BL manga graphic novels about a young man who is fired from his big city job, moves back to his small hometown and falls in love. It’s very sweet and there is lots of food! (Content note: homophobia)
In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu— This novella had lots of interesting themes, it's definitely in conversion with recent SFF about empire and memory. There are several stories within a story, and I liked all the stories but as a whole it didn’t gel for me.
Spear by Nicola Griffith— This is a queer retelling of the story of Percival, with a ton lovely material culture. I enjoyed it very much
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo— This fantasy novel about a Chinese American movie actress in the 1930’s was very good. The magic was very atmospheric and the characters were compelling. It was also very queer. I did decide that it was too intense for before bedtime reading, so I had to ration it a bit, for my own ability to sleep
A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin—I broke my no books with dead moms for this YA novel with tea magic. It took me a bit to get into but then I really enjoyed it. There are many interesting women, and lots of cool material culture descriptions. I wanted to try all the food! I could take or leave the love interest and I wanted the main character to kiss one of the women instead. There are some background queer characters though which is nice.
Chinese Architecture and Metaphor: Song Culture in the Yingzao Fashi Building Manual by Jiren Feng— This book is super detailed, and I sometimes couldn’t understand why all the details mattered. However it was about a very interesting topic and I’ve come out of it with new appreciation of architectural brackets. I also liked that this book included the original literary Chinese as well as a translation when quoting historical documents. It was good pratice!
Who Rules the World eps 39-40 — Wow they packed a lot of plot into these last two episodes! I’ve got mixed feelings about the ending but I’m glad I watched this drama.
My Fair Princess ep1-4 — This has several English titles, but I’m going with this one because that’s what Viki, where I’m watching it, uses. This an cdrama from 1998 which focuses on two women, one who was raised well off and the other a bit of a street rat. It’s fun watching something a bit older, and really like the focus on the relationship between the two women.
Restart After Coming Back Home and Restart After Growing Hungry by Cocomi, trans Anna Schnell & Ryan Parker— This a pair of very cute BL manga graphic novels about a young man who is fired from his big city job, moves back to his small hometown and falls in love. It’s very sweet and there is lots of food! (Content note: homophobia)
In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu— This novella had lots of interesting themes, it's definitely in conversion with recent SFF about empire and memory. There are several stories within a story, and I liked all the stories but as a whole it didn’t gel for me.
Spear by Nicola Griffith— This is a queer retelling of the story of Percival, with a ton lovely material culture. I enjoyed it very much
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo— This fantasy novel about a Chinese American movie actress in the 1930’s was very good. The magic was very atmospheric and the characters were compelling. It was also very queer. I did decide that it was too intense for before bedtime reading, so I had to ration it a bit, for my own ability to sleep
A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin—I broke my no books with dead moms for this YA novel with tea magic. It took me a bit to get into but then I really enjoyed it. There are many interesting women, and lots of cool material culture descriptions. I wanted to try all the food! I could take or leave the love interest and I wanted the main character to kiss one of the women instead. There are some background queer characters though which is nice.
