september scrapbook
Oct. 19th, 2021 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
latespringI had half of September free before school started and I made the most of it in terms of media! I finished way more books than I expected (which was a personal achievement considering I hadn't finished any non-school related books in a while). This quarter is proving surprisingly reading heavy in terms of class texts, so I think I'll have some more books for next month too.
Having jobs + internship + being on campus is really working for me so far, I feel like this is the best start I've had to the quarter in terms of organization and trying to toss a bunch of balls into the air. Last time I was on campus I was still a music major, and it's weird to think about; switching majors really was for the best. Nearly the entirety of my writing degree+education has been online.
I think about majoring in music a lot--and how you can love something, but sometimes love isn't enough. It's ok to leave when you're burning out. I love music but it isn't something I could sustain long term, and I think I'm finally starting to be ok with that ache.
Of course when I feel inspired to write I have no time for it :') but I am storing these vibes for later! and doing some interesting cnf work in the meantime.
Thoughts and comments very welcome, how was your September?
Minari (2020) ★★★★★
Head of his household Jacob Yi relocates his family from California to Arkansas, in hopes of becoming a farmer instead of a chicken sexer.
This is a movie that waits for you to catch up to it, I think. Another one I watched with my mom, I think we both enjoyed it.
Promare (2019) ★★★★★ (rewatch)
To fight monsters we created monsters….
Ok but seriously!! This movie is just so much fun. Every time you think they've gone over the top, the movie proves that no! That was just a very small hill compared to the next one behind it! Very fun, has a lot of heart, I enjoy it so much. (Plot is vaguely-- firefighter vs. magic fire users, but also there's giant robots. It spirals from there.)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) ★★★★★
It's a Marvel movie. but also my mom really loved it and couldn't stop talking about it after we saw it so like. Five stars for her joy alone.
Also Tony Leung, it must be said.
Ahhh I'm so happy, I got so much reading done in September. I finished hardly any books in 2020/early 2021 so this was a delight. I expect this number to go down over the quarter.
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots ★★★★☆ (4.5)
(Implied monsterfucking-lite?)
I really liked this one! Anna works data management for minor villains, spending her days as a temp hench. After a debilitating injury on the job takes her out of commission for a while (her previous boss severing her contract immediately), she starts to put time into a larger data project that reveals the cost of heroics is just awful as the one that villains inflict--and it's not at all noticed by the general public. This work puts her on the radar of some very big names in the industry. It spirals from there.
I really like Anna as a protagonist, and while the direction the plot goes isn't necessarily the most surprising, it's still very satisfying. Also a cast of very fun side characters! There are some moments where the logic kind of falls through, but not in any story-breaking ways for me.
(If you plan on reading this, cw for body horror at the end of the novel. It's a mild running theme as related to injury (to self and to others) throughout the novel, but the end kind of gets intense if you're not ready. (Feel free to message me for the spoiler-y specifics and/or cws for any of these books))
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine ★★★★★
Ok so I'm not sure I can offer an objective opinion (not that any of these thoughts are objective lol) on this book considering that I read it over the course of nine months, dropping it for long stretches of time accidentally, and 95% of it was via audiobook. It was a very spaced out read. However! I really liked the story, and some of the themes of it (memory and self, language, self identity) are my favorites. I think the beginning might have been a little slow but again, not the most objective here.
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey ★★★☆☆ (3.5)
A fun murder mystery! Non-magic private detective takes a case at the school her magical sister works in. There is intrigue! Investigation! A bit of romance!
I liked the concept of this but the execution fell a little flat for me. There was a lot of introspection, and the main character seemed to be jerked around more than she actually did any investigation. The exploration of her relationship with her sister was both the strongest and weakest part of the book--it was hands down the most interesting relationship but in some places the author couldn't let go of it to let the other conflicts breathe. It's a novel very focused on what-ifs.
Fun read but missing a little oomph for me.
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal ★★★★☆
Historical sci-fi that asks how the space race might evolve if a meteor struck earth in the mid 20th century and people were forced to take space travel much more seriously earlier on. Character-driven plot focused on Elma (the main character) and her husband, and their role in the space race.
The focus on characters was a really strong decision here, and I bought into nearly everyone that Kowal put on the page! There were a few elements that I think could be stronger, and I can offer no thoughts on how historically accurate it was, but I liked it a lot!
Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer ★★☆☆☆ (2.5)
I'm not sure what I expected from this book when I started it, but what I got was not it. The concept of the book is a Haibun-esque recounting of Prior-Palmer's participation (and eventual victory) in the Mongol Derby of 2013.
It's easy reading in a way that feels almost nonsense like. The author didn't have a solid point and also couldn't make her prose stick enough for me to overlook that. The ending didn't make up for it and quite frankly the whole book could have been a much tighter novella-length thing. Prior-Palmer made some comments about feeling uncomfortable in Mongolia but never explored that in any meaningful way (there definitely was something about tourism that needed to be addressed).
There were some very beautiful sections in there, to the book's credit. Just not enough, and not well thought out enough.
Guardian (2018) ★★★☆☆ (rewatch)
A show I like but would never recommend to anyone unless I knew their tastes pretty well.
Follows a special team of detectives as they deal with supernatural encounters around the city. Also there's Zhu Yilong with a sword and a fun secret identity!
Road to Kingdom (not rated)
I feel like it's hard to rate a reality/variety show like this one. I will say I enjoyed it a lot more than Kingdom!!
I was mainly watching this for tbz content, but I really enjoyed all the other groups as well. ONF and Oneus were standouts.
Maybe I'll watch Queendom next? Or gp999? Or another reality show! Thoughts and suggestions appreciated, I am very willing to be swayed.
The Good Place ★★★★☆
Eleanor Shelstrop dies and then arrives in the afterlife, where she's thrilled to be told she's arrived in the "good place". She quickly realizes that she's not who everyone thinks she is though, and the real Eleanor Shelstrop was someone who was a better person than she was. The show focuses on a cast of six: Eleanor, Chidi (who is real-Eleanor's soulmate), Tahani, Jason, Michel (the architect of The Good Place), and Janet (the all-knowing Good Place equivalent of Siri, except as a person).
I think it did a good job of interrogating its own stance on ethics (and the points system that landed them in the Good Place) and rounding out its characters some, as well as keeping its conflicts interesting over four seasons. It's been released for a while, so I'm sure a lot of people know the twists, but even knowing some of them didn't cut my enjoyment of the show.
I really enjoyed the focus the show had on human's potential for change, and how it questioned even that. They also really stuck the ending.
[A to BOYZ] Younghoon Cover | A Great Big World - Say Something
I listened to this at like midnight, which might account for some of my reaction, but wow the the first time I saw this this month I was gutted by it. The combination of the way it was shot + Younghoon's acting is really tender. I'm really glad I watched this.
Audience by Rachel Levitsky
NN3 by Victoria Guerrero (translated by Anastatia Spicer and Honora Spicer)
The Pu Pu Platter Appetizer by Hoa Nguyen
Year of the Rat, Full Moon in Aries, and Coltrane Plays by Andrea Blancas Beltran
Blues to You. I have folded
my sorrows like fitted
bedsheets: fraying elastic, the faint
scent of an ex-lover’s
detergent and my palms
holding the creases
against my skin, a way to live
into them. I have
folded. My sorrows don’t ask
for any precision
other than my hands
Looking at Photos by Jesús Cos Causse
The Patron Saints by Balam Rodrigo
A Modified Villanelle for My Childhood by Suzi F. Garcia
from “In the After” by Tonya M. Foster
SCROBBLES: 3,778 ▼
SCROBBLES PER DAY: 125 ▼
I listened to a lot of Vienna Teng last month! The Tower is just such a good song...
Also the new Lil Nas X album came out! It was so good, I liked it a lot. Do you know what also released when Montero did and makes me laugh? Sticker! It's been so fun watching people react to it, and I'd love to her your thoughts about the track if you have them/have listened to it. If you haven't, here is a link to the Sticker Music video.
I didn't think I listened to that much The Killers, but Battle Born is one of those albums you can just kind of throw on and not listen to. Shout out to Silent Cry, my favorite track next to Thunderous on the Stray Kids album.
I'm looking forward to the coming months, when my history will get very weird depending on what I'm listening to to study.
(Also I finally finished a spreadsheet to do these scrobble stats for me, and I'm so pleased! Autoformatting, my beloved!!)
Artists:
Having jobs + internship + being on campus is really working for me so far, I feel like this is the best start I've had to the quarter in terms of organization and trying to toss a bunch of balls into the air. Last time I was on campus I was still a music major, and it's weird to think about; switching majors really was for the best. Nearly the entirety of my writing degree+education has been online.
I think about majoring in music a lot--and how you can love something, but sometimes love isn't enough. It's ok to leave when you're burning out. I love music but it isn't something I could sustain long term, and I think I'm finally starting to be ok with that ache.
Of course when I feel inspired to write I have no time for it :') but I am storing these vibes for later! and doing some interesting cnf work in the meantime.
Thoughts and comments very welcome, how was your September?
Movies
Minari (2020) ★★★★★
Head of his household Jacob Yi relocates his family from California to Arkansas, in hopes of becoming a farmer instead of a chicken sexer.
This is a movie that waits for you to catch up to it, I think. Another one I watched with my mom, I think we both enjoyed it.
Promare (2019) ★★★★★ (rewatch)
To fight monsters we created monsters….
Ok but seriously!! This movie is just so much fun. Every time you think they've gone over the top, the movie proves that no! That was just a very small hill compared to the next one behind it! Very fun, has a lot of heart, I enjoy it so much. (Plot is vaguely-- firefighter vs. magic fire users, but also there's giant robots. It spirals from there.)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) ★★★★★
It's a Marvel movie. but also my mom really loved it and couldn't stop talking about it after we saw it so like. Five stars for her joy alone.
Also Tony Leung, it must be said.
Books
Ahhh I'm so happy, I got so much reading done in September. I finished hardly any books in 2020/early 2021 so this was a delight. I expect this number to go down over the quarter.
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots ★★★★☆ (4.5)
(Implied monsterfucking-lite?)
I really liked this one! Anna works data management for minor villains, spending her days as a temp hench. After a debilitating injury on the job takes her out of commission for a while (her previous boss severing her contract immediately), she starts to put time into a larger data project that reveals the cost of heroics is just awful as the one that villains inflict--and it's not at all noticed by the general public. This work puts her on the radar of some very big names in the industry. It spirals from there.
I really like Anna as a protagonist, and while the direction the plot goes isn't necessarily the most surprising, it's still very satisfying. Also a cast of very fun side characters! There are some moments where the logic kind of falls through, but not in any story-breaking ways for me.
(If you plan on reading this, cw for body horror at the end of the novel. It's a mild running theme as related to injury (to self and to others) throughout the novel, but the end kind of gets intense if you're not ready. (Feel free to message me for the spoiler-y specifics and/or cws for any of these books))
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine ★★★★★
Ok so I'm not sure I can offer an objective opinion (not that any of these thoughts are objective lol) on this book considering that I read it over the course of nine months, dropping it for long stretches of time accidentally, and 95% of it was via audiobook. It was a very spaced out read. However! I really liked the story, and some of the themes of it (memory and self, language, self identity) are my favorites. I think the beginning might have been a little slow but again, not the most objective here.
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey ★★★☆☆ (3.5)
A fun murder mystery! Non-magic private detective takes a case at the school her magical sister works in. There is intrigue! Investigation! A bit of romance!
I liked the concept of this but the execution fell a little flat for me. There was a lot of introspection, and the main character seemed to be jerked around more than she actually did any investigation. The exploration of her relationship with her sister was both the strongest and weakest part of the book--it was hands down the most interesting relationship but in some places the author couldn't let go of it to let the other conflicts breathe. It's a novel very focused on what-ifs.
Fun read but missing a little oomph for me.
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal ★★★★☆
Historical sci-fi that asks how the space race might evolve if a meteor struck earth in the mid 20th century and people were forced to take space travel much more seriously earlier on. Character-driven plot focused on Elma (the main character) and her husband, and their role in the space race.
The focus on characters was a really strong decision here, and I bought into nearly everyone that Kowal put on the page! There were a few elements that I think could be stronger, and I can offer no thoughts on how historically accurate it was, but I liked it a lot!
Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer ★★☆☆☆ (2.5)
I'm not sure what I expected from this book when I started it, but what I got was not it. The concept of the book is a Haibun-esque recounting of Prior-Palmer's participation (and eventual victory) in the Mongol Derby of 2013.
It's easy reading in a way that feels almost nonsense like. The author didn't have a solid point and also couldn't make her prose stick enough for me to overlook that. The ending didn't make up for it and quite frankly the whole book could have been a much tighter novella-length thing. Prior-Palmer made some comments about feeling uncomfortable in Mongolia but never explored that in any meaningful way (there definitely was something about tourism that needed to be addressed).
There were some very beautiful sections in there, to the book's credit. Just not enough, and not well thought out enough.
TV
Guardian (2018) ★★★☆☆ (rewatch)
A show I like but would never recommend to anyone unless I knew their tastes pretty well.
Follows a special team of detectives as they deal with supernatural encounters around the city. Also there's Zhu Yilong with a sword and a fun secret identity!
Road to Kingdom (not rated)
I feel like it's hard to rate a reality/variety show like this one. I will say I enjoyed it a lot more than Kingdom!!
I was mainly watching this for tbz content, but I really enjoyed all the other groups as well. ONF and Oneus were standouts.
Maybe I'll watch Queendom next? Or gp999? Or another reality show! Thoughts and suggestions appreciated, I am very willing to be swayed.
The Good Place ★★★★☆
Eleanor Shelstrop dies and then arrives in the afterlife, where she's thrilled to be told she's arrived in the "good place". She quickly realizes that she's not who everyone thinks she is though, and the real Eleanor Shelstrop was someone who was a better person than she was. The show focuses on a cast of six: Eleanor, Chidi (who is real-Eleanor's soulmate), Tahani, Jason, Michel (the architect of The Good Place), and Janet (the all-knowing Good Place equivalent of Siri, except as a person).
I think it did a good job of interrogating its own stance on ethics (and the points system that landed them in the Good Place) and rounding out its characters some, as well as keeping its conflicts interesting over four seasons. It's been released for a while, so I'm sure a lot of people know the twists, but even knowing some of them didn't cut my enjoyment of the show.
I really enjoyed the focus the show had on human's potential for change, and how it questioned even that. They also really stuck the ending.
MISC
[A to BOYZ] Younghoon Cover | A Great Big World - Say Something
I listened to this at like midnight, which might account for some of my reaction, but wow the the first time I saw this this month I was gutted by it. The combination of the way it was shot + Younghoon's acting is really tender. I'm really glad I watched this.
Poetry
Audience by Rachel Levitsky
NN3 by Victoria Guerrero (translated by Anastatia Spicer and Honora Spicer)
The Pu Pu Platter Appetizer by Hoa Nguyen
Year of the Rat, Full Moon in Aries, and Coltrane Plays by Andrea Blancas Beltran
Blues to You. I have folded
my sorrows like fitted
bedsheets: fraying elastic, the faint
scent of an ex-lover’s
detergent and my palms
holding the creases
against my skin, a way to live
into them. I have
folded. My sorrows don’t ask
for any precision
other than my hands
Looking at Photos by Jesús Cos Causse
The Patron Saints by Balam Rodrigo
A Modified Villanelle for My Childhood by Suzi F. Garcia
from “In the After” by Tonya M. Foster
Music
SCROBBLES: 3,778 ▼
SCROBBLES PER DAY: 125 ▼
I listened to a lot of Vienna Teng last month! The Tower is just such a good song...
Also the new Lil Nas X album came out! It was so good, I liked it a lot. Do you know what also released when Montero did and makes me laugh? Sticker! It's been so fun watching people react to it, and I'd love to her your thoughts about the track if you have them/have listened to it. If you haven't, here is a link to the Sticker Music video.
I didn't think I listened to that much The Killers, but Battle Born is one of those albums you can just kind of throw on and not listen to. Shout out to Silent Cry, my favorite track next to Thunderous on the Stray Kids album.
I'm looking forward to the coming months, when my history will get very weird depending on what I'm listening to to study.
(Also I finally finished a spreadsheet to do these scrobble stats for me, and I'm so pleased! Autoformatting, my beloved!!)
Artists:
- Stray Kids - 360
- Vienna Teng - 325
- Lil Nas X - 218
- Bedouine - 176
- The Killers - 119
- Weyes Blood - 97
- NCT DREAM - 96
- 악동뮤지션 (AKMU) - 96
- Lous and The Yakuza - 94
- TOMORROW X TOGETHER - 92
- Waking Hour by Vienna Teng - 210
- NOEASY by Stray Kids - 193
- MONTERO by Lil Nas X - 191
- Battle Born (Deluxe Edition) by The Killers - 118
- Gore by Lous and The Yakuza - 94
- Bedouine (Deluxe) by Bedouine - 89
- IN LIFE by Stray Kids - 88
- Bird Songs of a Killjoy by Bedouine - 87
- Titanic Rising by Weyes Blood - 83
- Changer : Dear Eris by A.C.E - 76
- The Tower by Vienna Teng - 50
- 닐리리맘보 by Block B - 47
- Thunderous by Stray Kids - 45
- EVEREST (with Sam Kim) by AKMU - 43
- INTRO : Revolutions by A.C.E - 40
- Spark by taeyeon - 39
- Hello Future by NCT DREAM - 38
- Burning Bridges by Sigrid - 38
- Thats What I Want by Lil Nas X - 36
- Silent Cry by Stray Kids - 31