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chzdavmpr · 2 months

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Delicious in Dungeon Reading Diary Vol 5

Spoilers below, obviously

Oh so we are getting right into Falin weirdness off rip.

I called it that this person was the mad mage.

Hmm. So they recognize Laios, but know it's from within a painting that they recognize him. I'm surprised but I think that actually fully explains how the painting work. I guess it's time for a big rant on my guess as to how living painting work. If you don't care skip this paragraph. Ok so the mad mage made the paintings to trap people and it seems like whenever someone enters them a scene starts playing like a tape, except that people trapped inside can interact with things. These recordings are of things that actually happened, and the people within them act roughly how they actually did. However the mad mage is the exception to this. It seems that they can either perceive through the scenes of their painting counterpart or just know everything that happens in the painting. It also seems that they can choose to override their painting counterpart's recorded actions and take control of them, allowing them to know that laios was in all the paintings. This I'm a bit iffy on because if I recall they seem to think Laios is some kind of kingdom infiltrator in the painting which wouldn't quite line up but it's the best I got. Additionally you can draw/paint extra stuff onto the painting and it will be sentient but won't be in the painting proper, just kinda in a plane on top of the painting, or maybe that's just because Laios drew bad. Either way that is a lot, but hopefully this is the last time I should spend way too long talking about living paintings.

Very funny how the label follows them. I also love Senshi's face of "what the hell man those are my hams"

Oh so since Falin was made with the dragon's flesh and blood she is the dragon. Wait does this mean Falin is dead forever? I sure hope not.

I'm skipping over most of the next 3 chapters, I'll get to them in my final thoughts.

Wow this samurai guy is having just an awful time.

So senshi probably got the cheese from the orcs. But I should mention I've also been watching the anime with some friends as it comes out. And one of them has a huge pet peeve about every time they have oil in the dish, since he says they should've run out forever ago. I'm not bothered by it at all, and find it very funny how he reacts every time oil is on screen. The reason I bring this up now is if this cheese is seen more then just this once he is gonna blow his gourd and it will be very funny.

Senshi giving Chilchuck "the talk" is so funny that I literally got light head from laughing.

It's very cool that Laios is learning magic. I feel a lot of stories wouldn't do that just because he's "the fighter" and Marcille is "the wizard" and they would have to stay as those archetypes.

The art in this whole series is great. I love the way the cockatrice is drawn here.

It may have been fine if it didn't come right after another whole chapter where Chilchuck recaps the story so far like there's been a hiatus and they wanna make sure you remember everything.

Man this chapter is on a roll with these A+ panels

I somehow only just now, while taking the above picture, that the chapter called cleaners has the characters dressed up as cleaners. That's cute and I may be a little stupid.

Ok so I was gonna say this this guy may be Delgal hiding, since we saw that the mad mage is looking for him.

But then I remembered; isn't the whole backstory for the golden city that it's king told of the mad mage and then died? Cause that would make it kinda hard to find him.

But then now when I'm composing this I'm remembering that the dungeon doesn't allow people to die, so either he died right outside or that story was wrong. Hmmm.

Seriously every panel with Shuro has him look like the worlds most depressed man.

He's practically sinking into the earth.

You know in retrospect, if the Dungeon Gormet Guide was a bunch of lies and guesses it's awfully lucky that it's happened to be right about what is and is not poisonous. (Or which tentacles' swelling can be reduced with vinegar)

To conclude my thoughts on this volume, that first chapter is great. I was a little worried about what the next plot hook would be but it delivered. They just show straight up that the elf is the lord of the dungeon. And they introduce the mystery of "what is going on with falin." But then it spends 2 whole chapters just telling us stuff we already know. Like it was kinda cool seeing the B Team piece together who A Team is with limited knowledge, but other then the stuff about Shuro there wasn't much new or interesting.

And then the party is just trapped on the 5th floor the entire volume, I imagine because next volume their plans will change and they won't want to go back to the surface and the author wanted to avoid too much backtracking. Which I get, but it ends up feeling like a bunch of these chapters are just kinda killing time until the B team shows up.

That being said, still a great volume of manga. Probably the weakest so far, but only because it's a like a 4.5 instead of a 4.75 or 5.

#chz reads #manga #reading diary #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi

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redwolfruari · 5 months

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How Thingol managed to score a Maia will forever remain one of the greatest mysteries in all of Tolkien lore

#how #tolkien #the silmarillion #reading diary

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cartograffiti · 2 months

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February '24 reading diary

I finished 19 books in February, which sounded like a mistake until I realized I read most of them as audiobooks while doing manual tasks. It's always nice when my ears are on my side (says someone with a hearing disorder).

I like poetry, but I don't read enough to feel knowledgeable about it. I've been trying to read a bit from various countries, and after I enjoyed the Pablo Neruda collection so much in January, I went on to read three other poetry books.

Khalil Gibran's The Prophet is one of those works that I've seen quoted out of context so much that I was shocked to discover I didn't actually know what it's about. It's a series of prose poetry fables with a linking plot in which the titular prophet converses with the people of a city he is departing about different aspects of life. A lot of it is really beautiful and thought-provoking, and I thought it was great. It's become a popular source of quotes for weddings and inspirational goods, but I was surprised and moved to find it's also a text about multi-faith unity; Gibran was Lebanese, and Lebanon had and has striking diversity of religions.

I also really enjoyed The Poetess Counts to 100 and Bows Out, a collection by the important Venezuelan poet Ana Enriqueta Terán. I find her wordplay unusual and her subjects interesting, and even in translation, I found her work to give a powerful sense of humor and hopefulness, and a gift for creating a scene.

I did not enjoy Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey. Kaur is one of the most famous living poets, and I had read so much praise and disdain for her work that I wanted to form my own opinion. There are turns of phrase I really liked, and it is laid out in an interesting way that means some related poems could be read either distinctly or as sections of a longer thought, which I found neat. But I found myself so grumpy the more I read of it that I ended up also reading a lot about Kaur and other people's analysis of her work, trying to contextualize why I bounced so hard off it. Many critics wrote about trying to separate her style from her content, and chose to praise just one or the other, but I am critical of both. Her style lacks personality that would tell me it was her work as opposed to any other poet's, and her content is full of basic, played-out sentiments of popular feminism and bathetic viral posts. Being reminded of "take me to a museum and then make out with me," "but they said not to touch the masterpieces," is not what I'd hoped for out of this. I do think it's a good thing and a strength of Kaur's that she is able to speak to so many people's common experiences through her clarity and intimate tone; it's a shame it didn't click with me. And unlike several professional opinions I read, I think she's completely entitled to write poetry that is not all self-revealing confessional pieces; that should not be something we demand of any art form. But it's a shame some of her verses suggest that certain kinds of shame and violence are a collective and integral part of womanhood and South Asian identity. She's only a little older than I am, and we were both students when she wrote these. I wonder whether her recent work is more sophisticated. I'm not motivated to find out.

The title of the Kaur book reminded me of some enthusiastic praise I'd read for Mary Robinette Kowal's Regency fantasy romance Shades of Milk and Honey, and I found that disappointing, too. I almost liked it; there's some great bits about making art with magic, and it's a good little world. The most interesting character doesn't get enough page time, a lot of secondary characters feel like flat loans from Austen, and the late-book resolution was forced and rushed.

In the Emelan group read, we finished! We read Melting Stones, an Evvy-centered book that I really enjoyed until it became repetitive in the second half, and feel pretty mild about, and The Will of the Empress, reuniting all the original kids as older teens, which I thought was just great. Pierce in top form, and one of the best of this setting.

Lois McMaster Bujold has a new Penric & Desdemona novella out that I haven't been able to borrow yet, but in the meantime I discovered there was one I missed. Penric is a physician mage devoted to an unusual god, which means he's benignly possessed by his demon friend Desdemona, and they have adventures and solve mysteries. This one was Knot of Shadows, about a puzzling corpse and curses. Great fun. Don't start here.

In the land of romance, I've been really enjoying Mimi Matthews's Belles of London series, about a friend group of interesting Victorian horse girls, so I read The Lily of Ludgate Hill as soon as I could. These are no-sex but sexy books with a lot of skill. I've been easily invested in each couple so far, the friends are well integrated into each other's lives even after resolving their own storylines, and their new beaus are introduced smoothly. More than that, there is a lot of consideration for the social issues and new ideas of the period. My favorite is still the first, but Anne and Felix have a strong second chance romance backstory and they're fun to see squabble and cooperate.

More romance: I finished another Gail Carriger novella, this time Defy or Defend. Dimity Plumleigh-Teignmott in the Finishing School series was only learning to be a spy because her evil genius parents wanted it. Her actual dream was to marry a nice politician of not too much importance and be a domestic goddess and social power. Now an adult working for the government, her professional partner is also her perfect man, and she hopes he'll admit to mutual feelings while they're on a mission to rescue a vampire hive from dangerous disintegration. It's very much a Cold Comfort Farm or The Grand Sophy plot of a cheerful girl solving everyone's problems, which is perfect for Dimity: I love her and I love this premise. Felix's internal conflict is a bit of a nonentity, but I don't care, he's too busy adoring Dimity and taking the trans vampire to buy new clothes.

And the last romance for the month, The Companion by E.E. Ottoman. An extraordinarily efficient novella about Madeline, a writer whose spirit has been crushed by trying to break into the industry in NYC in the 1940s. A friend arranges for her to go stay with Victor, a successful author lonely in a too-big inherited house upstate. She is quickly attracted to both him and his artist neighbor Audrey, and they adore her. All three are trans, and the core of the plot is Madeline navigating these new relationships while settling into the unfamiliar safety and encouragement offered to her. In Madeline's POV, Ottoman very much treats the poly triangle as two distinct romances and a third observed at a close distance, which means doing about 2.5 times the work of most. I went wild for the execution, which felt like magic. You do have to like reading about people trying to write and cooking, which fortunately I do. Highly recommended.

A very different book about a writer that I was impressed with this month is Malice by Higashino Keigo. In translation, this is the "first" of a longer detective series that I can't remember where I heard about. That was to my advantage, because I wasn't primed for the premise, alternating between the deductions of Detective Kaga and witness statements. It quickly becomes apparent who did it, fitting best into the why-dunnit class, and using my expectations as a mystery fan against me. Higashino does not idly use an author as one of the POV characters; his profession creates a surprise that taught me something about how writing works mechanically. Very cool.

Also a book about books: Sunyi Dean's The Book Eaters. My oldest friend and I both listened to this as the audiobook wonderfully read by Katie Erich, and we both complained that the interview in the bonus material killed a little of the mystery for us. Despite that, we loved the main character, Devon, and it's full of interesting ideas. It's about a group of families who eat information instead of food. It's about...fairy tales and it has a unique form of dragon and vampire myths and a slow-burn escape from Christian cults. It's about figuring out you're gay when you're already a parent. It's weird and fascinating and upsetting. I think Dean made very smart choices about when to reveal information through flashbacks, and I think Dean sometimes over-explains things to the reader in the narration that would have been stronger if I was left to interpret them myself. L and I both think we'd be interested in another Sunyi Dean book, but not a sequel to this one. It is a complete concept.

I feel that way about Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi, too. This one is a fantasy heist with lots of backstory starring Shigidi, who is a kind of minor nightmare god, and Nnemoa, who is a kind of succubus. They have gone freelance, breaking from the corporation of Orisha and taking their own jobs through the living and spirit worlds. I particularly like Nnemoa's backstory chapters and the heist, but Aleister Crowley is involved for some reason and much less repulsive than in real life, and I was disappointed the heist is a pretty brief element. I'd like to read another Talabi book, though, and this was the first adult book I've read that features the orishas of the Yoruba religion which have been a welcome part of several recent YA fantasy books.

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is not the Zen Cho book I thought it was when I checked it out, but I'm glad to have read it. It's a wuxia novella about a nun and some bandits involved in rebellion, told with a lot of humor and thoughtfulness about the role of holy objects through the POV of a trans bandit with his own history with the nun's order. I love Cho's style!

That was a one-sitting project audiobook, as was a full-cast play recording of The Importance of Being Earnest. This is a sensational play that I had put off reading because I thought it had probably been overhyped. It hadn't. This is the source of a lot of Oscar Wilde's best quotes, and it's a jewel of drawing-room comedy and dialogue that operates on multiple levels of significance. I'm glad I happened to listen to actors doing it, which I wasn't expecting when I tapped on the first audiobook that came up.

More old books: I found an Agatha Christie mystery I didn't like! How sad! This was The Big Four, a series of spy short stories starring Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings, compiled together into a loose novel. The effect is somewhat disjointed, and not every story shows her ingenuity. It's full of 20th century political paranoia of conspiracies and spies, with anti-Asian racism and antisemitic tropes I can often count on Christie to avoid or subvert.

And Steppenwolf, by Herman Hesse, which is a very strange and influential work of literary fiction about a man who believes--not to minimize it by putting it this way--that he has a secret wolf-self inside him, much like certain middle schoolers of my acquaintance. The edition I listened to opens with a letter from Hesse in which he remarks that this book is frequently misunderstood, which I will admit put my back up. Maybe there's stuff in your book you didn't intend, Herman! I enjoyed its vagueness, I adored the complexity embodied by Harry Haller's friend/alter-ego/mother/girlfriend/boyfriend Hermine, and I got a lot out of reading literary analysis that gave me better context for the transmigration of souls and Jungian theory. It also suffers from didactic passages, racism and antisemitism, and dogmatism about artistic quality. Very worth reading, difficult to say whether I "liked" the book.

Carrying on with Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond books, I went straight from GK into Queens' Play, which I loved every moment of. It's easier to read than the first book, as she pulled back on stylized spellings and puzzling quotations, without losing any sparkle or punch. It's sooo fun. It's sooo distressing. Spies! Plots! Assassins! Disguises! Escapes! Messy bisexuals! I told my Lymond friends this book was funnier, but that feels like the wrong word for some of the things that happen in it. Giggling and kicking my feet and crying.

And a book I am very solidly neutral on: The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros, full of vibrant personality and a great premise, but the plot gets in its own way in complexity and the pacing was a real struggle for my taste. The core cast is really strongly varied Jewish immigrant characters in Chicago in the 1890s, some teens have been murdered, there's a dybbuk, and gay kissing. I think I would have enjoyed it more when I was a teen; some YA takes me that way.

#This February fit a lot of February into it #reading diary #bookblr

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wishblown · 10 months

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It was all so sad. But it was all so beautiful, too.

— Kurt Vonnegut; The Sirens of Titan

May Reads!

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice — 3.5/5: mixed feelings about this one. beautiful prose imo but parts of this just drag on and on and Louis’ background in the book is not properly addressed for what it is imo, like he’s a product of his time (I guess? idk) but the way it’s written and portrayed even as ‘time moves on’ from a contemporary author is kinda yikes at times and not super well handled I think.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk — 4.75/5: such a fun read!!!! I’d watched the movie before reading the book so I knew the twist already but that didn’t really take away from the experience. big fan of Palahniuk’s style as well. changed me a lil tbh

Illness as Metaphor & AIDS and Its Metaphors by Susan Sontag — 5/5: no surprise this is cited so often, the opening paragraph (illness as the nightside of life that we all hold dual citizenship to etc) is already so memorable and eye-opening, setting the tone for the rest of the novel. a really informative thought-provocating read. made me confront some of my own prejudices and preconceptions as well that I didn't even know I held previously. Sontag's writing isn't always "easy" to untangle imo especially if you’re not a native speaker or super familiar with the subject but it’s so worth it to intentionally go over what shes saying to try and really understand it, to really try and engage with the text.

The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut — 5/5: loved this one sm I had to write a whole personal essay about it, like this book would not let me go. I’m officially a Vonnegut stan now, sorry. I’m down bad. He just gets it, and I get what he gets and is trying to tell us. Like, we’re in this together. Reading reviews of his books (especially Sirens) and just shaking my head bc they’re all so wrong. He’s inside my brain and I’m just relaying to everyone what we’re both thinking when I review and analyse his books. I know I’m obnoxious and annoying and whatever but it is what it is. Vonnegut is mine now.

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noodledesk · 11 months

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my toxic trait is adding more books to my e reader in one day than i can finish in months

#diary #reading diary

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kaleninya · 7 months

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Reading Crimson Rivers, Chapter 32

Never would’ve expected to get such an emotional gut punch from someone casually mentioning a bookshelf but here we are.

Also I got jumpscared by Riddle chillin‘ in Reggie‘s kitchen with his fucking horcrux hornet.

I‘m not okay.

#crimson rivers #reading diary #mild spoilers #crimson rivers spoilers #chapter 32

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leiyahime · 7 months

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Reading Diary - Farseer Trilogy Part 06

Chapter 7

In the aftermath of Chivalry's death Burrich breaks down, shaves Fitz's hair to symbolize mourning (which Fitz doesn't. He's never even met his father, so whom should he mourn?) Chade later tells him, it was an unwise thing for Burrich to do, as it seems like Chivalry's death was more than just "fell off his horse". Fitz suspects Queen Desire behind it but Chade tells him to be careful not to fixate too much on one possible culprit.

There's much politics going on which may or may not also play a part in it. rn I find it a little bit confusing but I hope I will see clearer later on.

Burrich starts to teach Fitz etiquette as he is supposed to accompany his uncle Verity on a journey and he needs to learn how to deal with the fine ladies and gentlemen.

He also meets teh fool (interesting guy? Also don't know what to think of him yet and haven't formed an opinion, but I don't think he's as stupid as he pretends)

And then another deep talk to Chade about the upcoming journey where Fitz is supposed to find out why some duke leaves some watchtower unmanned so that villages can easily be raided... and possibly kill the duke if it's done on intention.

I'm alrady halfway through the next chapter. But work keeps me from spinning so I'm slowwe now..

#reading diary #farseer trilogy #assassin's apprentice #leiya reads

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beauty-is-terrror · 1 year

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When Richard has his first encounter with the group it seems like the only person happy about someone else studying Greek is Bunny.

The silence after Bunny tells Richard to talk to Julian again about joining their Greek class. They wanted their little group to stay like that, but Bunny would have probably opened that class to everyone interested.

They viewed Richard as a threat to their exclusive club. Little did they know ...

#the secret history #donna tartt #reading diary

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mikazuki-juuichi · 1 year

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Reading Diary

- Survival Street. 4 issues. James Asmus, Jim Festante, et al.

In the very near future, assorted companies have gained more and more ground and 'rights' --now they control all politics. Every state belongs to a particular corporation. Entertainment is pure open propaganda. Edutainment for children is dead --but not their actors! There are still children to save --literally and figuratively. There are so many bad guys to not just bring down but whose public image needs to be carefully dismantled. And there are a few sellouts to deal with, too...

What could have easily become yet another example of those embarassingly puerile takes on famous children's media (Blood and Honey; The twisted world of Oz; Velma; The Banana Splits movie; etc etc) instead is revealed to be a surprisingly smart comic --and yes, smart is the word. The over-the-top covers parodying famous Sesame St. characters do not remotely do justice to the world within --a world in which immigrant children are forced to fight out-of-control wildfires in California; where the governor of Texas wants to implement a law that will allow toddlers to carry weapons; where out-of-control celebrities and internet personalities have fully bought into their self-made hype.

The comic is not without a couple misses here and there -- the analogy about colonization somewhat falls flat on its face due to the insistence of making it the island where puppets apparently come from. The climax can seem just a touch too convenient...

...but all in all the moments of hope amidst the despair of so-real-it's-hardly-satire feel earned. On the whole a comic more than worth checking out.

#Reading Diary #survival street #dark horse comics #comics #satire

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mobloomspell · 7 months

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I am making it my mission in life to get everyone to read Hiraeth - The end of the journey by Yuhki Kamatani. It's complete at 3 volumes and I love everything about it, it's perfect.

After the death of her friend, Mika feels there is nothing else for her but to follow after. Her attempt to die, however, brings her into the path of a forgotten god and immortal man, and the three set off to Shimane prefecture, where they may enter the land of the dead.

While this is a story willing to delve into the intensity of grief or death anxiety, it also has points of relishing in how life can be absurd and it can be the smallest things that matter the most to us. It's poignant without ever feeling artificially saccharine or melodramatic. And it's Yuhki Kamatani so the art is gorgeous, their use of abstract spreads and visual metaphor makes for one of the best reading experiences I've had in a while. It helps that Mika is ironically one of the most vibrant protagonists I've encountered in my limited manga catalogue, but most of the characters are enjoyable in surprisingly grounded ways.

More than anything, even when it finally moved me to tears, the story always felt comforting, and I want to share that with other people.

The English edition is digital only right now (my example pics are from a fan translation because I couldn't get them otherwise) but if it sells well, it's possible Kodansha will release print copies in the future. I need this manga in print, I need it to have the most beautifully produced adaptation ever made, I need everyone in the world to read this manga!

#hiraeth wa tabiji no hate #hiraeth the end of the journey #reading diary

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chzdavmpr · 2 months

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Delicious in Dungeon Reading Diary Vol 4

Spoilers below

First thing I notice about this volume is that the red dragon is very central on the front and back cover, and the table on contents has 6 chapters of red dragon.

Also while I'm talking about the volume cover I gotra say I love the art on these things

Like they look like they make food/wash dishes WHILE fighting the monsters, and Senshi is just doing a little mario hop with his fried rice. And all of the other covers have been similarly pleasant. Plus I love how the red boarder helps add both visual cohesion between volumes as well a nice bit of flair that helps it stand out amongst other manga.

That's how they teleported out of the dungeon? I was expecting the flash of light thing Falin did. Could it be that their gear wouldn't come with them? I don't think so if they kept their stuff on them. Must just be different methods.

Also this might be more evidence for my "living paintings are time portals" theory. Not quite sure yet.

It's very smart to go over the rules of death and resurrection in more detail now, considering what the whole point of this mission is. It both keeps stakes alive and adds tension to if Falin can even be revived.

Go off, King.

I've seen this panel before, I did NOT expect it to be in such tense context.

And the dragon is down! I gotta say that was some excellent action, all the tactics were creative, both made sense for the characters to use, as well as made sense why they failed. Plus it was just really cool, the ending bit with Laios getting his leg bit especially.

Quite morbid how Laios is basically just doing a fun jigsaw puzzle with his own sister's bones.

DON'T SHOW THE NUTRITIONAL INFO!!!

Wait are they seriously not gonna tell Falin about how she was a skeleton for like a month? Like when someone asks "did I died" I feel one of the worst things you can say is "don't worry about it." Maybe it's just a translation thing idk.

Falin no longer having brockitis* anymore is significant. It will be very relevant. I feel it in my bones.

*brockitis: a term used by the anime community to describe a character with perpetually closed eyes, named after Brock from Pokemon

I'm sorry, you have NO follow up questions? Cause I sure have a few; what resident, this place is abandoned? Or that's one of the fake doors so how was there someone there? Or were they a ghost? Laios is not beating the himbo allegations.

YOU!

Honestly it's good news to see this guy. Partially cause it's a cool new plothook, but more importantly some of my living painting questions might be answered!

I just think the mermaid is drawn real cute here.

Laios had a whole 2-second crisis over being a fake dragon fan.

Closing thoughts for the volume: the best so far. 10/10. Not only does it finish off the overarching plot so far with a really cool action scene, but sets up a lot of questions to get answered later. Plus the tension is really well done, pretty much from the point in the first chapter where they explain there are limits to resurrection to the point where Falin speaks a complete sentence there was that gripping sense of both danger and uncertainty, it makes it gripping enough to where I decently easily finished this volume in 1 sitting. While I think the coming volume or 2 will have to some work to get me invested in the next adventure I am more then confident that it can be done.

#chz reads #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi #manga #reading diary

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redwolfruari · 2 months

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Finished the secret history- it was amazing. Ironic how one of the themes is how superficial Julian is, how he fails to see beyond the beauty of something - how he can’t grasp deeper themes (and how that’s a bad thing). Yet The Secret History kinda sparked the whole ‘dark academia’ aesthetic movement lmao.

#my english is too bad to properly express what I mean lmao #anyway #I tried #don’t come for me #the secret history #my posts #reading diary

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cartograffiti · 13 hours

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The books I read for the StoryGraph's Genre Challenge 2024

For a nonfiction book about food and/or drink...I read Tasting History by Max Miller. A straightforward choice, recipes and history by a YouTuber I have enjoyed.

For a historical novel set before 1900...I read The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett. Set beginning in 1547!

For a biography or memoir about/by a musician...I read Behind the Seams by Dolly Parton with Holly George-Warren and Rebecca Seaver. A memoir all about clothes people have made for Dolly over her career, also featuring hair and wig styling and make-up artists.

For manga...I read Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 1 by Shirahama Kamome (translated by Stephen Kohler). Another easy fit!

For a thriller or crime novel in translation...I read Malice by Higashino Keigo (translated by Alexander O. Smith). From Japanese, one of the Detective Kaga novels.

For a nonfiction book about psychology...I read On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz. An inexact fit; this book is also about nature, design and social habits.

For a science fiction or dystopian book by a woman or nonbinary author...I read A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. A robot and a monk in the far future, on an alien moon.

For a middle grade book with queer representation...I read Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce. I have a feeling I wouldn't have counted this as middle grade if I hadn't just read those of the Emelan books that aim closer to that age group. The other Circle Reforged books reinforce that trio being YA, but that wasn't part of my initial takeaway from BM, so I'll stick to it!

For a short story collection by a Black author...I read Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor. The stories in this collection interlink, and I saw more than one take that they shouldn't therefore count as short stories, which I was happy to find is, in this case, silly. Chapters are a different creature.

For a debut literary or contemporary fiction novel...I read Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Sutanto's first book, this is a genre-straddler, but it's most neatly in contemporary.

I liked or loved all of these! The Dunnett, Shirahama, and Chambers books have sequels I have been devouring as well, and Malice impressed me so much I look forward to trying more Higashino.

On Looking is the book I'm least likely to recommend, with a caveat--I think some of the writing, as it transcribes conversations, only worked for me because I listened to the audiobook. It did work!

The memoir prompt pushed me the most out of my usual reading habits. I was also delighted to have a push back into reading manga, which I hadn't dipped into for several years. And the prompt I had the most fun looking for an eligible book was the crime novel in translation! This was a pleasant, easy challenge, but still specific enough to be inspiring.

#bookblr #StoryGraph Genre Challenge #reading diary #special edition extra extra I finished a challenge

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wishblown · 11 months

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The Great Question before us is: Are we doomed? The Great Question before us is: Will the Past release us? The Great Question before us is: Can we Change? In Time? And we all desire that Change will come.

— Tony Kushner; Angels in America

March Reads!

Closer Baby Closer by Savannah Brown — 5/5: Sav Brown you did it again <3 def my most anticipated release of the year (preordered a signed copy last year hehe) and it did not disappoint! not sure if it's better than Sweetdark but why pit them against each other??? Brown is a genius, a miracle worker, the one whose poetry I always send to my gf (ty sm for Sex poem), she truly is for the lovers, the no longer lovers, the longers, and for anyone looking up at the stars and feeling horny. will re-read this so so so many times just like Sweetdark

On Photography by Susan Sontag — 4.5/5: ‘must read’ for anyone who’s interested in photography even the least bit!!!! besides Sontag’s writing just generally being incredible, this is just such a good source on the complex history of the art and ‘non-art’ (!) of photography and what it does to both the photographers and their subjects. informative and never boring.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides — 4/5: has anything ever depicted the male gaze better fr; just a group a boys romanticising and stalking a group of sisters who’re in a desperate situation and grieving the death of their sister to the point they cannot even help them bc they’re so obsessed with the fantasy world they’ve created for these girls and themselves in their minds, just men being men </3

The Employees by Olga Ravn — 3.5/5: this one was different! not your usual scifi I suppose. I enjoyed the style of the logged interviews of the different crew members that slowly revealed the plot yet never fully and also let you see some personality and reoccurring characters even though they were anonymous. compelling story and questions asked — who’s human? what’s human? can you become human? what do you gain, what do you lose? — in a somewhat new light

Der Richter und sein Henker (The Judge and His Hangman) by Friedrich Dürrenmatt — 3.5/5: I’m a Dürrenmatt girl I have to admit :/ this one wasn’t my favourite of his (not as much depth to the story perhaps?) but still very enjoyable and a typical Dürrenmatt plot twist and character types

Angels in America by Tony Kushner — 5/5: absolutely incredible. if you haven’t read this, please please do. beautiful writing, great characters, great insight into lgbt history. looking into seeing this actually played on stage now.

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