Beethoven Virus - End, Cehennem Öyküleri - End, Stranger in My Arms

Last night against logic, I have stayed up late and finished the last remaining four episodes of Beethoven Virus. And I loved it right to the end. Kim Myung Min, you rock!!! :)

Cehennem Öyküleri is also finished (it was a small book) and I liked it very much too. And now on a totally different note, I have started yet another romance novel, what can I do? I love them.

This one is called Stranger In My Arms and is written by Lisa Kleypas, a well liked romance novelist and I can see why. I'm already much into it despite the obvious lack of adult scenes - and is it just me or romance novels are getting tamer? Maybe I should look into adult novels... Anyway, this one introduces us to our kind hearted heroine whose husband has died at a ship wreck, and she never liked him anyway since he was a selfish man who didn't give her pleasure in bed. She sort of swore off sex because of her husband's attitude. Well surprise surprise he shows up after two years and even though he looks like him (only thinner), he doesn't act anything like him. And her body seems to be telling her that. So far they have been very chaste.

Beethoven Virus Eps. 13-14, The Beast House - End, Cehennem Öyküleri

Beethoven Virus keeps getting better and better (despite playing with the same plot over and over again) and I love the clash of the master and the apprentice and the woman they both love who chose to be with the master (and is going deaf). I just love the rag tag orchestra has to prove themselves over and over again. But most of all I love the soundtrack and Kim Myung Min. The man is so good. Maybe I'll look into Bad Family and I'll look whether he was in any sageuks or not. Jang Geun Seok is adorable and I love him and his lovely speaking voice but he doesn't stand a chance against Kim.

I have finished The Beast House and pleasantly surprised that it ended relatively happily for the good guys. I'm looking forward reading The Midnight Tour (even though I think I have read it before years ago). Richard Laymon is the man.

And while I was browsing at the supermarket, I was inevitably drawn into the books bargain bin (and had to force myself away from dvd bargain bin but that is a different topic) and have found a small book of short stories that got me interested.

Cehennem Öyküleri (lit. translation: Hell Stories) This one doesn't have anything to do with the macabre but the hell in questions is more of Satre's hell, existentialist. I do like the ideas of the writer Süleyman A.Örnek, someone I have never heard before. It is a tiny book but gave me a few things to think about this morning on the shuttle bus and during my lunch break.


Meanwhile the city I live in (even though I actually live in the suburbs) is going through tough time. Environmentalist protestors were subjected to police brutality and this caused a more general protest. It has been going on for more than 5 days now and people are getting harmed every day (one person died). I feel kind of ashamed not be there but not enough to take a few days off and join them I suppose. 

Beethoven Virus Eps. 5, 6, 7, 8 Death in Holy Orders - End, The Beast House

Last night I enjoyed Beethoven Virus. The love triangle is forming and I can't really decide which Kang is better. The handsome, socially incompent, extremely talented Maestro with an icy exterior but a warm heart or the handsome, kind hearted, courageous man who is a bona fide genius managing not be an asshole about it. Also it doesn't help that Kim Myung Min is Maestro and Jang Geun Seok is the junior genius (well even though he wears a man purse, he looks so good).

Well I'm too old for JGS so I'd definitely go for KMM - and I certainly am not crying over my choice. Maestro is a good man.

RuMi, performed underwhelmingly by Lee JiAh, predictably has the same undecisiveness. And it doesn't help that not only both men are in love her but she has an ear tumour and will go deaf in about 4 months (I hope this can be resolved some way and she will not go deaf)

Meanwhile I have finished Death in Holy Orders and started the second book of Richard Laymon's Beast House triology, The Beast House and it started with a bang and is looking good and scary.

Beethoven Virus - Episodes 3-4

Beethoven Virus is doing me some good. First of I love watching the two male leads and the soundtrack is so so good. Secondly this type of underdogs doing what they love story appeals to me and it is great to watch everyone trying to do their best. Thirdly I like it that I'm able to stop at the end of an episode and do not feel that I simply "have to" continue, this way I'm getting enough sleep.

Meanwhile I'm loving Death in Holy Orders.

Beethoven Virus Eps 1-2

Beethoven Virus was not on my priority list for some reason. I got it because I like classical music and the two male leads (Jang Geun Seok and Kim Myung Min) but I was kind of afraid that it will be similar to Nodame Cantabile (seriously that one was a turn off) but luckily despite the umped up quirky factor, it is nowhere near the -unwanted by me- quirkiness of Nodame Cantabile.

Our main leads have the same name Kang Gun Woo. One is a perfectionist maestro who had to leave Korea because he stopped a concert during performance because orchestra was not very good - to be fair he didn't want to conduct it the first place-. Sadly for him Korean President and First Lady was not very understanding of his undue caprice.

The other Kang Gun Woo is a musical genius but was turned off from classical music (fuelled by an unfortunate interaction with older Kang Gun Woo) and now works as a traffic police but he recently got suspended (it was not really his fault).

Our female lead is Du Ru Mi (I think this is a sad attempt at a pun) and she works for the city hall art department. She is a good violinist however and wants to play at a concert hall with a real orchestra. So she proposed a concert to advertise the town as a musical city and manages to get City Hall sponsor it. The sad news is that her conductor embezzled the fund a month before the concert leaving her with no money, no musicians and a bad debt. She is not a quitter though so she thinks to give a chance to amateurs who like to play classical music.

So in episode 1 she gathers a team of musicians and we are introduced to them. Kang Gun Woo's choice of instrument is trumpet and despite claiming to hate classical music he is very talented and seem to be willing to play it.

But of course every orchestra need a conductor and we are introduced to ours at the end of first episode. Kang Gun Woo has a bad reputation as being an orchestra killer and this seems to be well deserved. He is arrogant and unreasonable. He bullies himself (and his dog) into Young Kang's house and forces him to live in a small room upstairs. Well Young Kang would not let him do so but he started to like Du Ru Mi and suffers all to help her out. She realises this and does seem happy with it so far. But Old Kang who was an utter asshole turned out to be a wimp when it comes to his dog Thoven -heh- and we see Du Ru Mi softening when she sees how he cries over his dog - who luckily got better-.

Now Old Kang starts work and immediately gives up but Young Kang while trying to organise things sorts a problem out simply due to his musical talent. And this gets Old Kang's nerves since even though he is talented enough, he is not at genius level and has to work harder to obtain the same things that comes natural to his more talented peers. And when he finds out that his alumni and nemesis (so far we only see that he is more naturally talented and enjoys the music but we do not know of his personality) will also attend this patethic concert, he starts to take thing seriously. He is nasty to performers and we leave episode two Du RuMi trying to set him right.

I'm loving this. Jang Geun Seok is adorable, Kim Myun Min a power house of an actor and despite the fact that Lee Ji Ah does not measure up, at least she is inoffensive (but so far her performance is below average).

Revenge-End, Death in Holy Orders, Süt, Trouble With The Curve, The Fourth Kind, The Usual Shows

Revenge writen by Yoko Ogawa ended and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot. Now I need to get my hands on Hotel Iris.

And I have started the last of the books I have got in the second hand book fair.
Death in Holy Orders by P.D James. Now James is writer whose books I enjoy reading but for some reason not seek further fiction by her. As expected I'm enjoying this one very much.

Süt  (lit.trans. Milk) is the second film of director Semih Kaplanoğlu's Yusuf triology (the first two stories didn't have anything to do with each other apart from the location and a few actors playing different roles).
Now it didn't appeal to me as well as the first one. It has good cinematography and a decent story but I didn't like the female lead Başak Köklükaya who is a good actor but looks and acts to urban to give life to a villiage belle who milks cows and makes cheese etc. for a living. Anyway it was not a total loss but I don't think I want to watch it again either.

Trouble With The Curve For some reason I have left this one long recorded in Digitürk. But I gave it a shot (lacking more desirable films) and one of the things I like most happened. A film discarded some growing 'to be viewed' pile turning out to be very good. Well at least it was to me. Now I'm partial to Clint Eastwood both as an actor and director (this film is directed by Robert Lorentz and lacks Clint's thoughtful little touches) and he is the lead actor in this lovely and good natured melodrama. Maybe I like it a lot because it represented an ideal ending which we will probably not get in real life. A disturbing amount of tears were shed during this.

The Fourth Kind this one was on loan from a colleague and it didn't suit me well. Alien abduction stories are not my thing and I have falled asleep at some point (but woke up very soon after)

Yumurta, His Christmas Pleasure - End, Revenge (not the TV Show)

Yumurta (lit.translation Egg) Last night I have watched Yumurta and liked it a lot. Semih Kaplanoğlu turned out to be a director I may like (well not as well Nuri Bilge Ceylan, whose works he clearly are inspired by) but I like the story he told and the way he told it. Nejat İşler was excellent in the lead but I didn't really like Saadet Işıl Aksoy. She is pretty I suppose and her performance didn't suck but there is something about her that doesn't sit right me. Oh well, this was a good viewing after all. Minimal amount of tears.

His Christmas Pleasure turned out to be more about feelings than erotica and to my surprise I actually cried at some scenes. Seriously what's with me being the easiest crier in the world?

Now I plan on starting

It is actually kind of weird since I'm so eager to read this but at the same time I'm a bit sad since I like looking forward to things. I hope it will worth it.