Book: Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West Genre: YA romance Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Yes! Another Kasie West book! I'm managing to keep up... barely!
This one is about our girl, Kate, who ends up in a podcasting class at school, since her best friend bugged her to do it. She is pretty scared since she doesn't talk to people well and is sort of a loner. She likes to play on her lake where her family owns the marina.
And then when she is appointed the co-host of the show she is all.. are you kidding me? But as it turns out, she has a bit if a talent for it, complete with her dry and sarcastic humor, that people love and the show becomes a hit.
They also love the dude that calls in with his struggles that people have named "Looking for Love." Kate and her friend know who it is.. in fact it's the guy that Kate's friend is trying to nab. So Kate doubles her efforts to help, (though her friend is pretty good at this flirting thing on her own) and in the process, she starts liking this dude herself.
Bad news!
Anyway, things become quite the mess before they get better, but of course they get better!
Another fun one! And yes, very similar to the the rest, but still, I love reading them. Perfect grounding books for me. Bring 'em on!
Genre: Romantic comedy/drama Starring: Jang Geun Suk, Lee Hong Ki, Park Shin Hye, Jung Yong Hwa Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Here's another quite old (ten years I think?) drama that is a sort of iconic classic that everyone who's into kdramas ends up watching at some point. And it's finally my turn. Toto and I decided to make this our summer drama "watch together" and it was a fun one for watching together!
However, be warned those of you who hate Boys Over Flowers....or those of you who hate very very VERY cheesy stuff.... or those of you who hate sickly sweet romance... or those of you who hate extreme use of tropes. Beware because this has it all.
It did remind me a lot of Boys Over Flowers mainly for the plot. It's about a girl who is training to become a nun, but her twin brother, who is going to be part of a boy band, has some sort of issue/problem, and can't make it. But if he doesn't show, then the band is in trouble, so the manger tracks this girl down and begs her to act like her twin brother and stand in until whatever the issue is gets resolved. (I can't even remember what the problem was but no wonder since that is not at all what the story is about!)
And so she does... disguises herself as a boy and becomes part of this band. So there's three other guys in the band and they take to her pretty fast. In fact they all fall in love with her... some even before they figure out her secret!
But some of them figure out her secret pretty fast and then it's all about keeping her secret and maintaining the band's image and doing what they gotta do. There's an actress girl who gets herself all mixed up in their business and she is going to cause them all sorts of problems because she starts getting a clue that something is up! And a reporter dude who is doing the same thing! Ugh, make them go away!!
Not always the glamorous rock stars shown above!
So it's very much like BOF because of course this gaggle of guys all falls for the one girl. But of course the girl falls for the one guy that is the meanest to her.. the most emo guy of all emo guys! And the nice guys, she enjoys and loves but not in THAT way.
Ah man. there are so many cheesy moments! So cheesy that we laughed and giggled a lot! But it was so fun at the same time. I love the cheese! I love the craziness of this stuff! I loved these boys, and this band and how this girl interacts with them. It's so fun and cute and silly and yes, even among the cheese there's some great romantic moments.
He had all sorts of hair styles during this drama but I think this was my favorite! LOL! Dang his eyes though.
Lots of great songs come out of this one too. Each boy gets their moment to sing and shine... and of course they are all from a band or are singers in real life.
We have the lead dude (someone who I haven't "met" before) called Jang Geun Suk who besides acting, is also a solo singer. He is so popular in Asia that people call him the "Prince of Asia." He is currently serving his military duties at the moment... just started actually. This is a picture of him smiling, something he rarely did during this drama being all emo and stuff.
The next dude is from a band called CNBlue where he is the lead singer. And he played the sweet and nice and romantic dude who the girl should have probably choosen. (Ah, I guess that's a spoiler, but not if you know kdramas and know they always pick the guy with the flaws!) His name is Jung Yong Hwa. His band is a band band (instrument playing) and he plays the rythum guituar as well as the lead singing. He's really good, like... really good.
My favorite dude in this fictional band is a guy named Lee Hong Gi... I already fell for him in a previous drama (Hwayugi) and before that I already fell for his really unique and amazing voice as the lead singer of another band band called FTISLAND. They do awesome rock music and sound nothing like the kpop bands you think you know! He is awesome and he tends to play guys with cute and fun personalities which makes me think he is this same way himself even though he is such a hard core rocker dude too! I love it. Here's the song from FTISLAND that made me notice them and realize that there's more than the poppy sounding songs in kpop. You should totally click and listen and see what you think of his husky raspy voice:
Of course then we have our girl, Park Shin Hye. She is a very popular leading actress that gets to star with pretty much all the major leading guys. But that's because she is amazing and does such a good job at any of her roles. This one was probably her one of her first and my guess is one that made people sit up and take notice of her.
Since this is quite an old drama, there aren't any great trailers for it, but here's a fan made one that's not too bad. (Actually they say it was for a school project and the quality is kinda bad, but the clips are fun):
And the big song from the show... each of them get a turn to sing it, but here is Park Shin Hye with her turn:
In the end I'm glad I finally got this one watched. We were totally wrapped up it despite the cheesiness and loved it in the end!
A week before KCON was the Monsta X concert! So we flew there for that... came and went... and then a few days later we drove back for KCON. Yeah, it was a crazy couple of weeks. BUT, the Monsta X concert!
The only group now that I've seen twice. (Not counting like the few songs we saw of Seventeen at both KCONs now... I guess I've seen them twice now, but not full concerts.) So you could say this group is one of my favorites if not my favorite!
We had a struggle getting tickets for this one and ended up in the wrong place so even though we got the tickets, we didn't get the ones we wanted which meant we ended up with seats quite far back. Sadness.
So while that was a true disappointment to deal with it when it come right down to the day, it was still an amazing awesome concert and seeing these amazing awesome guys is just... AMAZING! LOL! And it was so fun to see the change in them over the year. Last time they were cool and had a great stage presences... but this time that was ratcheted up several notches. Their ease on stage and ability to work the crowd was EVEN BETTER than last time.
Also last time, they had an interpreter and hardly spoke any English except for I.M who knows it quite well. THIS TIME, they all spoke English very confidently and it was awesome. I love seeing them trying to learn to hard just so they can communicate better with us. They all said their ending comments in English (we are so sad to not have captured on video both I.M's and Minhyuk's thoughts) except for Jooheon who had something so important to say he wanted to make sure and say it right, and then he brought us all to tears with his words. Gah. They killed us in the end there!
They cracked down on video taking this year, but we still snuck in a bit. However, for the most part, we just put the phones away and enjoyed. But here's our vlog of the experience and a few pictures:
One of the best things about concerts is meeting up with people we've befriended from other events or talked to online, and meeting new friends, and finding people who love our channel! It's so fun! Dang but I wish that LA was closer. Or that kpop groups would decide that oh, lets say, Salt Lake, would be a great city to try! :)
Movie: Crazy Rich Asians Genre: Romantic comedy Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh Rating: two thumbs up
Oh my word but this movie has made a big splash! Why do you think that is? I mean, seriously... why?
My guesses:
The story? The fact that it's a fun romantic-ish (not really about the romance since they are already together pre beginning of the movie but still) comedy about a crazy family with a likable couple and funny crazy quirky side characters that make you laugh a lot. Yeah?
Relate-able? The fact that lots of interesting but simply points are made about relationships and family and friends that we can all understand. Easy to connect to the characters and such. Yeah?
The Asian aspect? I mean it's not just me, right? Lots of people are making a big deal about the fact that the cast is all Asian, right? And that it deals with some interesting Asian cultural things that the rest of us in the world find fun to learn about, and can relate to our own cultures. And everyone thinks this is a cool thing? Yeah?
What else?
I want to say something like... THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO SAY FOR YEARS NOW.. .but I guess I won't because... obnoxious. LOL! But seriously... all the reasons? Yes.
So quick summary for those interested: There's this couple who has been dating for awhile now. She is American Chinese (born and raised in America... mom is from China) and he is from Singapore but has been living in New York for quite some time. Also, was mostly raised in England I think. Anyway, he decides it's time to show off to his family. What she doesn't know... until she gets there anyway, is that his family is CRAZY RICH and pretty much owns everything in Singapore. Yeah. And his mom expects him to love and marry someone a little "higher up" than poor American Chinese status. And so the conflict comes when she decides to fight the system and prove that she is every bit as worthy as any crazy rich Asian is.
The quirk!
Yeah. It was a fun enjoyable movie. I wouldn't say the best movie I've ever seen... or even the best movie I've seen in a long time. I just found it... fun and enjoyable. Favorite part is for sure those crazy side characters. Also, the mother son relationship, as I always find that fascinating. The connection between the two leads felt a little weak to me... I wanted to believe their relationship more. And the end of the movie left me a little confused. But.. it was fun and enjoyable!
But I'm still really curious about what everyone else thought was awesome about it and why it's making such a wave in the movie world. Let me know if you have ideas or if you think my guesses were close or not.
Here's the trailer for those missing out on the buzz:
Book: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Genre: YA Fantasy Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
I thought while I was feeling the love for Six of Crows, I might as well totally immerse myself in this world created by Leigh Bardugo. Because yes this book, while being a different series, takes place in the same magical world. This book was popular even before the Six of Crows book, and why has it taken me so long to read them? I don't know!!
So this story follows our orphan girl Alina as she finds out that she has a power that the Darkling, a not so nice ruler of the people, wants for himself. He tells her that together they will save the world, but is he to be trusted?
Either way, she is taken by him to be groomed and trained in order to help him and she can't believe that this is really happening to her. She doesn't even believe she truly has this power. And all she wants is to go be with her childhood friend who she has suddenly realized that she actually loves with all her heart... and live as simply as they always have.
But her life is totally changed now and that's probably never going to happen. And she figures he has forgotten all about her anyway. And the Darkling's charm is hard to deny.
So will she end up helping him? Or end up finding her childhood love again? Will she help save the world? Or destroy it?
Ah! This book, while more simply told than Six of Crows, has the same richness that I enjoyed before. And once I again I find myself invested in these characters and so... on to the second book! But first, I will read the second book that follows Six of Crows, since I know have that one in hand! Bouncing back and forth between these two series could get confusing for us all! But here we go!
Here's a fun drama about a very stuck up boss/ceo dude who has this secretary for nine years and treats her pretty crappy. I mean, like not mean, but he just doesn't seem to notice how totally awesome she is. And then one day she decides she wants to find her dream, or find herself, or something, and she decides she is sick to death of being his secretary and having no life and she tells him she is quitting.
Well of course he is all... ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You totally can't!!! And then he suddenly realizes, he pretty much can't live with out her and he is really wondering....
"What's wrong with Secretary Kim????"
And she tries to explain but in the process of all this both of them realize that dang... they kinda like each other!!
And so she gives him another month, and they hire her replacement which she is training and they continue on as normal. But not normal. Because they now know they like each other.
And then things get steamy! (Dang, but this is pretty much the steamiest kdrama I've seen yet! Which is to say, very tame still, but wow... if you are into kissing....) And lots of nice romance.
And yet, there is this touch of strangeness that he still doesn't fully come around to "getting" it. True it's his personality to be arrogant and it's kinda funny in parts, but it does become annoying that he doesn't really ever submit to the fact that she is as equal as him.
It's hard to articulate, but it does rub one the wrong way a bit.
Still, I enjoyed this one. The banter. The characters. The romance. The kissing. Yes. And what's not to love about Park Seo Joon? Seriously. It also stars one of my favorite leading actresses (the girl from Healer for those of you that know that one.) These guys have a great chemistry and it came out during the watching of this show that they are together in real life. And so I thought, wow, no wonder! And then Seo Joon ssi came out and said... um, no. We are just friends. CHILL OUT EVERYONE! (He was pretty snarky indeed and it made me laugh, but it also made me wonder... what's the real truth mister!!??)
So who knows?? But regardless, they have great chemistry!
This dorky smile is my favorite.
(This actress has been cast with three of my favorite actors: Park Seo Joon, Lee Min Ho and Ji Chang Wook... and I wondered who she enjoyed working with most. I have to say I'm guessing it's Park Seo Joon!!)
Oh and I didn't even say anything about the CRAZY back story! Because you know there is one and it's... CRAZY!
Well. anyway, here's a little trailer if you are interested:
(click on the cc to get the captions!)
And a song (featuring our boy Jinho from Pentagon! Dang I love his voice.)
It's been awhile since I posted here in the poor neglected blog. Part of the reason is that since August started it's been non-stop kpopping around here and lots of fun stuff to edit for our vlogs on the YouTube channel.
Perhaps the biggest event we participated in is KCON held at the LA Convention Center (and concerts at the Staples Center next door). This is just like Comic Con for those of you familiar with that...three days of panels and stages and appearances and vendors and workshops.... only with all Korean pop culture stuff. And featuring two awesome concerts on two of the nights ( and a sort of club concert on the other night.) It's an awesome event for those of us who are in love with all things Korean pop culture.
A couple of years when I first got into this, I learned that this event existed and thought... dang that's cool. And I watched the live stream of the concerts online. It was so fun and I thought, I really would like to go!
The next year, I found myself there, right up next to the gate on the floor as close as one can get to the artists on stage. And I thought... dang how crazy is this?!
This year I found myself going again, but this time all expenses paid by the company in charge, as a special guest and being featured on two different panels! (It was supposed to be three but one got cancelled.)
Life is so weird!!! And sometimes so awesome that you can't ever predict anything!
Anyway, it was a fabulous time filled with close up brushes with some of our favorite (and new favorites) bands, hanging out behind the scenes with YouTubers a million times more famous than us, eating Korean street food, making new friends with those on the panels with us, getting to talk to fans that are parents and/or old fans like me, and then finally going to the concerts and seeing so many awesome performances. I can't even describe how much fun these concerts are!
So, if you are interested in what our life was like for those few days, or want to see what the panels were like, or who we fell in love with this time, or get a little taste of the concerts, or.. just see what KCON is all about, here are the vlogs and clips we put together:
Day One:
Day Two:
Day Three:
It's hard to believe it's over again for another year. Can't wait to see what next year brings!
Book: Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West
