MyDramaList MDLv6.6
Home→ General Asia→ General Asia Forum→

BL Drama Lovers Club

axdxex

August Challenge (DAY 7) - Books

I love books, but I no longer read like I used to when I was a teen. When I sit down and read-- I get sleepy... That's what work does to a lot of us, it's saddd-- plus with drama watching I don't give reading as much time as I should.

That being said-- I do try and have a book on hand, either on my tablet or physically. My favorite genres are fantasy, sci-fi and romance.  I rarely if ever read non-fiction books, but if I do they are food and travel related. I avoid horror, suspense, and sad books in general. I do enjoy manga and the occasional webtoon. 

I also listen to audiobooks on the commute to work, since I have to drive 45 minutes each way.  I am currently listening to 'The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore and Bar' by Seana Kelly. 

Befitting of this discussion board-- last night I started reading the first volume of 'I Hear the Sunspot.' I have 'I Hear The Sunspot : Theory of Happiness', lined up to read right after I finish that one. 

I don't own hundreds of books, but I've been buying more in the last year (probably because I basically stopped buying K-pop albums and my collector itch is still there), MOST OF WHICH I STILL HAVEN'T READ. 

Currently Collecting but I haven't finished reading:

  • Guardian (Novels)
  • Stars of Chaos : Sha Po Lang (Novels)
  • My Love Mix-Up (Manga)
  • My Happy Marriage (Novels)

This feels like it might run into the question for Day 10 (Hobbies)-- so I'll leave it at that.

edited Quote
solana

Day 6 August Challenge: Pick your NUMBER ONE BL drama for 2024 so far! If you would give an award, who's the winner?

I haven't watched much BL this year, but my top 3 picks (in order) would be:

  1. Love for Love's Sake
  2. Jazz for Two
  3. We Are

I watched it because my favorite actors were in it, and it actually had a good plot, so I think these are my top favorites. 

Day 7 August Challenge: Books. Do you read them? What genre do you enjoy the most? What are you reading right now?

I don't read much, and I barely buy physical books, but I do like reading novels and webtoons online. My favorite genres would probably be mystery, fantasy, and romance. I am not reading anything at the moment.

Anyway, if you have any good new (and old) series I can watch and books I can read online, please give some recommendations.

edited Quote
ShirleyCrow

Day 7. Books. Do you read them? What genre do you enjoy most? What are you reading right now? 

Yes I do read for pleasure and work. Romance, true crime, bio, and fantasy.
English translation of Heroin Are you Addicted
Friction 6: Best Gay Erotic Fiction

Hematite without Faith

Quote
FaeryWren VIP
 American Fan:

I've never heard of this, but looks really cool! Is it mostly for tracking fictional books or can it be used for non-fiction too?


Me either! Actually I don't really care for cartoon/animation at all. 


HELLOO!! I'm so into cookbooks, cooking & baking as well. I look forward to "food talk" when Question 14 comes along. I've got a great lentil soup recipe link too, lol.

My childhood was Jim Henson and a variety of 80s fantasy films lol I also have an addiction to recipe collecting LOL so i also look forward to the food talk 

Quote
Magnoliee

Hello my dears, how are you?

I hope this week will be over soon...  The worst case occured:
There was an internet outage at my home and the mobile internet didn't work properly either.
That was pretty annoying (because I couldn't watch any dramas… :D)

Then my notebook with collected quotes over the past ten years is missing. I cannnot find it.
I'll have to look for it more thoroughly this weekend. I would have liked to share a few favourite quotes as part of the August Challenge. :-(

And finally today I slipped at home and injured both arms and my right foot. I don't want to complain, but it does hurt ad the bruise does not look nice, LOL. Sigh!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Day 4 August Challenge: Like and Dislike Tags
Looking at the tags of the Dramas of my watched list, I recognize myself that Happy Ending is on second place. But I am surprise that death is in third place. O.o
I am interested in many tags and I like to try new tags.  

Some interesting tags for me are:
Happy Ending
Smart Male Lead
Cheerful Male Lead
Eccentric Male Lead
Strong Female Lead
Older Woman/ Younger Man
Secret Crush
Found Family
Healing
LGBTQ+
Gay Relationship
Bromance
Sismance
Murder
Suspense
Investigation
Teamwork
Character Development
Crime Solving Duo
Martial arts
Hidden Identity, Fake Identity, Double Identity
Office Setting, Workplace Setting, Boss-Employee Relationship
Illness, Disability
Social Issues
Political
Revenge
Corruption
Cohabitation, Contract Relationship, Fake Relationship
Reincarnation
Fate

I don't like:
Unrequited Love
Misunderstandings
Love Triangle
Bullying
Betrayal
Sad ending
These are the ones I can think of now, but there are probably others, too.

Day 5: What is essential for a drama to be worth your time to watch?
I am a mood watcher, so I like to watch a drama, which suits my mood.
I also like to watch a drama which has one of my favourite tags or is from my favourite genre. Sometimes I like to be surprised and what is mind blowing and then I want to watch something I've never watched before.
Sometimes I like to watch a drama, which comforts me and where the end is predictable.
Sometimes I need a fluffy, cheerful happy romantic, comedy drama.
Sometimes I like to watch a drama with action, fighting, dark themes, murder mystery, revenge or something that is exciting.
I have to like the characters or find them interesting or intriguing. I like complex stories where you need to think outside the box. But it also happens that I like seemingly simple stories for relaxing.
There is no special ingredient for a drama which I like. It always depends.


Day 6: Pick your number one BL Drama for 2024 so far!
The dramas I've watched this year and which currently have a very special place in my heart are: You are Mine, Love Mate, Kieta Hatsukoi and Cherry Magic. Sorry, couldn't decide. :D


Day 7: Books. Do you read them? What genre do you enjoy most? What are you reading right now?
Yes, I love to read. I try to read more this year. I like to read "normal" books but I also read ebooks. I discovered ebooks this year and I really enjoy reading an ebook on my way to work and on my way back home.
Interestingly I don't like reading crime or thriller books, although I really like "watching" these genres. Funny, huh?! If I were to read a crime book, it must contain humor or it must be cozy crime. Focus must be on solving crime mystery. Otherwise I like reading romance, romance and fantasy and non-fiction books. I'm currently Looking for a new book to read. :-)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Sorry for the long post.  Thanks to whoever read it. :-)

And please be careful walking around and take care of yourself. :-*** 

I once fell for all of us today. Nobody has to imitate that. :D It's enough that I did it. :-) That's enough for the next hundred years. :D

Quote
axdxex

Cosmetic Lover Ep1&2 :

This dram is fine-- I'm just not sure I like Sahashi OR Mamiya very much...

I Hear the Sunspot Ep7 : 

On its own, ignoring the grand scheme of things, this was a frustrating episode. That girl, Maya, is the most annoying kind of person, she's two faced, self centered and plain ugly on the inside. She's the type that projects her own ugliness onto other's and believes that she is the only one who can suffer. I hope the next episode is the last we see of her, and that Kohei puts her in her place.

Quote
axdxex
 Magnoliee:
And finally today I slipped at home and injured both arms and my right foot. I don't want to complain, but it does hurt ad the bruise does not look nice, LOL. Sigh!

Oh no! I hope you have pain patches around, that might help a little ;; I wish you feel better sooner rather than later. 

Quote
angeliviki2022
 Magnoliee:
And finally today I slipped at home and injured both arms and my right foot.

I hope you recover well.

Quote
FaeryWren VIP

@Magnoliee - death was my top tag lol I put it down to the murder mysteries and martial art sword fights lol 

And thank you for your sacrifice. I hope you heal quickly <3

Quote
RXinw

August BL Group Challenge - Day 7 - Books. Do you read them? What genre do you enjoy most? What are you reading right now?

I think it is no secret that I am a bibliophile. With the words of a former teacher of mine being engraved in my mind, I read anything and everything because knowledge is invaluable. The genres I tend to read the most are romance, M/M, mystery and crime fiction (loved Hardy Boys the series when growing up.) I prefer physical books where you can feel and smell the book in all its glory; nothing like that new book smell, but for convenience I mostly read ebooks now. I also personally refuse to ever listen to an audio book. 

I am an old soul, so I prefer the old fashion ways of doing things, and I think it does the mind a disservice to limit it to a specific reality; when reading your mind is free to imagine any reality it perceives  the characters exist in within the story-line your reading. To me, by giving audible voices to characters you are confining your imagination further. I believe books are the gateways to realities beyond our physical reach and by reading them our minds' dimensions expand, so reading is an exercise for the mind and brain. Therefore, in my opinion, listening to audio books is like sitting on the back of a bicycle while someone else rides benefiting you, health wise, in no way. However I do understand the appeal and convenience of them but this is just my personal view and choice and I would never judge anyone who listens to audio books. (this has nothing to do with the question does it lol)

I am currently reading three books; Addicted the English translated novel, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen and an M/M book called Oral Persuasion by Ian Finn; which is about a successful corporate lawyer and a district attorney (currently opponents in court on a fraud case) falling in love.

I cannot answer this question without mentioning one of if not the best MM romance book ever written; God Of Fury. This book left me wrecked because I have yet to come across one as good as it and I now subconsciously measure every M/M book against it. I saw this quote from it on TikTok:

Do not let these lines fool you it is very emotionally heavy with suicide being tag with other triggers, but damn it is good.

Also shout out to my favourite M/M books from Wattpad such as Sheets.

Quote
RXinw
 Magnoliee:
I hope this week will be over soon...  The worst case occured:

Oh my, I hope you get well soon sending best wishes *heart emoji*

Quote
Jadeheart

I'd like to join the club, please :)

Quote
RXinw
 Jadeheart:

I'd like to join the club, please :)

Welcome to the club fellow BL fan.

Quote
angeliviki2022

Day 7: Books. Do you read them? What genre do you enjoy most? What are you reading right now? I distinctly remember when I fell in love with reading. It was in 4th grade when I discovered the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery. Three years later, I was reading whatever my Dad had just finished which was not the best, since one of them was Jay Anson's The Amityville Horror, which gave me nightmares for weeks and is probably the reason I refuse to subject myself to any horror shows even now. Around then (7th or 8th grade), I also read James Clavell's Shōgun, which I could not put down. Every spare moment I wasn't at school, I spent reading and completed it in 5 days.  Of course, the NC scenes likely went over my head but I was utterly enthralled by the story and Clavell's descriptions. A few years later, a miniseries came out and I was thrilled that they kept it as close to the novel as possible. (I have yet to see the 2024 adaptation).

My favorite genre is Fantasy, but I dabble in SciFi, Non-fiction, Historical Fiction and Contemporary Fiction. I'm currently reading A.K. Caggiano's Eclipse of the Crown and Maz Maddox's Find the Jinn. I use Goodreads.com to track what I'm reading and to get recommendations. If someone can recommend a good app or method to use to track when the next book in a series will be released, please let me know.   

Quote
Jadeheart
 RXinw:

Welcome to the club fellow BL fan.

Thank you!

edited Quote

Recent Discussions

Hottest Discussions