#1
Remember to stay up to date with the world, listen to those facing atrocities and help spread awareness/donate where you’re able to.
I have seen the “Spinner Wheel Chooses” videos so often on YouTube in the past few months and I thought it would be fun to do one of my own.
The categories I chose for my first foray into this type of challenge were:
- Read for: 1hr; 2hrs; 3hrs
- Kdrama: 1 Episode; 2 Episodes; 3 Episodes
- Cross Stitch and Audiobook: 1hr, 2hrs
- Girly Classic’s Random No. Generator
- Documentary Random No. Generator
- National Theatre at Home
I did this for 48 hours (Saturday and Sunday) and overall, I did 6 spins. I was hoping for more on the Sunday, but as you’ll see it’s completely my fault for not achieving this little goal. Several choices I made can only be described as ‘questionable’ 😂
Spoilers ahead~
SATURDAY
SPIN ONE
For the first spinner, I watched the first two episodes of Glitch (2022) which has been on my watchlist for a while.
Hong Jihyo (Jeon Yeo Been) has a steady job, a long term boyfriend and what seems like a perfect life. Unfortunately, the perfection is surface level and Jihyo is very underwhelmed by her life, not to mention plagued by UFO sightings. In the first episode we watch as these sightings of one particular alien increases and culminates into the disappearance of her boyfriend. This ends up creating a reunion with Bora (Nana) who was a friend from her high school.
Glitch is well shot and Jeon Yeo Been is an incredible actress! There is such a quirky atmosphere which she fits so well and while we didn’t see much of Nana in these episodes (her first appearance is ep2) I can tell that this type of character will suit her.
I enjoyed how it delves into disappointment, not fitting in and relationships. But, it feels so slow. The characters are really interesting, but the plot and pacing makes me not want to keep watching. I may try another episode, but I think this will be another drama that will fall to the wayside 😭
SPIN TWO
During this hour, I chose Masters of Death by Olivie Blake to continue. I ended up reading 57 pages (103-160), which is actually so good for me and tells you that the pacing is quick.
Somewhat too quick? Yes. We are taken back and forth and every which way between these characters and locations. Some are for such a small time as well that I feel like I don’t have enough time to even consider the importance of some scenes.
The writing can be pretentious and I don’t know if I’m just dumb – re: the Game – or the writing for these sections is purposefully confusing or badly written… The main saving grace of this book, and why I have no dnf’d it, are the characters. I love Tom Parker (the fourth) and his bickering with Vi. I adore Mayra and Cal’s forbidden love and the way Fox brings them together. Fox is also an interesting character and I’m looking forward to seeing his history with Death and Brandt, and where this plot will take him. Him calling Death ‘Papa’ is so cute ♥
SPIN THREE
I’m currently doing a cross stitch of ‘Vanity by Auguste Toulmouche’ and I enjoy listening to music or audiobooks while I do it. For this spin, I got 2hrs and I thought I would continue the space theme from spin one and listen to Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon.
This book has been around for a while now and I’ve always been intrigued at what I would think about it. I don’t read sci-fi much, but for the most part it was giving ‘urban fantasy’ vibes. I did not expect a horrific rape scene to happen at the start though… so definitely take that into consideration.
Not a whole lot really happened in the 59% I listened to. Essentially Georgie and around 15 other women get abducted by aliens and while they’re planning their escape, the spaceship malfunctions and the aliens discard the cargo bay where they are being held – with the intention of coming back for them – on an ice planet.
Georgie, for whatever reason, is chosen as the leader and she ventures out into the icy wilderness and after nearly getting eaten, she’s caught in a hunter’s trap (great survival skills). Said hunter is Vektal, a 7ft blue alien man, who instantly mates with her. They then spend time getting to know each other (intimately) while the other human women are essentially freezing and starving to death waiting for her to return.
The audiobook was great, there are two narrators (Hollie Jackson and Mason Lloyd) who definitely give the characters more substance.
While it may not look like I did much, I did around 250 stitches. Cross stitch (at least for me) is somewhat slow-going and I’m proud to report back that in those two hours I didn’t stab myself once!
SPIN FOUR
I cheated with this one, because A Man Who Defies the World of BL Series 2 is not a Kdrama. It’s Japanese, but it’s 3 episodes long and the first series was super funny! It follows “Mob” (Atsuhiro Inukai) who in series one discovers that he’s a side character in a Boys Love (BL) world. He then spends so much effort in trying to evade any chance of romance on his side.
We meet so many characters, as the episodes include several mini vignette style stories, that connect to Mob in some way. This series was a bit of a letdown and is wasn’t as funny. There were funny moments, but it didn’t feel as well paced or thought out. I also had trouble being invested in the romance of our main protagonist as they spent so little time together.
At this point I’m not sure if I will watch the third series… And I’m kind of dreading another episode spin because I’m not picking winners 😭
SUNDAY
SPIN FIVE
Having just 1hr (and a bit) left of Ice Planet Barbarians felt perfect because if I didn’t finish this as soon as possible I would have lost interest and the momentum.
Am I happy that I continued reading? No. Could I have used my Spotify listening hours on something a lot better? Yes.
Anyway, the first 59% was kind of interesting and I’m not going to lie, Vektal is a cutie. He’s thoughtful and has so much more personality than Georgie. Vektal thought she was pretty useless despite her being his mate and he wasn’t wrong. Her leadership skills were non-existent.
I did enjoy some of the sci-fi elements. The parasite relationship they have to survive on the planet was interesting and Vektal’s people’s history sounded like it could be a good route to explore. But, the plot was rushed and there wasn’t much of it. And then the book just nose-dived when Georgie got pregnant and was super okay with it… like what? She’s spent so much of the book – thinking at least – that she wants to go home and wants to make her own decisions and is ecstatic at the thought of having sex with this giant blue alien because she can’t get pregnant with an alien… and when she finds out she’s shocked at first and then super chill about it…
And then these other blue alien men go to rescue the other women and of course are just excited to see if they mate with any of them… mostly because they want to have sex and also impregnate them… so essentially these women have escaped aliens who wanted to sell them to then fall into the path of other aliens who want baby makers and we’re supposed to find that romantic(?)… And one of them kidnaps Liz and Georgie, the great leader that she is, has no issue with that?!?!
⭐.5
SPIN SIX
This was such a fun and campy ‘dark comedy’!
Helen (Goldie Hawn) is jilted by her fiancé Ernest (Bruce Willis) when he doesn’t pass the ‘Madeline test’. Madeline (Meryl Streep) is obsessed with her looks, just as much as causing Helen’s downfall.
The duo of Streep and Hawn is fantastic! I had so much fun watching them on screen together. They brought so much energy to their characters, who essentially are, for the most part, unlikeable. But, even so, I was kind of rooting for them and Ernest was absolutely not worth fighting over. Sorry to Bruce Willis, but that man was pathetic. Although, it was great to see that Ernest is actually more of a means to an end in Helen and Madeline’s overarching narrative. However, I do think the resolution was rather rushed and some of the themes were a bit heavy handed.
The aesthetics of this film are worth a star of their own! The set design and especially the wardrobe were stunning! Isabella Rossellini who plays Lisle wore the most stunning outfits!
There are elements of fantasy and body horror (nothing super graphic) and they integrate into the plot and wackiness of the situation really well. The special effects weren’t great, but they weren’t terrible and it just added an extra layer of camp~
Overall, this is one for the girlies and I had a great time.
⭐⭐⭐.5
So, this didn’t necessarily go the way I had hoped. But, I’m still happy that I was able to complete some things and it was a good way to rest after having worked for 12 days straight!
Thanks for reading!
I hope you’re having a lovely day and staying safe ♥
DramaRambles 🌸 