Daily Happiness

1. I got some stuff done! Not as much as I'd hoped, but more than I have managed the past few days.

2. They had Tegamibachi 11 at Asahiya. No one seems to be scanning the individual chapters anymore, so I've fallen behind. And Asahiya has really raised their prices since the last time I bought anything there. $7? Really? DDD:

3. I got paid for last week's cat-sitting.

Daily Happysong:

Everclear - Santa Monica
I always liked this song, and not just because it's called Santa Monica. :)

Book 41: Mokuyou Kumikyoku by Onda Riku

Title: Mokuyou Kumikyoku (Thursday Suite)
Author: Onda Riku
Number of Pages: 247 pages
Book Number/Goal: 41/40 for 2010
My Rating: 5/5

Jacket Summary: It's been four years since author Shigematsu Tokiko committed suicide. As they do every year, five women who were close to Tokiko gather at Nightingale House to remember her. Eriko writes non-fiction, Naomi writes popular fiction, Tsukasa writes literary fiction, Eiko is an editor, and Shizuko works for a publishing house. But a mysterious message turns their peaceful conversation into a storm of accusations and confessions. Did Tokiko really commit suicide, or was it murder...?

Review: Aaaages ago I was browsing tapes at the video store and this movie sounded interesting. I saw it was based on a book and thought I'd rather read the book than watch the movie, so I bought the book and then years and years passed and I never read it. Well, the other day I wanted a small book I could stick in my pocket while I was out running errands, and Japanese books are great for that, so I grabbed it off the shelf. I can't believe I took so long to get around to reading it, because it was really good! It was a bit of a slow starter, but I got really sucked in after a while and found it very hard to put down.

It's really not a traditional mystery at all, but there's a lot of intrigue and reveals, which I always like. Also, wow, this book passes the Bechdel Test like nobody's business. A lot of books about women still focus on them talking about guys all the time, but out of almost 250 pages I think there were maybe five pages tops that were about men. There was one convo about a male relative and one about a guy one of the women had been set up with (which was a hilarious convo, because she was talking about how she hates guys who think they're so feminist and awesome and say they split the housework with their wives when all they do is empty the trash occasionally and cook once in a while).

Anyway, I really enjoyed this and will definitely be looking for more books by her. She's written a ton and I'm sad to see that not a single one has been translated into English.

Fic reviews: Harry Potter, The Middleman, The Simpsons

Harry Potter

Fist Meets Face (The Ron Weasley Remix) by thelastgoodname Rec+
3300 words. Five perfect moments in Ron Weasley's life.

This is a sequel to Five Times Hermione Granger Punched Draco Malfoy (by thelastgoodname) and Five Times Draco Malfoy Took it in the Face From One H. Granger (by lunabee34). I love those two fics and this is everything I could have hoped for in a sequel and more. I would never have thought of Hermione/Ron/Draco would work but omg it so does. This is so awesomely fucked up.

Changeling by lydiabennet Rec+
2100 words. G. Fred wants a dog more than anything, and he'll do anything to get one. Anything at all.

Wow. Just wow. This is amazing, one of those stories that leaves me totally jealous of the author's skill and imagination. I wish I'd written this!

Happy Families Are All Alike (Until You Look Under the Surface) by anon Rec
2100 words. R. Ron has his happily ever after with Pansy. But all is not necessarily as it seems.

Oh, I really liked this. There's a lot of fic where evil Slytherins have the good guys under a spell or keep them captive til they go insane and construct this sort of fantasy to survive, and I love how the author went the opposite way with this (and how slowly it's revealed).

The Middleman

The Holiday Homecoming Intervention by hematitebadger Rec
6600 words. G. Lacey has the same wish this year that she's had every Christmas. But this year, she just might get it.

Aww, this is just adorable. I could totally see this being an episode.

The Simpsons

Very Deliberately Waiting by gloss Rec+
2200 words. G. "Our children are conspiring against us, did you know that?"

Oh, this is so awesome! It's exactly the sort of Simpsons fic I love best. I mean, I like humor fic, too, but I really like stuff like this that both feels totally right for the Simpsons universe, but gives it depth and isn't just wacky hijinks. And Marge/Manjula is not a pairing I ever thought about, but it works so well here.