Beanie level: Loan shark with a heart of gold

January 2020, when @leetennant and I got dark and didn’t have a clue how very very prescient we were.



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    Omg…

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    *shivers*

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    Fast forward 6 months…. The darkness within us only intensified over the period.

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    I was looking at my Instagram and my post from January 8 is literally “It’s only been 8 days and already 2020 has been a RIDE” and now I laugh and laugh and laugh (until I cry) at how young and naive I was. Ah, youthful folly.

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    I was searching for something in an old text and saw that I texted “Everything You Need to Know About Coronavirus “ on January 22nd. 🤦🏼‍♀️
    How innocent we were.

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    Yikes!!!! Please write something better for 2021 okay?

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*whispers* Is the video thingy gone for everyone? Is it gone for good? Can I celebrate its demise?

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    The darn thing is no longer showing up.. maybe?

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    Oh, it’s gone for me, too. I honestly hardly noticed it anymore.

    I didn’t mind it much, aside from a few bad MV choices of problematic artists. The site is obviously still not getting enough revenue even with people being able to directly donate, so I am willing to welcome something mildly irritating if it keeps the site online.

    Also, it wasn’t present on the fan wall, which is where I spend most of my time.

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    I just got back and omg yes!!

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    I hope they took it down for good…
    I thought it was cool at first but it was getting annoying. I’m pretty sure beanies know where to go if they want to see/listen to Kpop.

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    Huh it was really annoying but now it’s gone and I didn’t even notice 😅 You get used to anything. I need to work out how to donate because I’d be sorry to see this site disappear.

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    Oh my, I didn’t even notice it was gone until I read this.
    ***I’ll celebrate quietly with you……***

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    🤣😄

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    It seems so! Yesterday it was a black screen all day long and today it seems to be gone for good.

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I think this kdrama home is going in my top five. It’s good to see Shin Dong Wook in it too, despite the fact that there is something skeevy about his character in My Unfamiliar Family.



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    I’d love to live in that house.
    I love SDW, but his character is creepy.

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      Honestly, I’m kind of enjoying him being skeevy. He always plays the super nice guy, so the creepy super nice guy is change. Next, he can do straight up villain.

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    I dunno why but i desperately want him to be a good guy..

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I haven’t been here much lately, so I’m not sure what this 30 day drama challenge is about. But I when I see the words “Best Male Lead” and don’t see this man:

I give all of you a stern glare.

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I\’m struggling to watch new dramas, and you know, that\’s okay. I wrote a little bit about it here: https://booksandbeans.org/2020/03/23/rewatch-reread-relax/

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    Thanks for sharing, egads! That’s so spot on! I started watching and really liked many currently airing dramas but found myself unable to continue on, and it’s more me than them. This week, I’m finding comfort in re-reading old favorite fanfics from Sherlock and ofc, the Untamed.

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    Thank you. This is perfect.

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    I was about to leave a comment underneath, and then I remembered I accidentally deleted my account, so:

    You summarised me beautifully, Egads. I’m one of those people who just never grew out of watching films on repeat. When I’m stressed, I retreat to my favourite dramas. Right now, Gokusen. When I’m in a slump with my reading, I’ll go back to my favourite book. Right now, If We Were Villains. At heart, I’m a joy chaser, and that can be seriously useful in times like this.

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    I’m having problems with my account so I dont know if I actually sent my comment so I’ll put it here just in case.

    Yes! I’m so guilty of this. I rewatch Six Flying Dragons every year since it ended (sometimes more than once). My other go to rewatches are: Deep Rooted Tree, A Poem A Day, and Reply 1997. Super Junior shows are also on repeat. I feel like a big portion of Choding Junior video views on youtube is mine.

    Interestingly though, I am watching four airing dramas right now (after being on a long drama slump). I am not stuck at home though so maybe it will be different once they close down child care centres.

    Sigh. I wish I can go back to reading books. My attention span is just too short now, I can’t sit down and read a book. 😦 But for re-reads, one book that stands out for me is The Little Prince. It’s differenrlt every time I read it. I first read it when I was younger and thought the adults in the book are so awful and I felt more for the Little Prince. However, reading it again in College, I was more on the fence. Then reading it a few years ago, I felt more for the adults because I’m living their lives now. There’s always something new we pick up when we re-read or re-watch so I say just do you!

    P.S. Children are exactly what you described. I’d go to the library to get them books every week but they made me read one book all the time. I had to extend the borrowing period for it twice! It’s not even in English!

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After months of talking about it, I finally pressed publish on something on that book blog I\’ve been procrastinating starting. It’s bare bones. I don’t really have a plan right now. But let’s talk about books, but it seems I don’t have anything to say about dramas lately and I sort of miss talking to many of you. So, here’s the link, and remember don’t be a troll. https://booksandbeans.org/

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    Congratulations! I love the name.

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    Great idea 🙂

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    Yay! 🙂

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    I love the name!
    I cannot comment because I have not a blog, but I can tell you here that I always turn to Jane Austen and Agatha Christie when I don’t know what to read. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve read their novels, I always find something new.

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    Oooh, I’m excited about this!

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Discord is down. My friends are all discord beanies, so now I\’m truly isolated.

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Music March: my very first submission

Today I had to go to my local warehouse store, and because I’m a morning person I went early with the plan to beat the crowds. So, I was little shocked to turn into the parking lot and find nearly every single spot taken. Uh-oh, I thought. This is not good.

The great toilet paper scramble has hit my area.

I’m a veteran of decades of retail. I’ve worked some seriously scary Black Friday sales. I’ve seen people literally play tug-of-war over a video game system, only for it to end in tears when one person lost their grip and flopped to the ground.

But the toilet paper hunters, they are feral and sneaky. I saw an old man snag a pack from the cart of a young family. I overheard a couple trying to figure out how to best circumvent the purchase limit. But worst, was the panic that seemed to be on the majority of faces.

I just needed some eggs, peanut butter, and tortillas.

Putting them in my cart, I then looked for the end of the line, which wound around allllllllllll the way to the back of the store.

Waiting, surrounded by carts full of toilet paper and bottled water, an R.E.M song popped in my head. Now, I don’t mean to make light of the pandemic. Anything but. But, I was a weird little island just buying some normal everyday staples surrounded by a sea of paper products.

It’s the End of the World as We Know it, really fit my experience.

(btw, I always have apocalyptic supplies of paper and cleaning products on hand. That’s my default setting)

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Hi Beanies,
I\’ve been enjoying music posts, but I\’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the tags. So, I\’m just an old Dame, asking to be removed from the tag list. Thanks Beanies, you\’re the best.

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A morning.

I vaguely recall the weatherman saying we were going to be hit with an arctic cold front this week. Bone chilling temperatures with the added bonus of dangerously cold wind chills. You know, the kind of cold where the air hurts your skin. Like, really hurts, and you can feel the moisture in your nostrils start to freeze, and your exhalations freeze on the scarf covering your face, and your fingers, toes, and ears go a bit numb in just a few minutes. That cold.

So, because I vaguely recall the weatherman telling me that fun stuff was coming, I checked the weather app on my phone before leaving the house.

Oh bugger, it’s -1.

I’ll need to warm up the car, because it might not like that shock to its system, so quick dash into the garage and get it running. Brrrr. I should add another layer of sweater to my torso. Where’s my warmer gloves? Shove a hat in your bag because I think you took the one out of the glove box to make room for the spare book. Boots? Do I want the clunky boots with an extra layer of wool socks? No, I’ll be fine, it’s not that cold. You’re not trekking through the woods or even a large parking lot. Suck it up. You’ll be fine.

Car warm. Warm sweater, long coat, gloves. Check. Check. Check. Let’s go.

You know those moments in which you realize that something is terribly wrong? When you realize that you have made blunder that has made you completely disconnect with the reality of your situation.

My realization came at the end of my driveway. Ummmm, why does my car’s thermometer say 32 when the app says -1? Is my car broken? Ugh, I don’t want to go to the shop to deal with this. What a bother. And that’s when I remembered I changed my app from Fahrenheit to Celsius the other day.

So, on this unseasonably warm February day, I added some unnecessary carbon emissions with the unnecessary warming of my car. I’m sorry earth, but I’m not very smart sometimes.

By the way, has anyone seen my warmer gloves because I never did find them?

Love, February

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I am a chaotic bingo. Love, February
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Because I am a fake poet (sorry @sicarius) I am posting some very very bad poems for today\’s Love, February submission. Under the fold because they are, well, not good. Read at your own risk.

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Today I’m only going to find the good things.

The sun is shining.

I have a home.

I have family.

I have friends.

Today, I made someone laugh.

Today, I will give someone respite.

Today, I am here.

And today, still, I have you.

Love, February

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There’s been some kerfuffle of late on my social media on the proper way to read, treat, handle, store, and own your books.

Now, it’s no secret here that I love books. I always have.

It’s also no secret that my love for books is not one that idolizes and reveres them in way that means I must treat them as precious objects. On the contrary, if I love a book inside and out, that love is easy to see.

What is this bookish kerfuffle about? What has the bookish side of social media gone to war with each other for?

Well, someone has had the temerity to make his books more portable, and thus easier for him to hold, transport, and read. (Trigger Warning: book violence ahead) Sometimes books are thick and unwieldy. They might not fit into our hands easily, or it may be too heavy to carry while commuting with all the other baggage we carry daily. For whatever reason, this man found a solution that works for him: He tears them in half, or thirds, along the spine.

I saw the photo, and thought, “Resourceful.”

Many, many, many, many people did not agree. Tweets were tweeted, posts were Facebooked, and articles were written. The sanctity of the Book was apparently threatened by this act by one man trying to read.

Now, I don’t rip my books in half. First, because the hand strength needed to do so is beyond me. Second, I have other options when a book is too unwieldy to hold comfortably. I have access to e-books to read on either a reader or my phone. Second, I read such a volume and variety of work that I can leave the heavy tomes at home, and slip the smaller lighter fare in my bag. But, I understood this man’s actions.

I don’t sit upright in a special chair, with freshly washed hands, and hold my books just so, so that the spine will not crack, and nary a speck of dirt or fleck of moisture from will sully its pages. No. I sprawl. I crack that spine so I can feel the reverberations up my arm. I prop those pages open on the table while I slurp my soup, sip my coffee, and scatter crumbs into the crevice. I lay in bed and drop it to the floor when I fall asleep.

I dog-ear pages. (I heard your gasp, but I have a system.)

I make notes in the margins. (In pencil, usually)

I use leaves and receipts and nail files and candy wrappers for bookmarks. (I don’t use actual bookmarks.)

I abuse my books.*

But I love them.

And if my way of loving my books is not your way, well, that’s fine. Because my way of loving my people may not be your way of loving your people. We’re different.

But, what I really want to say is that everyone loves their books, reads their books, the best way they can.

The physical book itself, while wonderful, is not precious. It’s not inviolable. It is a physical thing, a wrapper for the gift inside.

If you like to keep your book in pristine condition while you read it, do that. If you download your books and read on your reader or phone, good for you because porting thousands of titles with you at all time is amazing, and young me never dreamt of such riches. If you like to listen to your books, don’t let anyone tell you that’s not reading because it is. Studies show the brain thinks it is, so why let anyone tell you different? And if you almost let your book fall into the bathtub last night, that’s fine too. Nice catch by the way.

Therefore, you do you, let the book ripper do him, and let me be the book abuser I am, but what we should all do is the love the words printed inside. I don’t think there will be a kerfuffle if we all agree to this.

*The key word in this sentence is my. I only abuse my books. Library books or those I’ve borrowed, are almost always returned in the condition I received them.

Love, February

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    @kimbapnoona @justme @greenfields @leetennant @sicarius @wishfultoki @raonah @ally-le @moana @anothernicole @khalessymd @hotcocoagirl @katakwasabi @oppafangirl @bammsie @natzillagorilla @mindy @acacia @sweetiepie54 @yuyuu @waterhyacinth @isthatacorner @fatcat007
    @lugirl131415 @ndlessjoie @msrabbit @tsutsuloo @kat23 @maybemaknae
    @snarkyjellyfish @hebang @tspmasala @tspmasala @pinklolipop @suriyana-shah

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      I almost enjoy breaking a spine.
      How can you read a paperback with out sometimes folding it?
      Also, a well used book will naturally open to your favorite parts.

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        Exactly!

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          You know what’s really great? Is when you pick up a book that belongs to someone else, and it falls open to that place they loved. If it’s someone you know, it’s like a peek into their head. And if it’s an unknown person, it’s like they are pointing you to something wonderful.

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          @msrabbit Ditto!
          I aslo always feel hesitant about lending my books, because they’re very personal since I highlight things and take notes.
          It’s like the person won’t just be reading the book, but reading me as well!
          So I usually only lend my books to people who are close to me

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        I crack the spines of all my books. And then gently fold back the pages, starting from the middle and working to the end and beginning, so that it opens perfectly. But I love a nice wrinkly spine. Makes it look loved.

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    I’m from a long line of book lovers and used to fear what might happen to me if I harmed a book. I still feel that way about a few prized hardbacks, but now I see them as something to be used. So book ripper man is fine by me *hears gasps of my loving family*.

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      An author (I forget who) once said, they loved seeing their books all beat up and obviously read to pieces because that meant they were being read, and read, and maybe even loved to bits. So, I’m just honoring the author by loving my books so hard.

      I too have some books that I cherish as physical objects. For a various reasons, whether they were gifts, are signed, or are just plain beautiful. But for most of them I have an alternative copy.

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        Douglas Adams was gloriously happy to see his books that obviously had been read, and read, and read some more under “interesting” conditions (including some that did make it into the bath water). What mattered to him was the love of the writing, not any particular physical manifestation of the writing.

        I’ve now moved almost completely to e-readers. I miss the feel of paper, but the ability to take my library with me is priceless!

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    Have you heard of “Wreck this Diary”?

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      Wreck this Journal? I’ve seen it at the bookstore, but I haven’t picked on up.

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        Ah yes sorry, Wreck this Journal.
        Do you know the concept of it? “To create is to destroy”; on every page of the journal is an instruction.
        “Poke hole’s in this page”
        “stand here”
        “glue these pages together”
        “tear this page out, put it through the wash, stick it back in”
        “loose this page. throw it out. accept the loss”
        “tape this journal closed and mail it to yourself”
        It’s quite an interesting project, I have on myself, designed I think to make people take the destruction of such things less seriously, and to enjoy the process of destroying to create.
        Your book ripper made me think of it.

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    I should probably note that my way of loving people does not include cracking spines or any other physical abuse. However, I might spill coffee on them. Accidentally.

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    I love gore. In fact, the fastest way to get me to watch something is to tell me there’s loads of bloody scenes in it. Nothing is too obscene for me to watch! In fact, I’m only ever willing to be adventurous when it comes to gore and have never understood why anyone finds anything ‘gory’… till now. Why am I talking about this?

    Well, as an ardent physical book lover, (I aim to own my own huge library one day – in fact, I’m already building it), I went into this already on edge. I’d just read of the person that highlights their book as they read so it serves as a bookmark. I was still recovering from that.

    This – I wasn’t ready. This is gore to me. I’m in pain. I finally understand.
    But as you rightfully said, ‘…Therefore, you do you, let the book ripper do him, and let me be the book abuser I am, but what we should all do is the love the words printed inside. I don’t think there will be a kerfuffle if we all agree to this….’
    I will just continue to respect the ways of others as I always have or tried to.
    I’m overreacting, I know. But.. tearing the book? No, I’ll be rational. You did rightfully warn us. My motto is to not impose my way on anyone else since I detest being imposed upon. So, I apologize for my initial outburst.

    Side note: I also never use actual bookmarks. I use receipts of the book. I find it much more sentimental because I can always know the exact date and time I bought it. And crumbs are okay for me – I can just dust them away. Other than not using gloves, I’m a freak with my books. But I understand the beauty of a worn out old book – it smells different.

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      You are the very person I bolded that trigger warning for. You are entitled to your reaction. It’s valid. It’s fine.

      Now take a deep breath and run your fingers over the spines along your bookcase. You’ll feel better.

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      I also never use a bookmark.
      I use receipts
      An unopened sanitary napkin on more than one ocassion (they are always in my purse)
      candy wrappers
      another book
      I have never ripped the book apart.
      And look here, how lazy are you? HOW LAZY ARE YOU THAT YOU CAN’T HOLD A FREAKING BOOK?
      if you’re taking it with you?
      Put it on your lap
      Put it on a table
      Put it on the head of the small child in front of you (perfect height)
      Dont rip the book you monster.

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    Now while I would never “break down” my books to make them easier to carry(because I’ve never been a light packer anyway), I am a big proponent of doing you. I don’t understand the action of tearing books itself, but I understand loving a story so much you have to bring it with you, by any means necessary.

    I will not go on the man’s twitter account to berate him but I will permit myself to judge him…a little.

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      Part of it is also an accessibility issue. Some books might just be too big and unwieldy. And as easy as ebooks are to access, there is a technology and monetary barrier there. Also, some people have difficulty with reading from a screen. While I wouldn’t necessarily rip my books apart to read them, I find his ingenuity in finding a way to make reading physically easier commendable.

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    So whilst I was recoiling and and reacting to the book annihilation – which I personally will never do to any of my books – you are right – to each his own. How you read is your business – what you do to your own book is also your business. The beauty is in the words.
    (Although I do confess to trying to read the Bourne Supremacy without cracking the spine just to see if I could do it – – I did!) 😜
    I admit to gasping at the ‘dog ear’, although my personal pet peeve is – placing a book face down. I know, I know – it’s irrational – but that’s just me. 😀

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      *looks to my right. Umm, good thing you can’t see the book splayed open, upside down, on the floor by my feet.

      I mean, I literally cannot sleep if there is anything out of place on my kitchen counter or stacked in the sink, and my sheets and towels have to be folded in very particular ways, so I do not judge other people’s peeves.

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    I love my books too. I fall in between of keeping them spick & span & marking or cracking their spines.

    I did gasp at the dog eared page 😅

    Someone tore my book once & it felt like a piece of my soul was torn away. I never really tried to keep them in pristine condition before but from then on my attitude towards keeping them changed.

    I agree. I can keep my book however I want, spill tea or (saved it from 🛁 yes 😅) let it be strewn about haphazardly, or I may handle it delicately with feather touches & not smudge marks, but that’s my choice. It’s my prerogative to keep them in a condition I relate to during that time period, nobody else can say I treasure them less because of my manner of handling.

    While I could never tear one myself, I have had books divided & re covered in hardbacks. Different strokes for different folks

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    I use leaves and receipts and nail files and candy wrappers for bookmarks. (I don’t use actual bookmarks.)

    I identified with this so much. I love writing on scraps of paper whenever the idea hit me. And then I’ll use those papers to mark my book. It led to a lot of unexpectedly happy surprise whenever I re-read my books. Because then I would also find those scraps of paper full of musings, and it transported me back to the time I wrote it. Later, I started using actual bookmarks when my sister gifted me one in the shape of super cute chubby cat.

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    My cat used to chew on my books. Made them more fun to read. 😸

    I never tore a word book apart, but when sheet music used to come in books, I would exacto out the pages and 3-hole punch them and put them in a binder, otherwise the music book would never stay open for me. I have no issue with people doing this with word books either. As long as the words are still there, it’s all good. (Exception: don’t do this to a first edition, please.)

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    I get wear you are coming from, egads, but that man is a monster. I do all of the same things to my books. I don’t revere them, or worship them. There’s nothing I love than a book thats obviously been loved.
    But that man is a monster
    HES A MONSTER
    I’ve seen his insanity in many a librarian fb group and I dont care what anyone has to say.
    MONSTER
    Whats going to happen when he sets it down? He’s all compromised the spine. He’s going to be leaving trails of pages falling all yinder and yonder and those arent words but I am kerflunked or something thats not a word either my brain is broken.
    Hes a monster. A MONSTER. Thats all Ive got.

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      If you’ve seen the pictures, he rebinds them with a thin piece of cardboard so the pages won’t fall all yinder and yonder.

      It’s okay isa. It’s okay.

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    I must admit that I gasped when I read about the man ripping his book. 😳

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    I actually love second hand books which have well worn pages and margin comments ( I live to see what some one else loved) and if i have read a book, it looks like it has been read. I have torn a lot of books to be able to read them, especially math books, because they are too heavy to carry and work with. All my math books (not library ones) are filled with huge amount of notes on margins and with sticky notes, so i don’t have to redo all the computations again and again and I know where there are mistakes.

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    So I keep my books pretty pristine, but I kinda admire people who use them well. I hesitate to abuse my books but am not bothered by other people doing so. Well worn books with traces of their readers are so cool. I wish I could love my books in this way myself.
    I’ve always been particular with my things. As a kid, I was careful with my toys. They were rarely broken or marred. I think this stems from a combination of my own perfectionist/OCD tendencies and what I’ve picked up from my mom. She is even more particular than me when it comes to taking good care of her possessions.
    Anyway, I say this to say that I hope one day I can relax a bit and actually use the things that are meant to be used instead of tiptoeing around them. I image it would feel freeing.

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    Okay, while I don’t treat my books as precious objects, I admit the book ripper made me gasp.
    I don’t think I’d ever go that far, but you’re right when you say everyone has their own ways.

    I was way more rigid when I was younger, and I never wanted to physically change my books. Idk exactly what changed, but now I’m the kind of person who highlights, bookmarks and takes notes in them. There might many copies of a certain book, but there’s only exactly one that was customized by me with thoughts in it, and I love going back to books and seeing what my initial reactions were!

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For the third day of the second month of the twentieth year of this century.

Three things I hate:

Incompetent immoral people in positions of power
Feeling helpless and overwhelmed by everything
[Redacted] for causing someone I love so much pain

Two things I don’t much care for:

Cilantro
Repetitive noises

Twenty things I like in no particular order:

Coffee
Toast, usually peanut buttered
The smell of freshly mown grass
The muffled sound of the world during and after a big snow
A perfectly baked molasses cookie
A new book
An old book
Lilacs
Bibimbap
Hand knit socks
The painting hanging over my chair
Crusty bread
Italics
A perfectly fried egg
Noise cancelling earphones
Traveling, alone
Grey
The sound of moving water
The feel of this glass pendant I keep in my pocket
The fake poets of February, and the real one poets too (I guess that’s twenty-one)

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For many years we lived in a rural suburb. It was a small close knit community that gave us access to one of the better school districts in the region. While it had its charms, I never quite fit.

We moved. Eventually.

We moved closer to the city. Still in a suburb, but one not so closely knit. My new neighbors didn’t grow up with each other, don’t have intertwined family trees, and they neither ask nor care which church I attend.

Unlike my former neighborhood built on former farmland, plowed from former prairie land, that stretches flatly endlessly and is only sparsely studded with carefully planted and neatly aligned trees, my new neighborhood is hunkered between a small lake and several carefully preserved groves of trees and wetlands.

My former neighbors waged war with the natural flora and fauna of the prairie. Plucking, mowing, and spraying the weeds that threatened their carefully groomed lawns. Putting up fences, setting traps, and laying poison to eradicate the various beasties that threatened their meticulously planned gardens. Sitting in the shade of their garages, they would wonder why anyone would want to live in the hustle and bustle of the city instead of the calm of this rural expanse.

Last week I had a large buck, a white tailed deer with a huge rack, just hanging out in my back yard. I think he was resting, maybe just enjoying the slight shelter of our yard before heading back to the woods and his normal haunts.

One afternoon I walked into the kitchen to find a turkey peering through the kitchen window. Turkeys are big, they are not pretty, but after our initial mutual moment of shock, we both decided to just move on with our day.

Every morning there are new tracks in the snow around our house. The distinctive swish of a hopping bunny tail, the quick scatter of scampering squirrels as they run from tree to tree, and the, well, I’m not sure what those tracks are. Coyote maybe?

Each evening, the owl outside my bedroom window hoots, reaffirming his claim on his territory before he hunts that night. There will likely be less tracks of something the next morning.

In my former neighborhood, I often fell asleep to the howl of a distant dog or the rocking clack of a passing train. The city was far away, but it seemed like everything else was too.

Here in my now neighborhood, the birds are loud, often too loud. They hustle and bustle from dawn to dusk, calling to each other, swooping over the humans walking their dogs, and fussing at the children playing in the street.

My new neighbors, both human and not human, are not at war with each other. We are not related. We don’t always speak the same language. But here, I fit.

Love, February.

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The cursor keeps blinking on top of the white page. Type something. Write something. Put some words together and tell a story. So, my fingers move and some letters come together, and maybe they make some kind of sense; however, the delete key is tempting.

Delete. Delete. Dele

What I would really like to delete is the last month. No, the last six months. But today, for the first time in a really, really long time, the sun came out. For a few hours the unfamiliar glare was blinding and welcome. So, this first day of February, thank you for the light. It might have been short lived, but at least we know it’s there. Still.

Love, February

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As if I don’t have enough notifications in my life, now I have an advertisement notification that won’t go away. I guess it’s not as bad as the ad bars on mobile, but it’s not great.



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Chocolate has ended.

I\’m not sure how/why I made it through 16 episodes.

I have thoughts, and I won\’t rain on anyone\’s parade in the recap because other people seem to like this drama.

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    The pacing and plotting of this was NOT good. Too rushed and jam-packed in the front half, and then they needed to fill 8 more hours with stuff and people I did not care about.

    Apparently Quiznos jumped shipped after they dropped all the kids from the show. Wise move on the part of Quiznos.

    That was quite the Godiva ppl. It quite literally saved the FL’s life.

    Speaking of ppl: The ppl in episode 16 was definitely the work of Ji-ho in BTIOF. I’m sure she worked hard, but it would have been better if they had given her more time to work it in seamlessly and over more episodes. The car shopping literally made me laugh out loud.

    Apparently in this universe, the only good parent is a dead parent. (well, I guess adoptive mom was fine) Seriously, I wonder if the writer has some history because moms were not well represented here.

    The introduction of supposedly important characters in the last four episodes after you quite literally killed off some very interesting and integral characters in the first eight? Yeah, that’s not a good idea. Especially, if you don’t do the work to tie them into the main storylines in a way that makes your viewer give a damn about them. Just having a character that is tragic doesn’t mean I’m gonna give any cares after you have been yanking my emotions willy nilly all along.

    The medical staff at the hospital and the hospice were amazingly unprofessional.

    The food looked good.

    Greece is pretty.

    CAN WE STOP WITH THE UNNECESSARY SEPARATION OF THE LEADS WHILE THEY WORK THROUGH SOME EMOTIONAL ISSUE? You know what’s romantic? Communication and supportive loving couples. Cha-young leaving made no narrative sense at all. The story had just got done telling me that wasting time when life can be short is bad. The story kept telling us that leaving your loved ones for selfish reasons is bad. The story kept banging us over the head with example after example of abandonment, and then what do they do? THEY HAVE HER LEAVE KANG. I’m slamming my head on my desk

    Anyways, Greece is pretty. Wangdo looked pretty too. And now I’m just going to forget about this one.

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      One last thing (probably not): It’s 2020, can we stop pretending that international cell phone communication is not a thing?

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        Communication isn’t a thing in chocolate world at all. Also let’s not forget the Dyson ppl. The decor was so bright blue that I almost expected that nice blue stole to be a PPL as well.

        Am I PPL obsessed or is this the side effect of chocolate world.

        Also can’t believe I’m saying this, but noble idiocy due to mom would actually have been an improvement on the reason for separation instead of the stupidity we got.

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        I liked about 20% of it. It had potential. The cinematography was nice. It held my interest until the overdose of trauma, after the initial overdose of trauma, added up to me not caring much about anyone.

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      What’s so special about Chocolate that your polite opinion in the recap would mean raining on anyone’s parade? People need to start laughing about others not loving or even hating stuff they like.

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        Nothing. I just see that people love it a lot, and I’m just all negative about it. Besides, by the time the recap is up, I will hopefully have moved on.

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          I still haven’t moved on from my dislike of the first six episodes eheheheh.

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      Wait! Did Cha-young ever get her sense of smell and taste back?

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        Nope, they forgot all about it. She was enjoying the vague whose bday party it was as if everything was fine.
        Kangs hand tremors were also forgotten.

        Stupidly enough the old nurse & her ex now bf had closure, the young nurse that crushed on Kang had closure, even the useless trash Director & his awkward love story with the Alzhemier’s ahjumma had closure, but The ML & FL didn’t.
        👏 👏 👏

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      If I could like twice, I would.

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      I’ve now watched the last episode. I want a job that I can just leave whenever I feel like it, then resume it whenever I want.

      This didn’t turn into a hate watch for me, but it came pretty close. The last episode is a mess.

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Because @ndlessjoie asked for it, I have some quick book recommendations. As requested, the following books are neither romance centric, nor follow the antics of a serial killer or two. Though I must say that this caveat to the plea for a good book gave me pause as that’s pretty much what I’ve been reading lately. But no worries, my book well is deep, and I can push aside the kissers and killers in order tell you about other very worthy novels.

First we have People of the Whale by Linda Hogan. Because I’m writing this quickly, I find myself struggling to describe this novel succinctly and clearly. In one sense it’s a story of a man conflicted with his experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam war, and with his Native Pacific Coast heritage and spirituality. But it also a novel of the ravages of colonialism on culture, people, animals, and the land itself. It’s a book about identity, connections, what and who is our family, and where is that place we call home. I’m not doing it justice here, but this beautifully written work is particularly poignant as we witness the collapse of ecosystems as climate change is wreaking havoc all over the world. Though the main character I have named here is a man, this a not a masculine centered novel.

Next, another work by a Native American author, I recommend Antelope Woman by Louise Erdrich. This novel also blend the supernatural and spiritual traditions with the tragic and brutal effects of war. The novel begins with a raid on an Ojibwe village, an inadvertent kidnapping of a baby, and the resulting continued intertwining of the lives of the descendants of a US soldier and a bereaved mother. While my description here sounds wholly tragic, Erdrich’s writing doesn’t wallow in tragedy. Instead, much as we do in real life, she finds the threads of humor in the everyday, and in the real connections that people have as they live and love each other. There are grandmas who maintain the language and traditions of the past, but also embrace the conveniences of modern life. There is a foul mouthed dog who tells dirty jokes (It makes sense. I promise). But mostly, it’s yet another work that illustrates the complex connections we have with each other and with the land itself. One thing to note: I highly suggest reading the revised 2016 edition. Erdrich was able to return the book nearly 20 years after it was first published and make changes that make for a much more cohesive and richer reader experience.






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    Also, almost all books by Louise Erdrich are good. Seriously, just start reading her collection, and I promise you won’t regret it. Additionally, if you ever swing by Minneapolis, Minnesota in the US, her bookstore is wonderful, and she might even be there. Oh, and if you like poetry, I’ve heard her sister Heid Erdrich is no slouch of a writer either.

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    Both of these are perfect! Thank you @egads.

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