For all you shatter is our seeming, And in breaking we are free

I saw this meme, what are your comfort reads, the books you turn to when you're having a really shitty day and you just want to go away for a while. *smiles* I have a few of those. However, because of the way we grew up (Mam's obsession was books, Dad's was film), I also have comfort films and comfort series that I'm equally as likely to turn to, and to bring with me when I'm travelling. So, I thought I'd run through all of them? Books, films, series. Lots.

The original meme had around 9 books, I think, but numbers vary here, because, um, I devour stories in pretty much any format. There are just the ones that are likely to be closest when I'm in need, but they are not comprehensive, even for comfort -_-;

Comfort Media:







And on top of all those, I could name you about a dozen or so cartoon series that I also gravitate towards under stress (DCAU, Avengers: EMH, Transformers, Pirates of Dark Water, Jonny Quest, etc). And these are ... far from comprehensive, either.

Media is my escape, yes? Stories. *smiles sheepishly* I read, I watch, I devour. I also write. Fanfic, a lot. Also many of my own (see 'original fic' tags for the universes), long and complicated stories that don't really end. I live my life in a network of a billion stories, and it carries me though ... quite a lot, really. Heh. *shrugs, smiles* And so.

For comment_fic, naturally. Where else, for a book series (Queen's Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner) I haven't read in years, and then only the first two? *grins sheepishly* So, you know, shaky. So shaky.

Title: Risk and Reward
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Queen's Thief (Book 1)
Characters/Pairings: Eugenides, mention of the Magus and Eugenides-the-god
Summary: Set just prior to the start of the first book. Gen in the king's prison
Wordcount: 500
Warnings/Notes: Spoilers for the end of Book 1. And, again, haven't read these in years, so.
Disclaimer: Not mine

I bought two new books today. One I had ordered, and one I happened on in the bookshop. *grins, bounces* Both of which I'm quite looking forward to reading.

The one I ordered is Shadow Blizzard, the third of the Chronicles of Siala be Alexey Pehov, which I'm working my way through. The pacing is a bit strange between books (it reads to me like it should all be in one long volume, and someone chopped it rather arbitrarily into three instead), but it's the kind of fantasy I haven't read in quite a while (been a while since I read a good, old-fashioned quest), and I'm rather enjoying the series.

The second is The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov. I'd heard of the book before (mostly from having found random clips of the 2005 live-action adaptation on youtube), but never managed to get my hands on it before. Then I found it in passing while heading for the door today, and voila. *grins* I've read parts of it to taste, and I'm quite looking forward to that one.

And apparently I'm currently in a Russian mood, bookwise, but I honestly didn't notice that until I was on the bus home. Heh.

So, I bought Ghost Story, ran through it last night. And ... Heh. More sedate than I usually expect for DF, but awesome nonetheless.

Right. I'm just going to go ahead and take my time over this one, da? Because I am head over heels.

First thing you do. Read the book. La Dame de Monsoreau/Chicot the Jester, whichever language is easier. I cannot recommend the book highly enough! I think it is online for free, too, but the version looks shaky. I got hold of the 1910 Everyman's Library version, which seems much better translated. Anyway.

Then what you do, is you go here, which is where you'll find all 26 episodes of the Russian serial Grafinya de Monsoro, in russian with english subtitles. It is GORGEOUSLY done. Follows the book almost exactly, down nearly to the dialogue, in all but a couple of areas, and it is acted superbly (my favourites would be Aleksei Gorbunov, as Chicot, and Yekaterina Strizhenova as Jeanne de Saint Luc). Plus the costumes, and the sets (I think you can only get sets like that in Eastern Europe), and the gorgeous, gorgeous language ... who knew russian was so damn sexy?

( Then you can understand this squeeing of mine: )

I'm hunting for summer reading (mostly because the rain just settled in for June, me thinks). Anyone got any recs? I read anything sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, historical fiction, meta, supernatural (though preferably not used as an excuse to have the heroine screw anything with legs) ... actually, more or less anything that's not war or plotless romance. Short stories also rock. If anyone has anything they're reading that rocks, pass it my way?

On another note, I wish there were signs people could buy (and put up as needed) saying things like  - In bad mood, DO NOT ENTER unless ready for a fight, even if I don't actually know you -  It'd save me getting my head bitten off more-or-less at random.