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What I've recently finished since my last post:
Poems of Places volume VIII -- there's not enough last bits of Scotland to fill out a volume, so miscellaneous Scandinavia was tucked into the remaining space like packing material. The Iceland section is particularly thin, starting with a burst of American cultural imperialism ("We claim thee kindred, call thee mother, / O land of saga, steel, and song!") plus only one local poet in translation -- the other countries manage a bit more than that. OTOH, this is an amusing bit of fairy lore, where the mortal price for interrupting a night-long fairy revel is -- to be tired from pulling an all-nighter. Ooo-kaythen.
Mushoku Tensei ("unemployed transmigration") volume 1 by Rifujin na Magonote ("irrational backscratcher" -- is there a pun I'm not getting or is that just an obvious pseud of silliness?), in which 34-year-old hikikomori at the end of his rope dies saving the lives of some strangers and is reincarnated as a newborn infant in a fantasy world with memories intact, whereupon he resolves to reverse the mistakes of previous life and do things right this time. A self-published web-novel picked up for print, and I see why it's popular. I can't actually recommend it, though, as much of the humor comes from the incongruity of a small boy with the knowledge and attitudes of a thirtysomething otaku perv -- which often means being deliberately offensive for the funnies, including a backstory rape being treated as only marginally problematic. I may try the next volume to see whether deepens this schtick or abandons it as part of character growth.
Gakusen Toshi Asterisk volume 5, which picks up with the battle interrupted by the end of the previous installment and finally completes the first tournament arc. Plot all too predictable (very few tournament arcs use original plots) but the story was enjoyable nonetheless. Excellent teamwork.
What I'm reading now:
Mandan no Ô to Vanadis volume 9, also picking up mid-battle. I'm not in love with the amnesia plot, mostly because we spend too much time outside the amnesiac's head -- as one of the primary POV characters, to boot. Needs more of title characters.
Shadow Unit season 4 by Emma Bull, Elizabeth Bear, et al. As usual, of all the co-authors, Bear's stories pulls their punches the least, but Bull's are consistently the best-written, making them the most effective. It is probably just as well the original 5-season structure wasaborted modified, given the dialation of deadlines. Will see how well they wrap up the mystery, which I have hopes of given the slow movements by episode of the myth arc.
The Jolliest School of All -- yes, stupid title, but I found a stash of unread Angela Brazil novels and decided the day was as rainy as any other. This one is set altogether outside Britain, in a boarding school in Naples catering to the daughters of Anglo-American families there on business. Just as popcorn as the rest of her schoolgirl stories, and so far just as more-or-less successful.
Poems of Places volume XXIV: Africa. Oh dear, this one's dire. As in worse than Asia. That it's two-thirds ancient Egypt neither rescues nor redeems the exoticized slaves and noble savages that otherwise abound (sometimes, in the abolitionist tracks, both at once). The 1870s were not, it seems, a good time for sensitive handling of the region, even by those who considered themselves enlightened.
Continuing through Dragons and Other Fantastic Creatures in Origami by John Montroll -- less of these will become part of my standard repertoire than Mythological Creatures, but there's still enough good ones to make this a clear go-to book. Plus I also started folding from Kusudama Origami by Ekaterina Lukasheva (which may not have a Cabbage Rose but it does several other interestingly swirly and spiky shapes) and Origami Animal Sculptures by John Szinger (not yet published but advance copies were available at Origami USA).
What I might read next:
More light novels and poetry would be the obvious guess, based on past experience. Possibly Emily of New Moon since that's perked my interest a little.
---L.
Poems of Places volume VIII -- there's not enough last bits of Scotland to fill out a volume, so miscellaneous Scandinavia was tucked into the remaining space like packing material. The Iceland section is particularly thin, starting with a burst of American cultural imperialism ("We claim thee kindred, call thee mother, / O land of saga, steel, and song!") plus only one local poet in translation -- the other countries manage a bit more than that. OTOH, this is an amusing bit of fairy lore, where the mortal price for interrupting a night-long fairy revel is -- to be tired from pulling an all-nighter. Ooo-kaythen.
Mushoku Tensei ("unemployed transmigration") volume 1 by Rifujin na Magonote ("irrational backscratcher" -- is there a pun I'm not getting or is that just an obvious pseud of silliness?), in which 34-year-old hikikomori at the end of his rope dies saving the lives of some strangers and is reincarnated as a newborn infant in a fantasy world with memories intact, whereupon he resolves to reverse the mistakes of previous life and do things right this time. A self-published web-novel picked up for print, and I see why it's popular. I can't actually recommend it, though, as much of the humor comes from the incongruity of a small boy with the knowledge and attitudes of a thirtysomething otaku perv -- which often means being deliberately offensive for the funnies, including a backstory rape being treated as only marginally problematic. I may try the next volume to see whether deepens this schtick or abandons it as part of character growth.
Gakusen Toshi Asterisk volume 5, which picks up with the battle interrupted by the end of the previous installment and finally completes the first tournament arc. Plot all too predictable (very few tournament arcs use original plots) but the story was enjoyable nonetheless. Excellent teamwork.
What I'm reading now:
Mandan no Ô to Vanadis volume 9, also picking up mid-battle. I'm not in love with the amnesia plot, mostly because we spend too much time outside the amnesiac's head -- as one of the primary POV characters, to boot. Needs more of title characters.
Shadow Unit season 4 by Emma Bull, Elizabeth Bear, et al. As usual, of all the co-authors, Bear's stories pulls their punches the least, but Bull's are consistently the best-written, making them the most effective. It is probably just as well the original 5-season structure was
The Jolliest School of All -- yes, stupid title, but I found a stash of unread Angela Brazil novels and decided the day was as rainy as any other. This one is set altogether outside Britain, in a boarding school in Naples catering to the daughters of Anglo-American families there on business. Just as popcorn as the rest of her schoolgirl stories, and so far just as more-or-less successful.
Poems of Places volume XXIV: Africa. Oh dear, this one's dire. As in worse than Asia. That it's two-thirds ancient Egypt neither rescues nor redeems the exoticized slaves and noble savages that otherwise abound (sometimes, in the abolitionist tracks, both at once). The 1870s were not, it seems, a good time for sensitive handling of the region, even by those who considered themselves enlightened.
Continuing through Dragons and Other Fantastic Creatures in Origami by John Montroll -- less of these will become part of my standard repertoire than Mythological Creatures, but there's still enough good ones to make this a clear go-to book. Plus I also started folding from Kusudama Origami by Ekaterina Lukasheva (which may not have a Cabbage Rose but it does several other interestingly swirly and spiky shapes) and Origami Animal Sculptures by John Szinger (not yet published but advance copies were available at Origami USA).
What I might read next:
More light novels and poetry would be the obvious guess, based on past experience. Possibly Emily of New Moon since that's perked my interest a little.
---L.