I know it's been a while since I posted any of my reading, but I recieved an early reviewer's copy of the upcoming Enemies and Allies by Kevin J. Anderson so you're getting treated to a review. All the other stuff takes a lot of time that I just haven't had lately and I never got much in the way of comments in the first place so I'll probably just let it fall by the wayside.
At any rate, here's my thoughts on this book!
Enemies and Allies was a fun, easy read. Kevin Anderson has captured the feel and tropes of the 1950s (Commies and Aliens galore!) as well as the spirit of the World's Finest comics from the same era.
In keeping with its comic book origins, the plot is simple but engaging while the prose format allows Anderson to flesh out the characters in ways those silver age teamups never could. While he may, perhaps, spend a bit too much time providing background and basic characterization for characters who are already American cultural icons, those scenes (and some of the associated 1950's and comic book name checks) are fun and about the time they begin to get tiresome, the plot picks up tremendously.
Adding to the enjoyment is the simple fact that both Batman and Superman come across as well characterized. There are no jarring moments for either and their initial distrust of the other hero's motivation and methods was handled well and made their eventual teamup that much stronger.
I definitely recommend Enemies and Allies to anybody who enjoys the characters and is looking for a light and lighthearted escape.
One thing about being sick, it saps your focus. I just don't have the mental energy to do anything beyond rote tasks. Therefore, instead of me getting my homework done, you get a post updating what I've been reading for the past three months.
You're thrilled, I'm sure. :-p
Anyway, despite all the things I've had going on at work, and the reading I've had to do for school (those books likely won't show up on-list until December), I've managed to get a few books under my belt. Just, you know, a handful.
*ahem*
Books: 11 (51 YTD)
A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer
Trinity Blood - Rage Against the Moons Vol 3: Know Faith by Sunao Yoshida
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Something in the Water by Trevor Baxendale
Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea by Nancy Atherton
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History by The Bathroom Readers' Hysterical Society (what?)
Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
High Wizardry by Diane Duane
Heaven's Net is Wide by Lian HearnGraphic Novels: 67 (128 YTD)
Fruits Basket 1 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 2 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 3 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 4 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 5 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 6 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 7 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 8 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 9 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 10 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 11 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 12 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 13 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 14 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 15 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 16 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 17 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket 18 by Natsuki Takaya
Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth by Paul Dini & Alex Ross
Suppli 3 by Mari Okazaki
Modesty Blaise: Live Bait by Peter O'Donnell and Romero
Kaze Hikaru 10 by Taeko Watanabe
Millenium Snow 2 by Bisco Hatori
Skip Beat 8 by Yoshiki Nakamura
Honey and Clover 1 by Chica Umino
Honey and Clover 2 by Chica Umino
Honey and Clover 3 by Chica Umino
Fables: Legends in Exile by Willingham, Medina, Leiloha, Hamilton
Fables: Animal Farm by Willingham, Buckingham
Crimson Hero 6 by Mitsuba Takanashi
Crimson Hero 8 by Mitsuba Takanashi
Bleach 23 by Tite Kubo
Vampire Knight 2 by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight 3 by Matsuri Hino
Vampire Knight 4 by Matsuri Hino
Bleach 24 by Tite Kubo
Naruto 1 by Masashi Kishimoto
One Pound Gospel 1 by Rumiko Takahashi
One Pound Gospel 2 by Rumiko Takahashi
Skip Beat 11 by Yoshiki Nakamura
Skip Beat 12 by Yoshiki Nakamura
Skip Beat 13 by Yoshiki Nakamura
Kamen Tantei 1 by Matsuri Akino
Vampire Knight 5 by Matsuri Hino
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Rurouni Kenshin 7 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 8 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 9 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 10 by Kenshin Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 11 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 12 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 13 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 14 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 15 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 16 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 17 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Kaze Hikaru 1 by Taeko Watanabe
Kaze Hikaru 2 by Taeko Watanabe
Kaze Hikaru 3 by Taeko Watanabe
Kaze Hikaru 4 by Taeko Watanabe
Kaze Hikaru 5 by Taeko Watanabe
Kaze Hikaru 6 by Taeko Watanabe
Skip Beat 14 by Yoshiki Nakamura
Kaze Hikaru 7 by Taeko Watanabe
Kaze Hikaru 8 by Taeko Watanabe
Kaze Hikaru 9 by Taeko Watanabe
Kaze Hikaru 10 by Taeko Watanabe
So, uh, yeah. I've been re-reading whole series of manga. This is partly because I'm so burnt out that a volume of manga is about the only thing I can handle at the end of the day; it is partly because I've been going through my books with an eye towards culling and I need to remind myself why I should keep certain things; also, I just plain like reading manga.
Anyway, sorry for the friendspage spam for those on LiveJournal, but it's not like I do this very often. Also, I hate trying to edit the Vox code.
I haven't posted on my reading in, well, about three months now. Once again, I just don't have it in me to do any reviews. I'd love to, but time is not my friend right now. Maybe if work cools off at the end of the fiscal year...
Anyway, it being the midway point in the calendar year, I thought I'd at least update my list of books read. Since March 23, I have read the following:
Books: 21 (41 YTD)
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Turing Test by Paul Leonard
Unnatural History by Jonathan Blum & Kate Orman
Earthworld by Jacqueline Rayner
Escape Velocity by Colin Brake
Salvation by Steve Lyons
Rage Against the Moons Vol 2: Silent Noise by Sunao Yoshida
Vanishing Point by Stephen Cole
Reborn on the Mars, Vol 2: The Iblis by Sunao Yoshida
So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane
Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Magician by Raymond E. Feist
Mission: Impractical by Dave McIntee
Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane
Silverthorn by Raymond E. Feist
A Darkness at Sethanon by Raymond E. Feist
Krondor: The Betrayal by Raymond E. Feist
Krondor: The Assassin by Raymond E. Feist
Krondor: Tear of the Gods by Raymond E. Feist
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
Managra by Stephen MarleyGraphic Novels: 52 (62 YTD)
Suppli 2 by Mari Okazaki
Rurouni Kenshin 18 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 19 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 20 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Love Attack (Juna'i Tokko Taicho) 2 by Shizuru Seino
Rurouni Kenshin 21 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 22 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 23 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 24 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 25 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 26 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 27 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin 28 by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Crazy Love Story 1 by Lee Vin
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 8 by CLAMP
Trigun Maximum 9 by Yasuhiro Nightow
Trigun Maximum 10 by Yasuhiro Nightow
xxxHolic Omnibus (vols 1-3) by CLAMP
Saiyuki Reload 1 by Kazyua Minekura
Saiyuki Reload 2 by Kazyua Minekura
Saiyuki Reload 3 by Kazyua Minekura
Saiyuki Reload 4 by Kazyua Minekura
Saiyuki Reload 5 by Kazyua Minekura
Saiyuki Reload 6 by Kazyua Minekura
Saiyuki Reload 7 by Kazyua Minekura
Ouran High School Host Club 10 by Bisco Hatori
Saiyuki Reload 8 by Kazyua Minekura
Kaze Hikaru 9 by Taeko Watanabe
Bleach 1 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 2 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 3 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 4 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 5 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 6 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 7 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 8 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 9 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 10 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 11 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 12 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 13 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 14 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 15 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 16 by Tite Kubo
Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo by Matsuri Akino
Wild Adapter 5 by Kazyua Minekura
Bleach 17 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 18 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 19 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 20 by Tite Kubo
Bleach 21 by Tite Kubo
Fullmetal Alchemist 16 by Hiromu Arakawa
As busy as I am, I guess I still have time to read. :)
Well, I've realized that I haven't posted about my reading for some time and not at all regarding the books I've read this year. Thus far, I'm up to 20 prose books (15 new) and an additional ten (new) manga.
I'd like to write up some comments on at least a portion of what I've read so far, but just haven't had the time. (Same goes for my drastically overdue review of The Dreamers of the Day.) I also haven't decided how I'm going to go about things, really.
For now, just have a list:
Books: 20
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Volume I by Diana Wynne Jones
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Volume II by Diana Wynne Jones
Sorcery & Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
The Witch Hunters by Steve Lyons
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow by Fuyumi Ono
Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn
Grass for His Pillow by Lian Hearn
Brilliance of the Moon by Lian Hearn
Seeing I by Jonathan Blum & Kate Orman
Welcome to the N.H.K. by Tatsuhiko Takimoto
The Empire of Glass by Andy Lane
The Harsh Cry of the Heron by Lian Hearn
Mad Dogs and Englishmen by Paul Magrs
The Grand Tour by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
Catastrophea by Terrance Dicks
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Wind by Fuyumi Ono
The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman
Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. SayersGraphic Novels: 10
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 4 by CLAMP
Mushishi 1 by Yuki Urushibara
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 5 by CLAMP
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 6 by CLAMP
Fullmetal Alchemist 15 by Hiromu Arakawa
Tramps Like Us 14 by Yayoi Ogawa
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 7 by CLAMP
Kaze Hikaru 8 by Taeko Watanabe
Wild Adapter 4 by Kazyua Minekura
The final raw numbers for everything I read in 2007 are as follows:
Books: 56 - 19358 pages
Graphic Novels: 139 - 27378 pages
Fanfiction: 213 - 412329 words/ 825 pages
Scanlations: 9 volumes, 100 chapters - 3759 pages
Re-figuring this for re-reads of the same book during the course of the year, it changes slightly. I'm going to leave the number of pages the same, but reflect the number of unique books:
Books: 55 - 19358 pages
Graphic Novels: 122 - 27378 pages
Fanfiction: 213 - 412329 words/ 825 pages
Scanlations: 9 volumes, 100 chapters - 3759 pages
I've already posted a full list of all the books I read as a poll so I'm not going to reiterate them here. The two things I haven't covered are a list of all manga series that I read (much simpler than individual volumes) and the handful of books that I started during the year, but didn't finish.
As usual, I'm going to tackle the books first. These are almost all things I intend to finish at some point, but either I ran out of time or put them down for other things and just never quite got back to them. Actually, when I went looking for unfinished books, I found more than I expected, I'm actually kind of embarrassed.
Leading off the embarrassment is Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things. It's not that I dislike short stories, or that the stories in this compilation are in any way bad, quite the opposite in fact. It's just that I tend to pick it up in between other things, read one story, and then forget about the book for another couple of months. I think I have a Diana Wynne Jones short story book that I've treated the same way, too. I'll finish these in 2008, I swear!
Next up is another book I've been reading in between other things. I picked up a remainder book called Manhunter: The Definitive History of Serial Murder Investigation as background for a story I didn't end up writing. It's not a priority for finishing any time soon, but if I do write that story, I'm definitely going to pick this back up again.
I've actually got two Doctor Who novels in the unfinished pile. One of which, amazingly, stars my beloved Eighth Doctor and Fitz. The Banquo Legacy is...well, it's not bad per se, it just really hasn't been my cup of tea. Honestly, I can't even really tell you what it's about or why I haven't been reading it, but that's not surprising because going by the bookmark, I haven't picked this up since February of last year.
The other Doctor Who novel is one I simply haven't finished. It's a Missing Adventure called Downtime and the Doctor doesn't appear in it at all. Instead, we have Victoria, the Brigadier and Sarah Jane which should have added up to a kickass novel but...didn't. Actually, the first portion of things dealing solely with Victoria and following on The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear held a lot of promise, but the actual main story bogs down and just plain gets uninteresting. Fortunately, I've only got about another thirty-five pages and then I can put that one to rest.
The next book is one I borrowed from my brother, it's the first compilation of Glen Cook's Garrett stories, The Garrett Files. I'm about thirty pages in to the first book Sweet Silver Blues. It's not bad so far, but I was reading it when my brother got sick and I just haven't picked it up since. The other book I was reading when my brother got sick was Welcome to the NHK. That one I put down because I couldn't bear to continue reading.
Welcome to the NHK is actually far too good, it was cutting way too close to home for me to feel comfortable reading it. The main character is what's known in Japan as a hikikomori. When I had this problem, I called myself agoraphobic, though I never was formally diagnosed that way*. The story is excellent, and I'm very near the end of the book, but I'm not ready to face the rest of it just yet. Until then, this book will remain unfinished and I can guarantee that I will not be reading the manga or watching the anime any time soon. I do, however, recommend it to the rest of you.
The final book left unread in 2007 was one of the Early Reviewer books I've gotten through LibraryThing. Tokyo Year Zero sounded incredibly promising. It's a novel based on a real life serial murderer who was active in post-war Tokyo. What I found when I started reading was an impenetrable stream of consciousness first person perspective. The story may yet follow through on its early promise, but I haven't been able to get past the prologue because I find the prose to be such tough going and I just haven't had the energy to put in to this book. I plan to try again in January, because I feel obligated both to give it another shot and to share my experience in a review.
And, as usual, I'm going to end with the manga. The following is a list of all thirty-five series I read in 2007:
Aishiteruze Baby
Bleach
Buso Renkin
Crimson Hero
Divalicious
Dramacon
Emma
Fruits Basket
Fullmetal Alchemist
Genshiken
Heaven!!
Hellsing
Hoshi no Koe
Kamen Tantei
Kaze Hikaru
Love Attack
Millenium Snow
Monster
Nana
Ohikkoshi
Ouran High School Host
Club
Paradise Kiss
Pixie Pop Gokkun Pucho
Rin!
Rurouni Kenshin
Saiyuki Reload
Shirahime-Syo
Skip Beat
Suppli
Tramps Like Us
Trigun
Trinity Blood
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle
Wild Adapter
xxxHolic
*There are a handful of people on my LJ who may remember what I was like that time
6 Books - 2383 pages (2 new)
Dreamstone Moon by Paul Leonard
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Christopher Bulis
Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
The Crown of Dalemark by Diana Wynne Jones5 Graphic Novels - 1360 pages (4 new)
Dramacon 3 by Svetlana Chmakova
Genshiken 9 by Kio Shimoku
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Omnibus (vols 1-3) by CLAMP
Love Attack by Shizuru Seino
Fruits Basket Fanbook - Cat by Natsuki TakayaFanfiction - 275003 words/ 550 pages
Scanlations - 80 pages (all new)
Bleach Chapter 301. Shut Up & Die
Bleach Chapter 302. Pride on the Blade
Bleach Chapter 303. Dumdum-Dummy-Dumbstruck
Bleach Chapter -15. Death in the Field of Ice
Preliminary Yearly Total:
Books: 56 - 19358 pages
Graphic Novels: 139 - 27378 pages
Fanfiction: 213 - 412329 words/ 825 pages
Scanlations: 9 volumes, 100 chapters - 3759 pages
Here we go! The penultimate posting for my Grand Reading Project in 2007. After this, you'll just have to suffer through a year end wrapup including the books I didn't finish and some musings on 2008. It will all be relatively painless, I promise.
Books this month were mostly re-reads with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Gaudy Night having been prompted by their film counterparts. I re-read To Say Nothing of the Dog because I was just in that sort of mood and The Crown of Dalemark because I was inspired by Yuletide stories (which are, by the way, solely responsible for the vast increase in fic reading).
The new books were both Doctor Who novels, one a Missing Adventure and one an Eighth Doctor story. Of the two, I vastly preferred the MA, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which featured the first Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan. In it, the TARDIS lands on a world where 'science' (in this case, pretty much anything electronic) is crippled and magic seems to rule the day. To take the every so faintly bizarre situation a step further, the society seems to come straight out of an idealized mythological view of medieval Europe.
The action is brisk and, over the course of the story, manages to straddle the seeming divide between science and fantasy quite well. I thought the characterization was decent over all with fun moments for each of the characters, though I must admit I particularly enjoyed the bits with Susan as a 'damsel in distress' and the Doctor trying to overcome his skepticism and place events in context. This was a fun read and I don't hesitate to recommend it to anybody looking for a decent First Doctor story.
I had a lot more going on with manga in December, with the final volumes of both Dramacon and Genshiken along with the first volumes of two other series and a Fruits Basket special. I have to say that Fanbook - Cat was a decent companion to the series, filled with fun detail and a priceless moment or two of its own (Ritchan/Mitchan FTW!). It's not something I'd sit down and read cover to cover, but taken in chunks I enjoyed it quite a bit. In fact, if I were still doing Furuba roleplay, I'm pretty sure I'd find some of it completely invaluable.
Dramacon was, overall, a satisfying end to the story. I thought the direction she took with Bethany's family was a bit over the top, but she clearly has a point she's been making over the course of of the story and that was her mechanism for presenting that aspect in this volume. Also, the fact that 'Drama' is in the title should probably be a tip-off for what to expect. At any rate, this title is frequently recommended as the main example of what OEL can be and it clearly earns that distinction, holding up well against most, though hardly all, import shoujo.
After focusing so closely on Oguie and reaching a sort of 'closing point' to her story in the previous volume, this final volume of Genshiken returns to a broader approach. There is no great revelation or resolution, nothing you can point to as a climax to the ongoing story, but more a sense that this particular chapter has been brought to a close for these characters as the three who entered as freshmen in the first chapter graduate. You see more of all the characters through the volume and come away with a clear sense of what's next for nearly all of them. As an end to this 'slice of life' it's decent and in keeping with the tone of the series over all, even if it's without a specific 'impact'. I was satisfied with it and continue to love the series as a whole.
I don't need to comment on Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle as I'm not reading it and I haven't quite decided if I'm going to continue to not read it. I do, however, have something to say about Love Attack. I've mentioned it here before, if briefly, under the name Jun'ai Tokko Taicho. It's by the same mangaka as Heaven!! (which I hated) and Girl Got Game (which I quite enjoyed) and is a relatively straightforward comedic shoujo story about a pair who are more than a little bit rough around the edges. Despite having previously read scanlations, I found that I came to the material fresh and enjoyed it all over again. Further, I found myself comparing this story to Heaven!!--almost entirely in a positive light. The action is far less confusing this time around and the characters more engaging and three dimensional right off the bat. This is a series that I can, and will, recommend unreservedly.
That about wraps things up on the year, though I've a few more comments that I will make in another post. Thank you all for putting up with me on this project, I hope I've at least managed to entertain a bit in the process.
~MsC
Here's the second part of my November reading post, focusing entirely on Manga. To remind you of what I read, here's the official list:
14 Graphic Novels - 2637 pages (8 new)
Tramps Like Us 8 by Yayoi Ogawa
Tramps Like Us 13 by Yayoi Ogawa
Dramacon 1 by Svetlana Chmakova
Dramacon 2 by Svetlana Chmakova
Kaze Hikaru 7 by Taeko Watanabe
Bleach 21 by Tite Kubo
Nana 7 by Ai Yazawa
Skip Beat 6 by Yoshiki Nakamura
Skip Beat 7 by Yoshiki Nakamura
Aishiteruze Baby 7 by Yoko Maki
Crimson Hero 5 by Mitsuba Takanashi
Wild Adapter 3 by Kazuya Minekura
Kamen Tantei 2 by Matsuri Akino
Suppli 1 by Mari Okazaki
The Tramps Like Us and Dramacon were sort of a 'follow-on' to my shoujo-fest from the end of October. I picked up number 8 as part of 'filling in' missing books and number 13 because it had just come out. Dramacon was just me wanting more light fun and a bit of reviewing because I knew the final volume would be coming out in December.
Tramps Like Us 13 is the penultimate volume in this series, and it truly shows. Much of the focus is on Sumire's changing relationship with Takeshi. We get to see the way they adjust to love as equals and the extreme distance between them and, ultimately, the choices they make to stay together. These are reflected throughout the volume by the actions of the secondary characters, not the least of which is the Hasumi/Fukushima pairing. All in all, it was beautifully handled and I'm very much looking forward to the denouement in Volume 14.
Kaze Hikaru and Bleach were both excellent as always, as was Nana. I'm going to focus, instead, on a couple of titles that I don't talk much about, Skip Beat and Aishiteruze Baby.
Skip Beat is not a book I've gone out of my way for. I read the first several volumes in scanlation and it's on my 'to pick up eventually' list rather than at the top of my must haves. The series on the whole is pretty decent and it puts a nice spin on the stereotypical 'shoujo idol' subgenre. I like that Kyoko isn't always a particularly nice or even, sometimes, sympathetic character. I like that her motivation is as much about revenge as it is about succeeding for herself.
In these volumes, we see a lot more of the nice side of Kyoko. We see her working hard for herself as well as for Ren and even doing pretty well at things. The darker side doesn't come out again until she's directly faced with the object of her ire and her identiy is fully known meaning she must prove herself through her work.
I admit to not fully understanding the extent of all the relationships, but it feels like a balance is maintained as she manages to impress and piss off the male leads in pretty much equal parts throughout both volumes. For a series that can go a bit over the top, it has a very solid storytelling base and I'm considering actually going out of my way to get more.
Aishiteruze Baby is one of my secret, guilty pleasures. I read the first chapter in Shojo Beat approximately forever ago and hated it. Then, for no very good reason, I began to download the anime and very quickly became sucked in by the story. What at first seems like a very over-the-top cutefest is actually a much richer story of love and family -- both the family you are born with and the family you create.
This final volume can only be described as bittersweet. Just as Kippei manages to bring his relationship with Kokoro to a satisfying place, the rug is ripped out from under him when Yuzuyu's mother returns. The resolution is not reached easily and the sweetness of the ending only serves to mitigate things so much. It's the depth of feeling in these later chapters that make the overall, overbearing sweetness of much of the series palatable for me.
Crimson Hero is a series I can pretty much skip over as it's a very straightforward shoujo sports story. Wild Adapter I can sum up with a simple LOVED IT because if I try to explain why I'm probably not going to be very coherent. Kamen Tantei is bland enough that I don't feel a pressing need to go over it for you here. My only comment is to not judge Matsuri Akino by this series, she's capable of so much better.
That leaves Suppli. I picked this up after a brief review that basically said 'it's josei and it's good' which is pretty much all I needed. I've been looking for a good josei fix for after Tramps Like Us ends and I was more than happy to try this out.
I'm very glad that I did, because this has everything I've been wanting in a romance manga. It's got emotional relationships that I can, well, relate to, along with the dilemmas of balancing your work identity, your personal identity and how to fit a relationship into that mix. All of it rings true and is much more in line with my experiences than the idealism of shoujo. If you're looking for a good romance that fits in with adult experience rather than teenage idealism, this is the book to pick up.
Seriously, it's excellent. Go. Buy it. Now.
COMING SOON!
My December commentary with year-end review and wrap up to this little experiment of mine!
Oops! Being home sick meant that the days sort of all ran together. I meant to get my November book commentary posted this weekend which means, err, now.
So...enjoy, my friends! Only two more of these to endure!
7 Books - 2171 pages (5 new)
The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones
Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
Lungbarrow by Marc Platt
The Taking of Planet 5 by Simon Boucher-Jones and Mark Clapham
Lords of the Storm by David A. McIntee
Legacy of the Daleks by John Peel
Fullmetal Alchemist: Under the Faraway Sky by Makoto Inoue14 Graphic Novels - 2637 pages (8 new)
Tramps Like Us 8 by Yayoi Ogawa
Tramps Like Us 13 by Yayoi Ogawa
Dramacon 1 by Svetlana Chmakova
Dramacon 2 by Svetlana Chmakova
Kaze Hikaru 7 by Taeko Watanabe
Bleach 21 by Tite Kubo
Skip Beat 6 by Yoshiki Nakamura
Skip Beat 7 by Yoshiki Nakamura
Aishiteruze Baby 7 by Yoko Maki
Crimson Hero 5 by Mitsuba Takanashi
Nana 7 by Ai Yazawa
Wild Adapter 3 by Kazuya Minekura
Suppli 1 by Mari Okazaki
Kamen Tantei 2 by Matsuri AkinoFanfiction - None
Scanlations - 114 pages (none previously read)
Bleach Chapter 297. King of the Kill by Kubo Tite/M7
Bleach Chapter 298. Intruder23 by Kubo Tite/M7
Bleach Chapter 299. The Verbal Warfare by Kubo Tite/M7
Bleach Chapter 300. Curse Named Love by Kubo Tite/M7
Nana Chapter 68. by Ai Yazawa/TakoyakisTotal, Year to date:
Books: 50 - 16975 pages
Graphic Novels: 134 - 26018 pages
Fanfiction: 75 - 137326 words/ 275 pages
Scanlations: 9 volumes, 96 chapters - 3679 pages
I...err...got a lot read in November. This is at least partly due to the combination of me spending the better part of a week at my parent's house while my father had emergency surgery, Lohquesse providing me with an armful of crack, and the subsequent Thanksgiving holiday. I've rearranged the list some so that things make a bit more sense and I'll be tackling the books that way. It's not actually the order I read things in.
At the beginning of the month, I was looking for 'comfort reading' and, really, what better than a Diana Wynne Jones book for the right combination of humorous, warm-hearted fantasy? I realized I had not yet read the latest Chrestomanci book and picked up The Pinhoe Egg post-haste.
I was in no way disappointed with this book. The story was a beautifully told fantasy with a slightly dark edge to it offset entirely by the book's inherent sense of humor. It is neither deep nor perfectly plotted, but that's hardly what I turn to Diana Wynne Jones' books for. It was a great story that I had fun with and that's everything I needed it to be.
Later in the month, when I was looking for more 'comfort reading' I picked up an older book of hers under somewhat false pretenses. I had gotten Deep Secret completely confused with another book whose name is still escaping me, but I'm not the least bit disappointed that I did so.
Deep Secret is a fantasy book set, not unfittingly, partially at a fantasy convention. There's a great sense of humor to it, though it does tend to be a bit darker than her books aimed more directly at young adults. The story is convoluted, but interesting and ultimately resolved to the satisfaction of at least most of the parties involved. There's not much in the way of deep thought here, but I'd definitely recommend it to a teen or adult looking for a nice bit of escapism.
On the Doctor Who front...well, I read an awful lot of Doctor Who in November. I started with Lungbarrow which I re-read for the Doctor Who discussion group on Livejournal. I made a few comments there, which basically boil down to 'this book is pure crack and is not any less cracktacular the second time around'. Though, I do have to say that I was a good deal less confused this time.
Still. Pure crack.
After that, I caught up on a couple of Who books that I had started and not really gotten anywhere with. The Taking of Planet 5 was...not as bad as I thought when I started it, but still nothing I'm going to go out of my way to recommend. I might understand more if it if I knew more about the Chthulu mythos, but I sincerely doubt it. I definitely understood at least a little bit more because in the intervening time since I set this one down, I'd read Alien Bodies. The story was confusing to say the least, but at least it had Fitz in it, as he rarely fails to amuse me.
The other 'backlog' Who novel was a Missing Adventure, Lords of the Storm starring the Fifth Doctor and Turlough. I ended up enjoying this a good deal more than I had expected. It was a relatively fast-paced story involving the Sontarans and a planet that got caught up in a plot to ensnare their enemies, the Rutan. There was a lot of action, some decent secondary characters, a sprinkling of crack, and I loved the way Turlough was written. This ended up being fun to read.
The final Who book for November was Legacy of the Daleks which I absolutely loved. Seriously, loved. I hadn't looked too closely at it because it was during the tenure of Sam Jones (who I don't really like all that much) but she's not in it at all. It's an Eighth Doctor book showcasing him and...Susan!
The setting is Earth, several decades after the events in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. With so much of its resources and infrastructure destroyed, Britain goes back to a feudal-type society. The Doctor arrives looking for Sam, decides to check in on Susan while he's there, and manages to get caught up in a plot to resurrect the Daleks on Earth. It's a dark story (which may be why I like it so much), but I had a blast reading it. I thought the Doctor was great, I loved every second we spent with Susan and thought the book came to a terrific end. This is definitely going on my list of Who books to re-read.
The final book of the month was the fourth Fullmetal Alchemist light novel, Under the Faraway Sky. Really, two novellas under a single title. The first book was cute, though it used the fanfic convention of a 'childhood friend' OC to compare Ed to. However, the second novella was devoted to Colonel Mustang with secondary roles going to Hughes and Armstrong which earns it a thumbs up from me. Pretty much any story with the three of them would get a thumbs up from me. Really, the main reason to mention it at all is because it makes a nice lead-in to the manga I read. Which...I now believe I will cover in another post as this is becoming absurdly long and I would like to be kind to my LJ friendslist.
Okay, I've kind of been sucked in to the post-Yuletide madness as you will no doubt see when I post my year end totals and the fanfiction reading spikes. To be honest, as much as I love it, I think I need a break from the fic and since the secure server to my office is down...I'm going to get caught up on my reading posts.
Lucky you!
Here are my totals for October:
3 Books - 790 pages (2 new)
Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
Aphrodite by Masaki Yamada
The Natural by Bernard Malamud8 Graphic Novels - 1524 pages (2 new)
Monster 10 by Naoki Urasawa
Monster 11 by Naoki Urasawa
Emma 5 by Kaoru Mori
Tramps Like Us 2 by Yayoi Ogawa
Tramps Like Us 9 by Yayoi Ogawa
Tramps Like Us 10 by Yayoi Ogawa
Tramps Like Us 11 by Yayoi Ogawa
Tramps Like Us 12 by Yayoi OgawaFanfiction - None
Scanlations - 75 pages (none previously read)
Bleach Chapter 293. Urge for Unite by Kubo Tite/M7
Bleach Chapter 294. If You Call Me Beast, Kill You Like Tempest by Kubo Tite/M7
Bleach Chapter 295. The Last Mission by Kubo Tite/M7
Bleach Chapter 296. Changed Again and Again by Kubo Tite/M7Total, Year to date:
Books: 43 - 14804 pages
Graphic Novels: 120 - 23381 pages
Fanfiction: 75 - 137326 words/ 275 pages
Scanlations: 9 volumes, 91 chapters - 3565 pages
Thunderstruck was a book I picked up when it first came out, based on the strength of The Devil in the White City. Thunderstruck is told in a similar manner, by interweaving the story of a murder case and a technological innovation that is inextricably tied to the events. In this case, it was the stories of Dr. Crippen (so famously caught pursued via wireless) and Guglielmo Marconi. The pairing of the two made perfect sense...until I found myself wanting to skip past the Marconi bits to get back to Dr. Crippen.
In the end, I found the book to be uneven. The two stories did not have similar appeal for me, and further, I found myself more or less trying to process events as happening 'side by side' when, often, the wireless telegraphy drama had happened years before much of the action on the Crippen side of things. I enjoyed both stories to some degree, and did enjoy the book as a whole, but am left wondering if I might not have been better served by simply buying a book about the Crippen case*.
Aphrodite was a book that I went out of my way to acquire on the strength of the Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence tie-in novel, After the Long Goodbye. It is, as far as I can tell, the only other book by that author that has been translated in to English and I had high hopes after the quality of After the Long Goodbye which has to be one of the best post-cyberpunk books out there**.
I found myself incredibly disappointed in the story. I wish I could say that it was the fault of a poor translation but I think it may be more that the concepts do not translate well for a Western audience. Or else it's just me, that's also possible.
Aphrodite is the story of a Yuichi, a young man who is drifting through life until he finds his spiritual home on a man-made island named, oddly enough, Aphrodite. The book follows him through different phases in his life, both on and off the island until we reach the final crisis for Aphrodite and the role Yuichi plays in it.
The book never really 'grabbed' me. I felt too removed from Yuichi who, in turn, felt too removed from the world, to really become involved in the story. There was an airy quality about the prose that kept me, as a reader, at arms length. The story itself was interesting, if a bit depressing in the end, but it felt like it had been trying to teach me something and I'm pretty sure it didn't succeed. I honestly wish I could recommend this book, but I can't in good conscience.
The final book I read in October was Bernard Malamud's The Natural. I had been watching the movie adaptation on television and grabbed my copy of the book off the shelf as I ran up to Maryland to visit my brother in the hospital. The story is excellent, if somewhat darker than Barry Levinson's depiction of it in film. In many ways, I prefer this darker, more edged tale of loss, pain and morality to the triumph of spirit we are given on the silver screen. It has certainly earned its reputation as a modern classic.
On the manga side of things, this was when I caught up on Monster volumes 10 and 11 as well as Emma volume 5. I have extensively discussed how much I love these series in the past so I won't bore the world with that again. Also, I seem to have gone through a 'romance' phase immediately after my brother got out of the hospital***. That would account for re-reading all the volumes I own of Tramps Like Us. Which, again, is not anything I need to go into great depth about as I've discussed it before.
And that brings us to a close for October...look forward to my November post sometime this weekend and the December/Year-end Roundup on January 1!
*Also, how cool was it that someone actually took the time to do DNA testing on the preserved remains at Scotland Yard? I have to admit, Dr. Crippen's guilt didn't really shine through for me (despite his wife being completely awful) and I like to think the results support a theory of Belle running off and leaving him.
**Seriously, even if you're not in to Ghost in the Shell, if you like cyberpunk,or post-cyberpunk read this book. You don't need the series to understand it and it kicks that much ass.
***Reading for comfort? Yeah, not terribly surprising.
Hello! And now the post that no-one's been waiting for...the continuation of my book commentary!
In retrospect, I'm not quite sure why I decided to break September into two posts, but here is the long awaited second half of the month. You can look forward to posts for October and November sometime this week and I plan to post my December wrap-up on New Year's Day.
3 Books - 1502 pages (3 new)
His Dark Materials Omnibus Edition by Phillip Pullman
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Love and War by Paul CornellGraphic Novels - None
Fanfiction - 27648 words/ 55 pages
Scanlations - 36 pages (none previously read)
Bleach Chapter 291. Thank You for Defend Me by Kubo Tite/M7
Bleach Chapter 292. Rupture My Replica by Kubo Tite/M7Total, Year to date:
Books: 40 - 14014 pages
Graphic Novels: 112 - 21857 pages
Fanfiction: 75 - 137326 words/ 275 pages
Scanlations: 9 volumes, 87 chapters - 3490 pages
The first 'book' I read in this timeperiod was the omnibus of the His Dark Materials trilogy. I read all three books (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass) back to back in a relatively short period of time. My brother loaned the book to me, insisting that I must read these stories before the film came out. I hemmed and hawed a bit until a close friend of mine who does not get worked up about books easily proclaimed her undying love and affection for these stories -- to the point where we drove to several different local bookstores trying to track down an omnibus edition for her to take overseas.
My reaction was...not nearly that enthusiastic. The books were okay. A fairly decent, if somewhat straightforward, fantasy adventure. In the end, though, the story didn't engage me. I was never left wanting more. I kept feeling as though there were something I was missing based on the number of people who genuinely love this series, but ultimately, I never found it.
The next book I read was one of my own choosing, Kitchen Confidential. As near as I can tell, this was the start of the 'cult of Bourdain' and I wanted to see what it was all about. I have to admit, Kitchen Confidential was one of the better memoirs I have read. Bourdain uses a straightforward style to bare his past and experiences, both good and bad, and opens up a world that exists just on the other side of the kitchen doors at your favorite restaurant. I enjoyed every second of the time I spent reading it and was only disappointed because it went so fast.
The final book of September was Paul Cornell's Love and War. It is another Doctor Who book set immediately after the book I had just finished. I'm not going to go over it in any detail, but my impression several months later is still one of disappointment. The book just wasn't that good. Ace deserved a better sendoff and Benny deserved a better beginning.
Since I don't normally discuss the fic I read, it looks like that's all for now. Expect more soooon!
