sisterjune | The only God I need is the Ace of Spades

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The only God I need is the Ace of Spades

Hello flist~ I want to talk about all the exciting things that have happened to me lately but the fact of the matter is, nothing exciting has happened. I suppose I should be upset but I confess I've been enjoying books enough lately not to care. Speaking of which!

Books: I thought about posting more reviews but for now I'll just list out what books I've read so far lately. Books are in the order I've read them. The ones I really liked have a star/asterisk next to them.

The Spymaster's Lady - Joanna Bourne (I did not actually finish this one)
To Have and To Hold - Patricia Gaffney
Lord of Scoundrels* - Loretta Chase
Sugar Daddy - Lisa Kleypas
Blue Eyed Devil - Lisa Kleypas
The Last Hellion - Loretta Chase
Captives of the Night* - Loretta Chase
Mr Impossible* - Loretta Chase
Bet Me* - Jennifer Crusie
Knaves Wager* - Loretta Chase
Flowers from the Storm* - Laura Kinsale
Dreaming of You - Lisa Kleypas
Shadowheart* - Laura Kinsale
Not quite a Lady - Loretta Chase
All through the night* - Connie Brockway
Welcome to Temptation - Jennifer Crusie (I'm in the middle of reading this one)

Not alot admittedly, though I started on this reading spree in late May. I still feel like I should have read through more from that time to now. I'm deciding on what I want to start on next, I've been eyeing laura kinsale's "Midsummer Moon" but I think I might push that back for a while, since I recently ordered Brockway's "As you desire", Sherry Thomas's "Private Arrangements" and Anne Stuart's "Nightfall" from Amazon and Chase's "The English Witch" from ebay and I want to read all those first. I might not write reviews for everything but I do want to share my impressions for all of them down the road.

Tv: I've not been watching very much lately but yesterday I did watch the premier of True Blood's new season and the show is as trashy and bloody as I remember and I love it! Jessica is a SCREAM and LAFAYETTE IS ALIVE WOOHOO and the 2 minutes we got of Eric in hair curlers and then throttling some poor fool made the episode for me. and You can count me among the people who like the idea of eric/sookie but I'm not in a rush to see them together at all and furthermore it's not the only reason I'm watching the show. I was actually pretty surprised to find out that alot of fangirls watch simply for that reason when, despite whatever eric's role in the books was, he was basically just a glorified extra in S1 so it's like dude, why did you even bother then? but eh, their loss if they cant appreciate the other awesome characters!
Also Surpersizers Go....which I've been watching lately. Is a VERY awesome program. It is in a nutshell about a very funny lady who does radio and a very gluttonous man who is a resturant critic and their adventures in the past culinary exploits of England. Period dress and incredibly ridiculous antics on behalf of our intrepid hosts make appearances as well. As Hilarious as Sue and Giles are, I watch for the history and culinary focus of the show, it is a surprisingly educational show despite being such fun to watch. Superiszers returns started last night and I dled the lovely first ep, where sue and giles go back to the 80's! Very good timing considering the recent craze for 80's things jump started by A2A in the UK lately. I cant wait to see it, their costumes looked hysterical.

Dramas: I havent watched much dramas this season, part of this is all the reading and UK tv watching I've been doing, the other reason is that dramas just sucked this season. Speaking of sucking, I checked out MR BRAIN the other day, the latest kimutaku drama, thinking even if it wasnt great it might still be light fun but OMG it sucked so much. I dont think I've seen a kimutaku drama THAT full of fail in a long time. I mean most of his recent ones have to me either been real good or acceptable. But the entire premise is based on an incredibly stupid urban myth, that people only use a small percent of their brains. NO THEY DO NOT. I mean COME ON Japan, you know better than that! What's even more irritating is, Kimutaku's character is a neuroscientist yet most of the stuff he does is what a detective or very observant person could do. There seems to be very little valid neuroscience going on in this drama. What is going on is they had alot of money blown on what is a deeply mediocre production. Which is SAD because they have a great cast and gorgeous camera angles and fancy locations and kimutaku's hair is wonderful and glorious and they got so many great cameos, KOYUKI IN EP 2! and YET the show is so so boring and stupid. I dont watch jdramas for their realism, It's ok if they wanted to bend things around but the whole thing is just so saturday morning cartoon in it's set up and execution that I just cant bring myself to sit through it. It just didnt grab me at all and I think it's a damn shame. Cause I was looking forward to it for weeks.
I'm debating on whether I want to check out Toma's drama, Majo Saiban. I rarely feel disappointed by anything he's in, so I might just watch it for him.

A drama I have been watching and actually enjoying so far is Black & White which is a very awesome TW drama that I recommend EVERYONE watch. It has everything! Gun fights, intrigue, shadowy organizations, mobsters, mercenaries, cops, humor, ANGST, love, dangerous ladies, vic zhou AND very hot hate!sex. You cant go wrong really. Unless your name rhymes with sorry and you hate vic zhou, but it's not like I know anyone like that...
The thing I love about B&W the most though is the large cast and how expansive the world of B&W feels, despite the big cast I rarely felt overwhelmed cause they manage to balance that with the plot and introduce characters gradually as they become important. It's very tightly written and exciting tv, and a nice change from all those cutesy romantic dramas Taiwan is known for.

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hahaha, are u referring to me? XDDD Sometimes I think I watch TB for the lulz. I think I like Jessica. Jessica is amazing when she's annoying Bill. But yeah if there's no Alexander Skarsgard, I might not be following TB so religiously.

Regarding Mr Brain, I agree totally. Like u said, what Kimura is doing has nothing at all to do with his expertise/his field of study. He's doing the job of a police and the way they go away solving the cases is just so unconvincing. DDD: I feel like they wasted so much money on the cg and set and yet the plot is just not polished enough.

BW....hmmm...now that I've watched more, I'm not sure I like it. I kinda feel like the director is too ambitious. I dun like the parentage bit especially. But I must say for a TW drama, I'm very impressed with the production and I love the theme song.

LOL no actually. Though I know you did say that. I meant rather all the fangirls in the community discussion on ontd trublud. I normally dont call out specific people it feels tacky lol. I just mentioned it cause it was quite a group of people who said the same thing you said in that discussion post, about the show deviating from the books. so I thought I'd bring up a counterpoint. I'm totally cool with it deviating from the books and I def wanna see some more alex and eric/sookie but it's just not the only reason I watch.

Yeah exactly they could have spent way less time making fancy car explosions and way more time making a decent drama and it would have been better. not that it matters since the ratings seem to be high so i guess people like it all the same.

B&W has alot of somewhat melodramatic plot developments it's true. but I've yet to see an asian drama that was never a little bit melodramatic so I can forgive that, even if I dont like it, so long as it stays interesting I'm good!

It must be because i've never read the books I don't get the hype over Eric. He's barely been in the show up till this point. I'm sure once he gets established I'll love him the way I love all the other characters, but until then I'm still enjoying the story.

Aww, I like Mr Brain, but I've never watched a jdrama and expected it to have actual real world implications. I don't mind made-up science. I just think it's fun, granted, the last two episodes haven't interested me as much as the pilot, but I'm still going to finish it.

I think the fans are quite divided on that. I read the books after the show, so I'm fine with AB changing the plot here and there but yeah I hope he eventually goes to the E/S plotline or at least show some intention of doing that. I'm glad Lafayette is alive tho. It would be a whole lot less interesting w/o him.

I had such high expectations of Mr Brain actually. I thought BW's plot is starting to feel all over the place with the idea of Zai Tian having undergo surgery before and all that but yeah I guess different pple have different opinions on it.

I'm soo behind on the Japanese dramas next seasone except for Ryo's. *goes to check out the other 3*

AND OMG I just saw the list of books u read and I love Connie Brockway's All Through the Night.

I need to start reading more books and less comics >___>;
I've noticed that most of your favorites from the book list above are from Loretta Chase. You should recommend me a book ;P

I haven't seen a drama for a while now except for scenes here and there from when my sister watches a drama series.

Majo Saiban is... okay, IMO. It's trying very hard to be Liar Game, but I think it could grow into its own, if only the legal aspects would stop being so fucking horrifying -- I don't know if Japan's real jury system is going to be like that or if the drama's taking artistic license, but the jurors are allowed to walk around and interact freely and call their relatives and REPORTER GIRLFRIENDS (during an ongoing trial!!!), and the whole thing is just so casual and glib and I'm tearing at my hair like D: D: D: DISMISS THEM ALL! START OVER! THIS JURY IS COMPROMISED. DO NOT PUT ANYONE'S FUTURE IN THEIR HANDS!

I agree with every word of your B&W squee. :D

geh, i haven't read anything at all lately. i really should.

haha, i never really think while watching tv, which is probably why i like mr. brain. that plus i didn't expect much from the neuroscience aspect, just a glorified, better cg, male lead version of kiina. though i must say, i was disappointed with ep.3.
it's my first kimutaku drama so i can't make any comparisons either. any recommendations of his dramas? i've yet to find a jdorama i like as much as tiger&dragon and not many like that in the first place.

the supersizers go... sounds like a lot of fun :D

i hope you've been well dear, take care ♥

I'm so jealous you get to read so many books! If I lived near an English bookstore or library, that would just be amazing. There's the option of ordering books online of course, but the post office and I don't get along very well, hah.

i used to have the hots for vic zhou ♥ lol but i haven't been able to keep up with what's goign on with him and stuff so i'm surprised about his new drama. sounds really good. i like him in dark characters. will probably check it out!

:/ We have to get another date to celebrate your bday. My sister decided to come home this weekend to get started on packing some stuff before her move to Germany so I'll have no way of getting out anywhere.
Are you busy Monday-Thursday next week?

I saw your msg yesterday, I'm not mad I know you couldnt help it so I decided to just not worry about it. I figured something would go wrong anyway, I've got bad luck with this kind of things. Anyway, hopefully it should work out next week. I have no work on wednesday so it might be easiest to go then but I can try to find a way to go any day of next week. So tell me what works for you ok? :)

I've never had a crush on vic zhou, but I know quite a few people who do and one who despises him XD I'm rather ambivalent about him but I like his performance in B&W. His character is more silly than dark at first but he defintiely becomes more emo as the show goes on. and yes please check it out! you wont regret it

Oh man I cant imagine living in a country where you cant read the nathional language. that would kill me. i mean not being able to READ? It's so fundamental to my state of mind. even when I'm not reading novels I try to read alot of everything else. mags, journals, textbooks, newspapers, you name it. and shipping books is hella expensive, cause they have high shipping rates :(

If you want good Kimutaku dramas I would recommend "Karei naru ichizoku" it is SOUL crushingly sad though, so i wouldnt recommend it if you are very sensitive. HERO is a great drama and alot of fun though. Engine is probably my fave kimutaku drama ever, even though it's far from being his most popular. Pride is also pretty decent, it has a nice romance even it has more than it's share of skeevy gender issues and I wanted to yell at the writer of the drama several times at his chauvinistic dialogue. Also it's about hockey, which I couldnt care less about, but there you are. Engine on the other hand is about racing and adorable little children, two things I am quite fond of.

thank you <3

naughty girl! But actually comics can be awesome. have you ever read neil gaiman's sandman comics? they will CHANGE your life. or not, either way, it's good stuff. Also the Runaways, is a wonderful comics series. I'd only recommend the first 18 issues though.

Chase is def one of my fave authors! Her books are alot of fun, but I think brockway's and kinsale's books actually leave much deeper impressions on me than chase books do. But like Chase and Jenny crusie are my comfort reads.
If i was to rec to you Chase books I'd def recommend Knave's Wager, Lord of Scoundrels and Mr. Impossible. Cause those I think most people would like, especially Lord of Scoundrels, while some of her other ones are good but might not appeal to a wide audience.

Eric of the books is very different, he has a much more prominent role and he's also very chatty, witty and playful. Impossible to dislike basically. However the one in the TV show is quite different and I like him more to be honest, he suits the tone of the show better than book!eric would. Though both erics are very yummy. Skarsgard though is a gorgeous man and I think that in itself is reason enough for fangirls to get excited over his character. I know he makes ME excited ;)

I'm all for some suspension of disbelief. but I have a limit, and MR BRAIN far and exceeded that limit, personally when a drama just completely tosses away common sense along with any semblance of realistic depiction of science, that's when I'm ready to throw in the towel. and really the characterizations are very paper thin for me so I'm left wondering just why the hell I would watch the show. Really a drama has to grab me, if it doesnt, I dont watch. Shame really, cause I had high hopes for it.

I think I've told you before but Liar game was kind of a disappointment for me, so I dont know why Majo saiban would WANT to be liar game when liar game wasnt exactly masterpiece theatre but there you are lol. That being said, I love law dramas so if this is decent then I might try it out. However LOL at the casual tone. Dude that's my problem with jdramas, they are totally w/e about realistically depicting the stuff they center their shows around. whether it's a court of law, neuroscience, forensics or any number of other things and it's like I'm thinking to myself as unrealistic as dramas can be in the US I cant imagine any show over here getting away with that amount of BRAZEN unrealism. It's sad cause jdramas have so many good ideas that just fall apart at the execution stage. Although there are exceptions of course. I was really impressed with how well done the science in tantei galileo was for example. Or how well thought out and effective the teaching methods in Dragon Zakura was. So yeah I try to keep my eyes peeled for those dramas that really enrich my mind and show me this whole new world, rather than insult my intelligence. and this comment is all over the place -_- but basically I feel your pain. My friend has a fondness for majo saiban cause they used several "reservoir dogs" references in the show.

I like eric and skarsgard and I'm totally cool with all the changes. I think the show has a more mature feeling than the books and blends the supernatural with the real world much more effectively, however I would like to see them preseve the bill/eric/sookie love triangle and eric losing his memory plots, but I dont think they need to rush them or anything. I like how eric is much more ambiguous and hard to define in the tv show, whereas in the book he seems to be generally pleasant and fun which doesnt always make alot of sense considering what he's supposed to be and represent. but then in the book it manages to work, he couldnt behave that way in the tv show though, it wouldnt fit the tone at all.

I think cause I like the characters alot I'm gonna try to finish B&W but I know what you mean about ti starting to get ridiculous, I got stuck in the latter eps because of that too. But I got so far and I feel like it still has some good merits so I wanna try to get to the end. and yeah I had alot of high expectations for MR BRAIN too :( kimutaku dramas are usually well done so I was just shocked at how silly and plastic the whole thing feels.

OMG you liked that book too? It's probably my fave romance ever, i just loved it SO MUCH. If brockway writes all her books with that amount of passion and gorgeous writing than she is officially my new fave romance author.

I seldom like historical romance but All Through The Night is beautiful. I think u would like Anne Stuart's historicals too. I got her ebooks. let me know if u want them *still pimping Anne Stuart* XDD

Yeah I got stuck in the later episodes.....turns out my mum is watching them instead. :P Yeah eric is much more morally ambiguous in the show. I hope they dun just use him as a foil to contrast how good Bill is. yayy one more day to True Blood.

I do like historical romances, since I love history but I'm not really crazy about the regency period the way every other historical romance writer seems to be. It's such a staid, stuffy dull period where the aristocracy was at it's most idle. So why is it so popular to write about in romance? who knows. That being said, there are some great historicals out there and all through the night is one of them.

GAH anne stuart! yes pimp away! I read a book from her "Ice" series yesterday called "Ice storm" I LOVED it! It was far from perfect but it was alot of fun to read and I finished it in a day. The hero was also smoking hot. I havent read her historicals yet, since ice series is set in the now, but I have my eyes on "to love a dark lord" and "A rose at midnight" the latter of which sounds horribly dark and twisted much to my delight. ;D I also ordered her book nightfall from amazon which is another contemporary and also sounds utterly twisted. Basically she's turning into one of my fave authors just for her fucked up romances XD if you can even call them that cause they are far from romantic. lol. and true blood tomorrow night WOO!

U HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LOVE HER FUCKED-UP ROMANCE.

Her Ice series actually isn't the best she has written. I love Nightfall ajskaklsdjasd.

Ok these are some of her books I really love. Dun miss Moonrise and Ritual Sins from her. My two fave books from her esp if u love modern settings. Also the Lord of Danger, Hidden Honor and Prince of Danger. I love that her heroes are alwis morally corrupted and her female characters are alwis torn between running away or running into the arms of her heroes. hehe now u know why she's my fave author. I just love the tortured heroes bit from her books too.

there's one of hers called Break The Night that's loosely based on Jack the Ripper and it's dark and twisted and I think it's out-of-print. That one is one of my favourites too.

Edited 2009-06-21 15:01 (UTC)

XD I'm not surprised actually, now that I think about it, it certainly explains why all of your fanfiction was so bleak and miserable. Naturally that's why I liked it ahahhaha. Though I never read the akame.

I agree I dont think Ice is her best, she seems like she has the potential to do much better but I looked up the titles you mentioned, Ritual Sins has a very good rating on amazon and it sounds excellent *__* although cults scare the shit out of me. XD I'm definitely putting that on my to read list though. I'm debating about the other ones but if you have ebooks then yeah pls send me what you got! :) I have a few already but only some from her ice series and the two historicals I named to you earlier. I didnt wanna dl too much at once since I still didnt know if I'd like her style at the time. So far I do though! She's no brockway or kinsale but her books have a real gravitas to them, plus the suspense aspect. Her poor heroines though, I end up feeling really bad for them throughout the book even while I am kind of a sadist and enjoy all the suffering XD but it's nice to know her heroes are never quite as horrible as they first appear. and let's face it, they ARE sexy, even if I wouldnt come within 20 feet of a man like that in real life.

Nah, her heroes aren't that bad. They're just poor conflicted souls. XDD And yes it helps that they are hawt. O.O I alwis imagine them to be dark and brooding. haha I'm heavily influenced by her....or at least the 'I want him but I'm afraid of him' aspect. hehe sure will PM u with the ebooks. Ice feels like she's pulling back a little. She has the potential to go more twisted actually. XDD In fact her recent books aren't that great ):

TB tmr. *twirls happily*

LOL I dunno if poor soul is the word....and yeah there is a well of brooding heroes in romance but I think very few authors manage to get the tortured dark hero right. Though it does make me long for the occasional light hearted easy going troublemaker as opposed to the dark brooding alpha. I would say I'd want nice guy heroes but pffft, that's just boring XD
I like reading about the conflicting feelings of the heroines between fear and desire but I personally could not relate. If a guy scared me I would NOT WANT TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR HIM. I mean I'm just reading the book sometimes and thinking "girl what is wrong with you?!" lol but then if she wised up there would be no story ahahhha. LOL yay for MORE twisted, just when kinsale novels were becoming too vanilla for me ahahha. I kid. but anyway I got your PM! I will def be checking some of them out. Not sure which I'll read first and I wanna finish Jenny Crusie's "faking it" before I jump back into anne stuart. I love the hero in this one, oh he is delicious and mischievous *___* but not brooding and domineering. hurray for that!

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The only God I need is the Ace of Spades

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pls excuse my lateness!

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I'm so sorry this is late!

I'm so sorry this is so late! I swear I had a good reason ;_;

I know this is late -_-

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