Historical Fiction Fix

I'll have you guys know, I'm an endless source of amusement at 6 a.m. Like, you've never seen anyone as grumpy & bleary-eyed & likely to erupt into a frenzy of half-formed curses as I. (Or at least, that's what I hear from the unfortunate person who had to drag me out of bed yesterday morning in time for a early morning conference call on prescription drug diversion prevention.)

I mean, obviously, I'd rather sleep in. And then wake up around noon to eat an entire platter of salt & pepper squid (favorite thing ever) from Seafood Town. Everyday. But then I'd be jobless & probably very unhealthy. 

So, instead, I'll continue brewing homemade chai tea lattes (saving money by not going to Starbucks: score!), working out like a psycho (I'm telling you, booty barre is the best workout ever), cuddling my cat, & watching crazy historical dramas. 

I've got a historical fiction addiction. I read books almost exclusively from that genre. I love movies & television programs set in far-flung epochs & locales. Here's where I've been getting my fix lately:

1. Borgia. 2. Tamra. 3. Enchantments.

1. Borgia: Faith and Fear. This is the French-German take on the lives of the Borgia clan. I haven't seen the Showtime series, The Borgias, but apparently this one is a lot more violent & risque (hard to believe, right?). My favorite character, by far, is the incredibly conniving but angel-faced Lucrezia Borgia, played by Isolda Dychauk. Isolda was born in Siberia & later moved to Berlin — & her accent is absolutely wild!

2. Tamra, the Island. I just started watching this Korean drama earlier this week & can't get enough! (Drama is probably the wrong word to use, since this is most definitely a comedy.) Tamra, the Island (탐나는도다), is set in the 1600s on what is now called Jeju Island. A shipwrecked Englishman is washed up on shore & rescued by inept abalone diver Beo-jin. Hijinks ensue, obviously. 

If you decide to watch this show, I'll warn you: give it the benefit of the doubt for the first 20 minutes. Tamra, the Island uses some truly awful computer generated imagery. When Beo-jin goes diving, it looks like she's swimming in a screen-saver from Windows 95. Also, the Englishman is inexplicably played by a French-born actor who speaks English with an extremely noticeable accent. However, if you can get past all that & accept this show for the wacky fun time it is, I promise you won't regret it!

3. Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison. This book follows the life of Masha, the daughter of famed Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, after her father's murder. Masha is sent to live with the family of Tsar Nikolay at the imperial palace & is inevitably placed under house arrest with the royals by the Bolsheviks. The book is beautifully written (although, be warned, it jumps around at times as Masha spins tales for the sickly Romanov heir, Alyosha).

So, what have you been reading & watching lately?