Hi y'all! Welcome to the blogger meme I'm co-hosting with my friend Karen at For What It's Worth Reviews. It's time to open up and share (and vent) about our blogging experiences!
Blogging about books is one of the best hobbies ever and it's incredibly rewarding, but it also comes with its own particular challenges and issues, so we want to open up the conversation and talk about the stuff we normally keep to ourselves.
Guidelines: Do not criticize other bloggers or authors in your post or in the comments! We're here to support each other.
Our current question is:
For March 19th:Everyone LOVES that book! Why don't I? How do you handle being the one reviewer who doesn't like a book that's taking the blogosphere by storm? Do you write a review? Pretend you didn't read the book?
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Tiger's answer: In my earlier blogging days, I used to worry about the times when I'd dislike a book everyone was raving over. I wasn't so much worried that people would think badly of me for not liking their favorite new book, but I felt a big sense of loss of the conversations I wouldn't be having with other bloggers.
Normally, when I liked a book that everyone else liked (The Hunger Games), it meant days or weeks of emails, blog comments, Goodreads chats, and exchanged tweets with different people about our shared obsession. But if I hated the book or just felt "blah" about it, that meant I'd be missing all the great talk surrounding the book, because I rarely felt like debating my reasons for disliking the book. So I'd just review it calmly and stay internet-quiet, otherwise.
These days, I basically expect that any book with a lot of buzz around it won't work for me, so I'm just pleasantly surprised if a popular book is a good read, rather than disappointed when it isn't. :-) If I dislike a book but it still interests me and I see a spark of coolness, I'll do a review, but if a book just fails to capture my interest I won't finish or review it. I do review essentially everything that I can manage to finish, though. If I read the whole thing, even if I give it a bad grade, it means it was in some way worth the time spent!
So how about you? Do you look forward to the big everybody's-discussing-it gabfests, and do you feel let down when you can't participate because you didn't love the book also?
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To participate in the meme:
If you want to participate just grab our button and include it in your post with a link to either Tiger's All Consuming Mediaor For What It's Worth.
Join in the meme and link your post up below or leave a comment! Feel free to suggest future topics you want to see discussed, and have fun confessing! :-)
This meme will be hosted twice monthly, on 1st and 3rd Mondays. Here are the questions for April--
April 2nd - Spoilers in reviews: Do you read them, do you include them? How to you describe (or avoid describing) spoilery parts of a book?
April 16th –: Review/Guest post requests: Do you have a review request policy? Has it changed over time? How do you handle requests that don’t meet your criteria? In the past, what types of "pitches" have caught your attention? Are there any (non-specific) examples of requests that are off-putting to you as a blogger?
Kirin High School of the Arts is still having sing-offs in order to pick the kids that will be turned into a super-celebrity band with OZ Entertainment. The "proposal" singing challenge is over and JB is disqualified for the running to be in the supergroup. It's too bad that losing the challenge doesn't feel too significant, because everyone in this show who fails/gets disqualified/gets kicked out of anything bounces back just fine and suffers no longterm downsides. Not that I want to lose any cast members; it's just that it would be nice if the eliminations felt like they counted for something.
Bigshot Producer Dude tells our heroine Hyesung that JB was eliminated because he chose her as a partner, and that his poor decision ruined his chances of winning. Eek. Way to make a girl feel rotten, Producer Dude! JB's thoughtfully acting happy, letting Hyesung know he's not at all upset over the loss. But Hyesung is still afraid that she's dimming JB's light now that she's his girlfriend, and all signs point to her actually being a big deterrent for his career.
Hyesung discovers that JB's working himself to death with secret dance practices because he hasn't given up on his dream. So with some prodding from Rian, Hyesung breaks up with JB for his own good. She has to say some hateful things in order to convincingly break things off, and then when he chases after her, he is hit by a truck. Sorrow! JB makes it out of the accident with only a torn ACL, but that's still about that worst thing ever for a dancer. Hyesung has to figure out a way to preserve JB's dreams no matter what, even if it means sacrificing her own hopes for a singing career.
Also in these episodes, Yujin confesses his feelings for Hyesung! I still don't know if any of these potential couples can actually stay interesting for more than two episodes at a time, but the confession is precious.
Things I Loved:
1. Rian. Well, she's not precisely lovable, but she gains a lot of points when she makes breakfast for everyone, acts nice to her mom, and sticks up for Hyesung against some bullies. She also shows that she truly loves JB, although I don't know if that was made clear enough all along--in the early eps, she genuinely seemed like she was just an occasionally catty buddy of JB's. But anyways, I'm glad she's becoming more of a secondary heroine, now.
Rian: Slightly Less Evil Than in Previous Episodes.
2. Hyesung's Maturity. Our little Hyesung sure is growing up! She has to make a lot of tough decisions, and she's always looking out for others. Well, mainly for JB. But in repeatedly sacrificing for JB, she's actually doing what's best for herself, too. Hyesung now seems like she has a gift and purpose, when before it seemed like she was chasing fruitless dreams.
Making Sure Her Honeybunny is Safe and Warm.
3. References to other K-dramas. In the class where Kirin students act out scenes from dramas, I recognize lines from Secret Garden and My Name is Kim Samsoon.The really great thing about this is when Hyesung and Rian exchange lines from My Name is Kim Samsoon where a guy's current girlfriend is talking to his old girlfriend, it actually mirrors Hyesung and Rian's basic conflict over JB. Quoting another show is such an interesting way to add depth and humor to a scene, so bravo.
4. Normal-guy JB. I half-like and half-dislike this change, but I'll classify it as a "like" for now. JB has always had a certain glitz and glitter to him, but now he has undergone a hair and wardrobe change to reflect his new, humble station in life. He dresses casually and sports dark, flattened-out hair, and he reveals a few more everyday quirks, like how he always carries around a spoon with him so he can eat whenever he wants. It's sweet and nerdy.
Superstar JB and His...Lucky Spoon.
Complaints:
1. Master Plan? Rian reveals that every event in the past few months--OZ's takeover of Kirin High, the super-idol competition, etc, have all been done in an attempt to draw attention to JB and to make him into the star to end all stars. Okay, then. Kangchul didn't really seem like he had some massive master plan when took things over; he's just the kind of guy who buys up stuff that he thinks will benefit his business. But now the show is trying to introduce this insidious "master plan" plot when I don't think it was really set up all along. Plus, there are only about a trillion ways that this plan could backfire.
2. Yujin's Stardom. Yujin signs a contract with OZ in order to become a big star and impress Hyesung? What? Why? How? That's a horrible reason for Yujin to sell out to this soul-crushing, star-exploiting company. It goes contrary to everything we've seen from his character. And due to magical television time, Yujin catapults to stardom overnight, films a half dozen commercials, and gets interviewed by major news outlets all within the same week. *headdesk* But his fame makes him hang out with Rian more, which is surprisingly good for both of them, though they give off more of a Good Friends vibe.
Not Actually Too Bad of a Pairing.
3. The accident. In the scene where JB is hit by a truck, he falls to the pavement still clutching the lyrics to the song "Together" that Hyesung wrote for him. He looks at the lyrics meaningful before losing consciousness. Ehh. That's horribly contrived and would be cheesy, even in a music video. Plus, JB gets hit by a truck and doesn't bleed except from a strategically placed scrape on his cheek!
Themes:
Father/Daughter Bonding: I love-love-love the subplot with Kangchul, the president of OZ Entertainment, and his tough daughter Seul. These two could almost have been their own K-drama. Kangchul is BEAMING while watching his daughter's recorded musical performance, and it's cute to see that he's a loving daddy even if he is also a cruel overlord. Kangchul is finally trying to do right by Seul, but it's going to take a lot more than just sending her to the boarding school of her choice. Seul finally admits to her dad that she wants to be at school with him and she calls him out on stage and tells him that he needs to loosen up and make some friends. I like her tremendously.
Cultural Observances:
Couple clothes: In Korea, couples will often wear matching t-shirts while on dates, or they'll have matching accessories like cellphone charms or even the same shoes. When Nana buys a matching backpack for another guy, it makes her boyfriend Shiwoo jealous. Shiwoo then goes and buys himself an identical backpack to theirs so that they can all be a---a triple-couple, I guess?
K-pop: I nearly died when Seul and Eui-bong started performing the K-pop song "Balloons" by TVXQ. If you've seen the original video....*snort*. If not, look it up. Words fail to describe the wonder and horror of "Balloons".
New words: "Seonbae-nim" means senior or upper-classman. Even though they're the same age, Yujin jokingly calls Rian seonbaenim because she's been in the music industry longer than he has. "Himdun" is "difficult" and Hyesung asks Rian how she survived the difficulty of her trainee period with OZ Entertainment.
Episode Evaluations:
The plot suddenly got very soap-opera-like and needlessly dramatic in these episodes, but I'm still watching, so that counts for something. There are a few sparks left in this show, and I hope they don't all fizzle before the finale.
In this book, the apostle Paul is writing to Titus, a pastor at Crete. Paul is fond of Titus and calls him his "own son after the common faith". Titus has been left in Crete to bring order to the church and to appoint church leaders in the area. Paul gives him a lot of instructions about what a pastor/elder in the church ought to look like: "If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre..." (1:6-7) And the instructions continue for a few more verses. The main point of all these instructions seems to be that a person must have their own life under God's control before they can possibly lead the church.
One problem Titus faces is the fact that the people of Crete, as a society, have a reputation for laziness and general worthlessness. As Paul quotes, "One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies." (1:12) So if even they themselves think they have major moral and ethical issues, it's clear that Titus has a big job ahead of him if he wants to build up this group of believers.
Paul says that Titus is to encourage the older men and women of the church to live righteously and teach the younger ones: "That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things" (2:2-3). And Titus himself is also supposed to lead by example and show others the pattern of godly behavior.
And all these attempts at righteous living have a purpose. They are not just things that believers do because it's important to be nice. We live like this because we are, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (2:13-14). We belong to Jesus Christ and we change our behavior to please him because he has changed our hearts and saved us. Paul's advice to Titus is still very relevant today, and though this is a personal letter, the instructions found within it can be applied to anyone's life.
Cathy Rush signs on as the women's basketball coach at Pennsylvania's Immaculata College in 1972, knowing full well that this all-girls college has a poorly performing basketball team. But that's okay with Cathy, because she has no coaching experience--both she and the girls will be starting from zero and working their way up to something great. Cathy is ready to bring her passion for the game to Immaculata, but the Mother Superior of the school just hopes that basketball will appropriately suppress the girls' hormones, rather than hoping that Cathy will turn them into legitimate athletes with a winning record.
And the new coach sure has her work cut out for her if she wants to win. The school owns precisely one basketball and their gym has recently burned down, so the team has to hold practice in the activities center, which is basically a basement filled with boxes that have to be cleared away. Immaculata itself is on the verge of financial collapse, and no one expects either the school or the girls to succeed in any way--no one except Cathy and her boundless confidence, that is.
I love actress Carla Gugino in anything (yes, even in Night at the Museum), and I like her here as well, though I think she's placed in a film without much oomph to it. When she addresses her misfit team and asks "Who here likes to win?" and all the girls raise their hands, I really believe her as a coach and I have faith that this woman can motivate her troops to do anything. But at other times, some of her imaginative exercises and inspirational speeches seem contrived and needlessly dramatic. But aside from her words, her practical ways of shaping the team are great, and it's encouraging to watch Cathy as she drives her team to win the first-ever woman's national college championships in basketball.
As for the film-making itself, the background music is quite good, the cinematography is solid and picturesque, and there are good performances from all the girls in the cast. Ellen Burstyn as Mother Superior is particularly great. However, I think we still miss out on a genuine emotional connection with any the characters, including Cathy, and there's an almost criminal underuse of David Boreanaz, who plays Cathy's fussy, frustrated husband. I'd characterize The Mighty Macs as a sports film that doesn't really connect on an emotional level, but which is still a fine movie to watch on a rainy day in.
Immaculata's Campus.
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It's episode 13, and we're at a big press conference for the band Eye Candy. They are truly catching fire in the public consciousness and everyone wants to know more about them. The guys are worried that the reporters will ask questions about drummer Do-Il's father, who is a mob boss, but instead it's leader Ji-hyuk who gets the tough questions: "Do you have a girlfriend? Because we have photos of you leaving a residence with a certain young woman, which makes it look like you were cohabiting while still in high school..." The trouble is, Ji-hyuk does have a girlfriend, but though the photos of him and his girl Suah only prove that they were hanging out together, he's still a bit guilty because he hasn't told even his bandmates that he's dating Suah. So what does Ji-hyuk reply to the nosy reporter?
"Yes. I have a girlfriend." Yay! Woot! Honesty is so hard for characters in K-dramas, and for Ji-hyuk in particular, so it's nice to see someone being transparent for once. But people are still scandalized by his admission, and they all assume the worst about him and Suah. At school, people are looking at Suah like she's a woman of ill repute, and when her best guy friend Seung-hoon asks her if she's living at Ji-hyuk's place, she tearfully nods yes. Which is dumb, because Seung-hoon assumes the worst and Suah could have cleared up the confusion just by saying "I'm living in Ji-hyuk's old apartment while he is living elsewhere, in his record label's dorms." But noooo, tearful nodding is all we get. Where is that spine that Suah grew in episode 12? Where? Oh, well.
Haeri Noona suspends Eye Candy's promotions because of Ji-hyuk's reckless talking to the press. Hyunsoo is upset that all his solo promotions have been cut off just as he's needing money to pay for a surgery his baby sister needs. Ji-hyuk finds out about Hyunsoo's dilemma, and he knows that the only way Hyunsoo can earn the money he needs for Baby Sis is to go solo. So as the leader, it's Ji-hyuk's job to drive Hyunsoo to the point where he'll leave their scandal-ridden band and strike out on his own lucrative solo gig. Ji-hyuk does this by making Hyunsoo incredibly angry.
Suah suggests that they she and Ji-hyuk break up--she's doing it to save his career, and he's agreeing to it to save her reputation. *sniffle* Ji-hyuk has lost both Hyunsoo and Suah, so all he has left are his remaining band members. Do-Il wonders if they should even keep making music if it's not fun anymore, but for Ji-hyuk, almost nothing is going to be fun if he has to do it without Hyunsoo or Suah. So now Ji-hyuk is imbalanced, Suah is heartbroken, and Hyunsoo is falling to pieces because he hears that the band is breaking up permanently.
Then Ji-hyuk returns to his old apartment to retrieve his favorite guitar, douse it in gasoline and set it on FIRE. Episode 14 ends there. You slay me, show. Your final two episode better be glorious, because Ji-hyuk has been through enough!
Poor Kid Looks Miserable-Verging-on-Sick.
Things I Loved:
1. Hyunsoo/Yerim. I support them very strongly. Yerim's a great singer and she's also a sweetie but not clingy (unlike Wookyung), and Hyunsoo never really gave her a chance when she said she liked him before. So I like that he's being forced to see how cool a person she really is and how well they get along. It's good to hear them singing so prettily in their duet, and it's especially nice when Hyunsoo nervously notices that he and Yerim sound good together. I love that he can't make eye contact with her for any length of time--it's nice when the Ice Prince is flustered and bashful.
Super-Cute, and They Sound as Good as They Look.
2. Hyunsoo in general. I'm just terribly biased about this character. It was nice to get two episodes chock-full of Hyunsoo and Ji-hyuk emoting, because they have a very important friendship that has been carefully developed and explained over several episodes. Unfortunately, Hyunsoo is always the first guy to get pushed to the outside of the circle because the others always suspect that he's the least loyal of the group, though that's not true. He rarely creates actual problems for the band--he just looks like he's about to create a problem.
Not Causing Trouble Yet, but You Can Tell He's Considering It.
3. The Emotions. Oh man. It's hard to keep from crying when such weepy things are going on. Suah asks Ji-hyuk if they should break up and Ji-hyuk's face is very telling--he looks stricken. His friendships mean more to him than to the average high school kid because he doesn't have any family. When he loses everyone, Ji-hyuk breaks down crying. Later, Hajin cries, Wookyung cries, Suah cries, and Episode 13 ends on Hyunsoo's tear-stained face. Are you trying to rip my heart out, show?
This Flaming Guitar Represents the Emotional Intensity of SUFBB.
4. The Music. Best K-drama soundtrack ever, without a doubt. "Wake Up" is totally likable, and Hyunsoo and Yerim's duet of "Love U Like U" was quite lovely. Check it out:
Complaints:
1. Seung-hoon. He's one of my favorite characters and I don't think we get much from him in these two episodes. He lets Suah stay at his sister's spare apartment and he also asks Haeri Noona to stop the Ji-hyuk/Suah rumors for his sake, since he cares for Suah. But aside from that, we see very little of Seung-hoon. I'm thankful that he's not doing anything creepy or villainous since he's not a bad guy, but I had hoped to see more development from him.
At Least He's Not Fighting With Suah Anymore.
2. Not Enough Ji-hyuk/Suah. When Haeri Noona comes to tell Suah that she should break up with Ji-hyuk for his own good, it's not as dramatic a scene as it might be because unfortunately, we haven't seen enough of them lately to miss them being a couple. The actors make up for the lost scenes, though, and really make the loss believable.
Absent: Her Other Half. He's Off Angsting By Himself.
Themes:
Leadership/Sacrifice: As the leader, Ji-hyuk is expected to make life go well and smoothly for everyone, which is a tall order sometimes. Hyunsoo says he regrets following Ji-hyuk as a leader, but Do-Il knows better; Ji-hyuk gave up his dream of having the band together so that Hyunsoo could make enough money for his sister's surgery. That's a brave sort of sacrifice.
Carries the Weight of the World on his Shoulders.
Peacemaking: Do-Il stops Ji-hyuk from punching a jerk at school, and Kyung-jong is always trying to talk Hajin down from fights. Do-Il and Kyung-jong tend to be the guys who remind everyone else to stay calm and keep their heads down, so when they get angry, it means that balance has been lost and everyone's headed for trouble.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Hyunsoo fights to stick by his friends through thick and thin, only to be pushed out of the band for his own good. Do-Il has been pining after Wookyung for forever, and when he finally works up the nerve to actually kiss her--he ruins it by saying he's sorry, so he and Wookyung are probably worse off and driven further apart than they were before. Everyone advances, only to lose what small gains they've made! Noooo.
Cultural Observances:
Kai Bai Bo: In Korea, rock-paper-scissors is called Kai Bai Bo, and the guys in the band play this to see who has to clean up after a meal.
New words: "Unnie" means "older sister" if a female is speaking, but girls can also use "unnie" to refer to any other older girl, even if they're not acquainted. Doemi speaks of Wookyung as an unnie, though she has only seen her once and has not spoken to her. "Majayo" is "that's right" or "you're right". "Yeoja taemune" is "because of a girl"--Hyunsoo asks Ji-hyuk if he'd really break up their band just because of a girl.
Episode Evaluations:
Oh, so very painful, but so rewarding! This show has some great friendships, great romance, and great music, so it's a winner all around. I heart Shut Up, Flower Boy Band and I hope that the final two episodes live up to the great set-up of the previous ones.
EXO, the new band from SM Entertainment, is back with their second prologue song--not that any of us were sure what a prologue was the first time around. "History" is a dance track that features all six members of EXO-K, and compliments their previous ballad "What Is Love?" nicely.
The song starts with some interesting technological sounds, like an alien invasion with spaceships bleeping and landing. Then there's a kind of tribal or Caribbean beat, which fades quickly into the background as the vocals start. The tune is easy to sing along with, but the chorus is a little too monotone, like it's almost yelling without enough intensity to really be a shouting song. The vocals are solid and the rapping is good, though, so that counteracts the one-note chorus somewhat.
Themes: I think EXO has a planetary theme going on in their concept, because their whole band is technically referred to as EXO Planet and their first music video featured a lot of shots of the sky, sun, eclipse, etc. There's definitely some type of globe-planet-sky motif going on, probably because the band is supposed to be this pan-Asian force that promotes in Korea and China at the same time. The lyrics reflect this planetary theme and talk about traveling around the globe, making history on planet earth, and they include a lot more "earth" and "sun" imagery. These are kind of advanced lyrical themes for a dance track, so I'm pleased.
English: The first full line in English is okay, if a little too ghetto for EXO's image: "My heart be breakin'." Some K-pop artists can actually deliver lines of English slang with perfect attitude and confidence, but those artists (CL, G-Dragon, Tablo) are almost all with YG Entertainment, and SM Entertainment artists like Girls' Generation seem to have a tougher time pulling off this kind of phrasing. The next English line really doesn't work at all: "My pain be creepin'. " It's okay, EXO--I still like you. It's not your fault if you get assigned unusual lyrics.
Name bonus: The rapper in the band demonstrates how you actually say EXO's name: "Ex-Oh," whereas I had been pronouncing it "Eee-Ex-Oh" by sounding out each letter. With K-pop band names, you pretty much have to guess at how to say them until someone makes it clear.
Conclusion: Unlike their first song "What Is Love?" I don't think "History" is one that I'll keep turning to and hunting down on Youtube. I felt like "What Is Love?" was the kind of song you'd want to keep hearing over the course of a few months, but "History" probably isn't a song that will have listeners going, "You know what I'm in the mood to hear? EXO's "History"." This song is really quite good, but in my opinion it doesn't have that same unique and compulsively listenable quality as EXO's previous prologue.
My grade for the song: 3.5 of 5 stars
Watchable bonus: Here's the audio for "History"
And here's the MV. It doesn't have a wacky concept or a cool storyline; it's just your basic video of closeups and dance sequences, so it's not quite clicking with me. I'm think I'm about ten years too old to appreciate this:
Questions: So what do you think of "History"? Do you like it more or less than "What Is Love"? Are you keeping tabs on EXO-M, the version of the band that sings in Mandarin, or are you like me, just following the Korean half of EXO Planet?
Hello, everyone! Thanks to Tor.com, I'm getting to host an excerpt from author Dom Testa's latest book, The Galahad Legacy, from his YA science fiction series. Check out the links below to learn more about the author, and read on for today's portion of The Galahad Legacy.
"The electrifying conclusion to the epic young adult science fiction series that began with The Comet’s Curse. Council leader Triana Martell has returned from her journey through the mysterious wormhole, but she isn’t alone. She is accompanied by the ambassador of an alien race—the Dollovit.
While the Council and crew of Galahad struggle to come to terms with the existence of the Dollovit, the ship begins to flounder. The radiation shields threaten to fail, damaged by the appearance of multiple wormholes. The Dollovit have a proposal for the crew: an offer of assistance that could be their only hope for survival. But their offer comes with an astronomical price. Beset with doubts and surrounded by danger, can Triana and her crew find a way to reach their destination—a new home for the human race?"
Tiger: And now, here's my blog stop excerpt from The Galahad Legacy!
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"Now the door to his room slid open and he stepped inside, mindful to be quiet. Daniil was sound asleep. Gap rarely had contact with his roommate these days; just another sign, he noted, that time off was overdue. His social life had withered away.
And, he realized, it was more insight into the life of Triana, or anyone with heavy responsibilities. It was the side of leaders rarely seen or understood.
Although his bed called out, he kicked off his shoes and checked his mail again. There was a single new entry, a note from Triana. Clicking on the file opened a group message to the Council, with a personal attachment for him. The main message called for the Council to assemble at seven in the morning - his shoulders sagged as he calculated the amount of sleep he would not be getting again this night—and thanked everyone for their great work during her absence. The note was short and to the point, in pure Triana style."
Please visit Moonlight Book Reviews for the next excerpt from the first chapter of The Galahad Legacy.
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Tiger: I hope everyone's enjoying the great giveaways and the cool science fiction provided by the blog tour!
