rose_griffes

I was doing some sewing and that's why I watched--er, "watched"--a very silly movie on Netflix about Eurovision. Will Ferrell continues in that range of "comic actors who are the least funny element in their movies".

In spite of the movie's... everything... I did enjoy watching Rachel McAdams sing and pretend to be in love with Will Ferrell's character. Also, Dan Stevens as a self-closeted gay Russian singer was still, well, Dan Stevens, and therefore fun to watch, too. He's a lot more amusing to me than Will Ferrell is, and prettier, too.

In its favor, the movie doesn't seem to hate Eurovision. I'm not sure this film works as a parody, but how can you parody Eurovision anyway?! In short: it was a colossally stupid movie but not as awful as I expected. Maybe worth a watch if you think it's fun to see Rachel McAdams and/or Dan Stevens sing--er, "sing"--operatic numbers in glam costumes.

Still watching Burn Notice. Halfway through season two. The lead actor has to do fake accents now and then, with varying degrees of success. I was impressed with his body language acting skills in the episode where he pretends to be a low-level drug-making baddie.

That same episode was where I was really struck by what often gets referred to as "competency porn". Michael Westen and his team (yep, they're a team) DO THE THING and the bad guys are stopped and it is FUN TO WATCH. Obviously I've been enjoying the show since episode one, but mid-season two is where it has really gelled for me.

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I've started using bookshop.org's e-book reader app, called My Must Reads. It reminds me a bit of the earliest phases of the Kindle app: it has a hard time recognizing when I want to turn the page. Also, the lowest-light setting (I like black background with white text) still has fairly bright letters. But it is a way to buy e-books that isn't Amazon, so I'm keeping it. Not that I'm completely boycotting Amazon, but I'm taking the option to use other services when I can.

Recent reads (on various platforms):
Reading Joanna Bourne's The Spymaster's Lady was an exercise in frustration. The idea? Brilliant. The execution? Competent, but in a way that irritated me SO MUCH that I've already re-imagined most of it in my head. I want to take the characters and plot and hand them to a writer who can actually make the angst ANGST, y'know? Bourne didn't really mine that, and it left the whole story in fluff-land. A SPY STORY WITH SPIES WORKING FOR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES SHOULDN'T BE STUCK IN FLUFF-LAND. Also, it was just... twee? Written by someone who really likes her thesaurus? *sigh*

And in a similar vein, Gina Conkle's Meet the Earl at Midnight had a decent idea; the execution was... eh. So. Boring. I should have found the characters compelling; instead, I barely dragged myself to the finish line and didn't even bother reading the epilogue.

So that's that on that! Probably time to read something that is NOT a romance novel.

I've listened to several sections of three audiobooks, in an attempt to fall asleep. Mike Brown's How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming was about the perfect level of entertaining: interesting, but not so compelling that it kept me awake. Good job with the audio narration, whoever that was.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat (Young Readers Edition) had a good narrator as well. Most of the time the text hit that level of (not too) interesting that I wanted, but occasionally it got a bit too fascinating/grim. And now I know way more about corn-fed beef. *shudders*

Tina Fey's Bossypants isn't aging well. And will continue to age badly, I'm guessing. But "edgy" humor always runs that risk: the edge gets moved and redefined. Also, I was over Tina Fey's humor by mid-season three of Thirty Rock, so...

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillendbrand was far too compellingly-written to make me sleepy, so I had to stop listening. I thought that a story about a long-dead race horse would be fine, but nope.

I started typing THE WHINIEST POST about various Facebook-related dramas but I've chosen to spare you and lock it so that I'm the only one who can read it.

TV: I finished season one of Burn Notice, which is super enjoyable! But also very white, FYI! Lead character Michael Westen has really grown on me; I was watching almost exclusively for Fiona, the gun-happy ex-GF in the first half of the season. Michael's family has grown on me as well. So... I'm gonna keep watching.

I've rewatched a few random episodes of Community, but am finding that its appeal is greatly diminished for me. I just cannot stand Pierce. Britta is barely tolerable. Whatsisface the Ryan Seacrest knockoff: also barely tolerable. But at times the show is so genuinely clever in its parodies of common pop culture tropes that it's worth the watch. Just--not every episode.

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Books: Diana Biller's The Widow of Rose House works well--a Gilded Age paranormal romance. Sorta? I'm having trouble classifying it. But I will say: rather delightful! I am a total sucker for the romance of the grumpy (and wounded) heroine and her determined sweet and happy puppy love interest. And a compelling and interesting ghost!

Alisha Rai's Girl Gone Viral is a contemporary romance with two grumpy wounded people who also both have their sweet puppy aspect. Other than the past traumatic experiences of the leads, this is the sweetest and fluffiest romance. Definitely DO recommend.

That's a lot of romance novels, eh? Moving on, then. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II was a positive experience. I think Liza Mundy's prose is not as lyrical or compelling as some other non-fic writers, but it wasn't a drawback, either. I enjoyed it and got a lot of background history details out of it.

A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery Book 1) gave me some lighthearted Victorian murder. Not particularly memorable, but fun.

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Any recs for audio that is sort of interesting without being really compelling or depressing? Like... audio books or podcasts or podfic--something I could listen to while trying to sleep. Definite preference for softer feminine voices.