Hiya! Not new, but newly reactivated.

[coeur_de_noir]

Name      
Milla in life, coeur_de_noir everywhere else (which is here, because up-yer-bum LJ!)

Age 
I've been 42 since January. I was led to believe 42 was the answer to life, the universe, and everything, so I'm patiently awaiting the big reveal.

Location
Melbourne, Australia

Describe yourself in five sentences or less
I love books, trees and my cat. I have the occasional all-consuming short-lived obsession which supplements the things I've loved that have stamped themselves on me, mostly books, music and sometimes telly shows. I laugh a lot, cry sometimes and get righteously angry about things when the occasion warrants. My job is intense but it's ultimately just paper pushing to make money for people that aren't very nice. I live with my partner on a big bit of land on the outskirts of nowhere and will bang on about birds every time one sits in the tree outside my window.

Top 5 fandoms
I don't really particpate in fandom anymore, but lately I've watched a lot of Suits, Parks & Rec, Supernatural, Penny Dreadful, Preacher and IZombie and I do talk about them while I'm watching if I have something to say ;-) My first and only fandom was The Mighty Boosh (and all the various offshoots), which is where I met my bestie and a lot of the people I still call my pals.

I mostly post about
Real life stuff - my job, how I'm feeling, what I'm excited by and what I'm doing, reading or watching.

My last three posts were about
Problem solving teacup dramas out loud; whether to abandon LJ or endure it's slings and arrows; holidays + volunteering stuff.

How often do you post? How about commenting?
I post about once a week and usually do a slew of comments at the same time. If you post a lot, I probably won't get to comment on every post.

A GIF to describe how your day has been today so far

Comments

[tielan]

Hello fellow Australian who's still angry about the Captal's Tower! My annoyance on this point is MIGHTY.

[coeur_de_noir]

Aha, YES! If you haven't started, do not pick up In The Name Of The Wind or The Lies of Locke Lamora, you will shit bricks.

[tielan]

LOL. I shall note this down!

[coeur_de_noir]

I stg I am not picking up another fantasy series until the end has been written ;-)

[tielan]

I think it also depends on how the series is approached. eg. Some series are complete stories in and of themselves, without cliffhangers, but develop on the world as they go. But, yeah, the Big Series Being Recced of late involve Story Arcs of Doom with no guarantee that you're going to get any kind of satisfaction out of it.

[coeur_de_noir]

That is a good point! In that case, you could pick up The Lies of Locke Lamora (and the subsequent 2 novels) which are great and I heartily recommend them as stand alone stories in a series universe.. I'm just hanging to read MORE because I love the characters which is why I'm cross at Scott Lynch.

The Kingkiller Series by Pat Rothfuss... I think thats another Ambrai, though I'm hanging onto hope! Its so frickin' good though.

[tielan]

TBH, the last few years, I've been reading variations in the romance genre. While I enjoy fantasy, I got tired of it generally being All About The Menz (one of the reasons I particularly liked Rawn to begin with, particularly the Exiles series, even if I felt her matriarchy wasn't exactly subtle about the role switch and pretty much prioritised a certain type of work - coded 'male' in the real world - over another type of work - coded 'female' in the real world, while I think a matriachy that valued traditionally feminine things would look very different), and the modern romance genre is unabashedly about female agency, choices, and relationships - both sexual and otherwise.

(Uh. That might have gotten a little involved as a sentence.)

[coeur_de_noir]

Oh I get you - its why I really dug Rawn's series too, though I have some of the same issues as you do combined with a severe case of the irrits over the fate of Collan. I haven't read so much romance apart from The Outlander series (which was interesting and irritating by turns - I couldn't stop reading it, but theres some messed up stuff that doesn't sit too well).

I'd be happy for some recs - I like a good romance novel! I like historical novels, too, if you have any you like ;-)

[tielan]

Okay, really good urban fantasy series:

Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series. It's one world with multiple stories in it - mostly novels and a few short stories - and some of the characters from the previous series turn up in the current series. Read it in order, because the world starts off pretty black and white and grows increasingly more complex with every book.

If you prefer in the angels/demons line, then try her 'Guild Hunter' series, although that is developing a distinctly 'cliffhangery' look about the last few books.

One thing I particularly like about Singh is that her characters are not all white. The first heroine of the Psy-Changeling series is a mish-mash of Indian, Japanese, and Russian, I think, but living in California.

The main warning with Singh is that her pairing dynamics always feature a more-dominant/alpha male. The heroines aren't necessarily submissive, but they're less dominant than the hero. Some books and pairings are harder to take than others, but the worldbuilding is really good, and I like her plotting and (nearly) always feel like the ending is suitably earned.

Meljean Brook's Guardians series is urban fantasy romance, 8 books a few short stories and complete. It may take some time getting into them - the world is incredibly complex (and complicated by the fact that it intersects/is set on top of our world) and Book 1 of the series is not necessarily the best place to start.

Historical romances: Courtney Milan does some excellent stuff that adds depth above and beyond the "young noblewoman finds an eligible mate of high birth". I recommend the 'Brothers Sinister' series and 'The Turner trilogy'. (Courtney Milan has a modern series out - the Cyclone series - which is good. In the 2nd book, the heroine is trans, and it's handled pretty well.)

For more conventional historical romance, try Loretta Chase. My favourite is the Dressmaker's Quartet, but that could just be because that's how I got into her books. Some of her earlier stuff is a little convoluted, but still interesting.

If you like historicals/fantasy, then I recommend Jo Graham - she does ancillary characters in Real History. I'd probably start with the Order Of The Air series which is so far five books. She had to stop writing the sixth because the plot hit the mid-1930s just as the 2016 election was in full swing and she was finding the parallels too distressing. This one is the same characters, with each story arc completed in a single book. (Okay, so this is not entirely accurate for book 5 - Oathbound - because it's right on the cusp of WWII, but the storylines introduced in the book are all completed, you just want to know what comes next!

Otherwise, her Numinous series (3 books so far - the Aeneid, Cleopatra, and post-Alexander the Great) and a small book of short stories) are definitely complete and discrete stories!

...that got long. Oops.

[coeur_de_noir]

Thank you! Bookmarking these for my next buy-binge x

[tielan]

You can almost certainly find Milan in the library. :)

Singh is more iffy, but Brook and Graham will be well-night impossible, I fear.

Also, if you want books in e-format, Crossroads Press does Graham's books simple and easy, epub or mobi, no DRM. So nice not to have to jump through hoops to acquire it! And independent publishing!

[coeur_de_noir]

HUZZAH for independent publishing!

[jo]

As someone who turned 42 over a decade ago, I was mightily disappointed by the answer to life, the universe and everything, tbh. :(

I would like to add you -- we have some interests in common. My blurb on this community is here (https://2017revival.dreamwidth.org/3997.html), and my profile page lists more interests than I mentioned in that post (https://jo.dreamwidth.org/profile). I've granted you access so you can see my more usual, locked postings.

[coeur_de_noir]

Bit of a bum steer, wasn't it? I'm keeping an eye on the dolphins ;-)

I've added you back - look forward to getting to know you!

[iddewes]

Would you like to be friends? I think we do have a few things in common. I do like the Mighty Boosh too and birds, anyway!

[coeur_de_noir]

I certainly would ;-) Always good to find another bird-fancying Boosh fan!

[princessofburundi]

Hi there. I'm Allie. You sound interesting so I've subscribed to you and granted you access. Please feel free to do the same.

[coeur_de_noir]

Thanks Allie! Nice to meet you :)

[dirtygreatknife]

Hello, fellow Aussie. We have stuff in common--friends?

[coeur_de_noir]

With a username like that, how could I resist? Nice to meet you :-) Added!

[dirtygreatknife]

Groovy! Adding you back. :D

[alatefeline]

*waves hello*

[coeur_de_noir]

Hiya!

[paw_prints]

Hello. :) I know this is quite an old post now, but hopefully you'll still get the comment. I'm a nurse in NZ. I also love trees and cats, and I'm in my forties too. Would you like to be friends? I'll add you so you can see what you think.

P.S. Here's an intro post: https://paw-prints.dreamwidth.org/6304.html

[coeur_de_noir]

Hey there! Yes, I would love to be friends ;-) I haven't posted much lately as I've been doing a big work project but I will be back in action soon... look forward to getting to know you!

[paw_prints]

Cool. :) Thanks for adding me back. Looking forward to getting to know you too!