Drama Fanfare

Well obviously everyone has their preference but since this is my blog I will list MY FAVORITE DRAMAS of ALL TIMES below. Please feel free to throw your opinion in the comments section but remember it’s my list. FYI- For this list I consider TV show series dramas for American television. I have no interest in the never ending American dramas such as Days of Our Lives.

1 ◙ Coffee Shop Prince (Korean)
2 ◙ Al Diablo con Los Guapos (Mexican)
3 ◙ The Rose (Taiwanese)
4 ◙ Meteor Garden (Taiwanese)
5 ◙ My Queen (Taiwanese)
6 ◙ Juana La Virgen (Venezuelan)
7 ◙ Rebelde (Mexican)
8 ◙ Fall in Love (Mainland China)
9 ◙ Mei-chan no Shitsuji (Japanese)
10 ◙ Que Sera Sera (Korean)
11 ◙ Alborada (Mexican)
12 ◙It Started with a Kiss
13 ◙It Started with a Kiss II
14 ◙ Absolute Boyfriend [Zettai Kareshi] (Japanese)
15 ◙ Koishite Akuma (Japanese)
16 ◙ Autumn Tale (Korean)
17 ◙ Amor Real (Mexican)
18 ◙ Yo Soy Bea (Columbian)
19 ◙ Meteor Garden II (Taiwanese)
20 ◙ Esmeralda (Mexican)
21 ◙ Rebelde Way (Venezuelan)
21 ◙ Rubi (Mexican)
22 ◙ Fated to Love You (Taiwanese)
23 ◙ Cinderella Man (Korean)
24 ◙ Maria la del Bario (Mexican)
25 ◙ Aishiteru to Itte Kure (Japanese)

Of course you always have to be on the look-out for websites that have the content in HD and updated. Over the years these have been my favorite sites.

My Favorite sites to watch dramas
◙ Youtube
◙ Viki
◙ Mysoju
◙ Dramafever
◙ Crunchyroll

Must I say? Yes, I am a drama addict.

Editing Week!

I read a blog on writing, one of my favorite things to do and one of their suggestions was to make your blog grammar and spelling perfect. Well, as near perfect as you can make it. This is by far the best advice on any piece of writing someone can give. I do not intend to make my writing impeccable, but this week I will be revising my blog for obvious spelling and grammatical errors. When there are several noticeable errors it disrupts the flow of writing. For a blog to be striking and interesting, one of the key elements is a spelling and error free blog.

I haven't been writing since I've been consumed by some popular fiction lately. I have finished reading a number of books since my last post. I have listed below all the books I have completed, in no particular order.

1. After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
2. Boot Camp by Todd Strasser
3. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
4. Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
5. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
6. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
7. Vampire Academy, Book 2 - Frostbite by Richelle Mead
8. Vampire Academy, Book 3 - Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
9. Vampire Academy, Book 4- Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Currently Reading
Vampire Academy Book 5- Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
The Queen of Water by Laura Resau

Hasta a La proxima!

Parrotfish

Title: Parrotfish
Author: Ellen Wittlinger

Publication Date: July 10, 2007
Genres: Fiction
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
ISBN-10: 1416916229
ISBN-13: 9781416916222

** This review is for readers that have already read Parrotfish.

I must say that I indulged myself into this novel. The subject was a bit touchy but Wittlinger did a great job of making me feel at ease with the various dialogues Grady comes up with. Her internal conversations bring lay out the foundation for the novel. It’s a way of addressing what popular media portrays transgendered persons as and defying those definitions.

What I loved about the novel the most was its humor. It makes the book easier to read and at the same time gave the book a feeling of optimism.

I usually don’t like reading novels that feel constructed but I love comedy in all its forms. I especially love reading about topics that are taboo. The taboo subjects interest me the most because as Wittlinger points out, why does society restrict us into such cookie-cutter categories? Despite all the reforms we’ve been through, it seems that our society is not as tolerance as we should be. It was interesting to learn how Native Americans portray transgendered persons as “free spirits.”

Despite this being a realistic novel, I did not, for one moment, believe this could be a true account. The transsexual girl who the most popular girl in school likes, lives in the Christmas house, and was home schooled until high school. Her life seems like a fairy tale when inspected closely. Her family members at most were average. They could also be defined as flat characters.

There was an attempt at not making the ending a Cinderella story yet it was. Again this is the construction that I was speaking of. I almost wish the story was more complex but as this is a novel meant for young adults its okay. The problem is, I don’t love okay, what I love is exceptional. Yes I enjoyed the book but I would have LOVED it, if it has more depth.

After reading other reader reviews I was amazed to find out that “PARROTFISH is one of the first young adult novels to address transgender issues” (http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/parrotfish). For being one of the few I must give credit to the Wittlinger for exposing young minds to this subject. I hope other authors also follow in her footsteps and can engage us in novels that enrich our understanding of ourselves, stereotypes, and how to deal with them.

Sounds Come Alive

As I lay in my bed
Tyring to clear my head

I hear sounds all around
That disturb my thoughts, the night, my life

Creeping, lurching in the shadows
stands a man that makes a claim
My clamy hands reach out and I shout
"Whose there?"
But no sounds come alive

How will I survive this lonely night
Knowing this man in my dreams
exsists in real life?

-Nancy B. Bonifacio-Bak