i feel stupid, and contagious

FEELINGS, Y'ALL. So my Hunger Games Post is going to be two posts actually, lmao. I have decided to try and touch on what I took from the first two before I get to Mockingjay, which will probably be a much longer part because it'll tackle my feelings about the series as a whole too. So here’s the first two books now, and I’ll finish writing out my thoughts on Mockingjay when I get home later. LOL TL;DR I HOPE I HAVEN'T GUARANTEED THAT NO ONE WILL ACTUALLY READ THIS.

( Thoughts on The Hunger Games and survival and sacrifice )

( Thoughts on Catching Fire and love triangles and narrative retreads )

I've totally failed at updating this thing lately apart from the odd review. Have some miscellaneous thingies:

+ There've been a lot of fic challenges cropping up and I've been sitting out of all of them. It's not my style, heh - I don't know whether to feel proud of myself for resisting, or bad for not attempting challenges that look like a lot of fun. I'm leaning towards the latter tbh; on the other hand it's better than signing up to write yet another thing I can't seem to finish. I have no idea what to do about the not-finishing. I haven't been this blocked in a long time. But I always feel like if I DON'T sign up for things I'll get in the habit of not doing so, if that makes any sense at all. Most of my stuff in the past has come from challenges and I never know which will inspire something in the end.

+ Grad school classes start in a few weeks and I still haven't settled on which to sign up for. DERP.

+ Kanye West's twitter. That is all.

+ I'm watching Rizzoli & Isles on TNT. Guys, that show is the biggest subtextual tease I think I've ever seen. No really, Merlin has nothing - nothing - on Rizzoli & Isles. I can't tell if I love it or hate it. I think I love it because a) we never get girly buddy procedural shows, b) Maura/Jane have such a delightful friendship going on, and c) they're both competent and kickass characters around which the entire series revolves. It's a show full of things you don't always see on TV - and it's been renewed! So yes, I think I love it. At the same time, there's all this heavily coded subtext that leaves me frustrated over the fact that Jane and Maura are probably never going to make out. I'm literally and repeatedly left gaping at the screen every time they do not make out. *shakes fist at the sky* That and news I read about an upcoming episode make me think I might end up wanting to kick my computer screen before it's over. I kind of hate shows that do this.

+ I caught up on White Collar, having previously only seen the pilot. It's good! My main take-away thoughts are that I'm SO happy Diana is back as a regular, and that I'm half-convinced Matt Bomer is an actual wax mannequin who has been animated with magic. He is seriously flawless: double-breasted suits hang perfectly on him, nothing disturbs his hair ever, not even when he is chasing people, and his hat is perfectly cocked at all times. I'm not sure if this is good or bad but it's amusing. And his eyes are pretty.

+ Currently reading Steig Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, after having watched the film adaptation. I'm enjoying it, though for those who haven't seen the film or read the books and are thinking of picking them up, I think the series should come with trigger warnings. I have conflicted feelings about it overall. ( this isn't spoilery, just less brief than I thought it would be )

Anyway - hope everyone's having a good week so far! Come say hey if you want. Reading anything good?

+ Happy Birthday gnimaerd! Hope you've had a fantastic day. It's fun being f-listies with you and squeeing over Merlin and our respective crushes therein. XD And you got me writing RPF, which is no mean feat. *g* Cheers for being such a cool person, seriously. ♥

+ I've got a rental car while mine is in the shop. It's nice, but I've never had a rental car before, and I'm freaking paranoid about scratching it or something.

+ Whilst out driving and being paranoid today, I listened to my new copy of the HBP score. It's gorgeous in parts; I think I almost like it better than the PoA score which is my favorite of the lot. Anyway I am EXTREMELY excited for the film, which I never thought I'd say since HBP was my least favorite of the books. Oh, HP, my first true fannish love. ♥ I shall never really leave you.

+ Finished reading Kushiel's Dart (first in the Kushiel's Legacy books) by Jacqueline Carey. Highly recommended, by the way. It's definitely not without its problems but it's also pretty freaking EPIC. I love the main character and her more than worthy antagonist; I love the richly detailed universe and all the political intrigue throughout. Moving on to the next installment immediately, kthnx. I haven't read something so immersive in a while.

+ Okay, I'm off. Bingley needs a bath, and I have five-times fic to write, and other stuffs to do. ♥