Wednesday Reading Meme
What are you currently reading
Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer. The last book in the series. Like the other books (which I read a couple years ago) I'm very entertained by it, but don't really have much to say.
What did you recently finish reading?
Rensen Hana no Koe Yowa by Sumeragi Natsuki. A a single volume shoujo collection of connected oneshots (and I believe technically a sequel to another single-volume series by the same author) based on folklore from the Tang Dynasty. The stories are connected by a somewhat hapless man and his wife, who is actually a flower goddess. The first story is somewhat dull, involving a young scholar stealing a poem to pad his own portfolio, but the second and third stories are more mythological, one about a man who tried to cultivate a rare flower, not knowing his wife was a flower fairy, and the other about a goddess exiled to Earth as a human for rejecting the emperor. The last story isn't connected to the others and is about a man who cheats on his jealous wife with a fox demon and suffers for it. I enjoyed the midle stories a lot, and the bookending ones less so, though they weren't bad by any means.
Hoshi ni Haru Hi by Suzuki Julietta. Another collection of shoujo one-shots, this one by the mangaka of Kamisama Kiss. These are Suzuki's earlier works, and it shows in the art, though not necessarily in a bad way. Almost all the stories are "hello, I am a cute and odd little ball of fluff with a side of angst. No, wait, now I'm a giant inferno of angst and it's time to wrap things up." Suzuki's fondness for cute semi-tragic demon boys/spirits is very evident here (she also seems to like cute oddball vampire boys), and there are some elements that probably eventually grew into Kamisama Kiss. Overall I found it pretty enjoyable, and the stories a bit more original than a lot of shoujo one-shot collections.
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford. A slow start, but very enjoyable and interesting in the long run, tracing the Mongol Empire from 1206-1509 primarily through Genghis Khan's female descendants. Very much worth reading, except that I cannot stress enough warnings for the 5th chapter "War Against Women," which details various tortures and horrific executions in the years following Genghis Khan's death, primarily of women. It's factual and to the point and serves a purpose in covering the history, and not remotely prurient, but my brain so did not need to know about those methods.
Sakuran by Moyoco Anno. A single (but extra-long) volume seinen manga about the life of Kyoha, a fictional (as far as I know) Oiran of the Edo era. I feel like the mangaka read or watched Menoirs of a Geisha and went "ok, why don't I show you what life in the kind of environment you claim to be portraying would ACTUALLY be like." It's very detailed and fascinating, but also rather depressing and not light reading at all. Warning for lots of graphic sex and nudity, not all of it consentual. (And not meant to be titillating when it isn't.)
What do you think you'll read next?
I will hopefully start either Legend of the White-Haired Demoness or Journey to the West. Probably more manga. I want to get back to reading actual series and hopefully start catching up with some series, but right now, I seem to mostly want very short manga. I also have library books checked out, mostly non-fiction.
Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer. The last book in the series. Like the other books (which I read a couple years ago) I'm very entertained by it, but don't really have much to say.
What did you recently finish reading?
Rensen Hana no Koe Yowa by Sumeragi Natsuki. A a single volume shoujo collection of connected oneshots (and I believe technically a sequel to another single-volume series by the same author) based on folklore from the Tang Dynasty. The stories are connected by a somewhat hapless man and his wife, who is actually a flower goddess. The first story is somewhat dull, involving a young scholar stealing a poem to pad his own portfolio, but the second and third stories are more mythological, one about a man who tried to cultivate a rare flower, not knowing his wife was a flower fairy, and the other about a goddess exiled to Earth as a human for rejecting the emperor. The last story isn't connected to the others and is about a man who cheats on his jealous wife with a fox demon and suffers for it. I enjoyed the midle stories a lot, and the bookending ones less so, though they weren't bad by any means.
Hoshi ni Haru Hi by Suzuki Julietta. Another collection of shoujo one-shots, this one by the mangaka of Kamisama Kiss. These are Suzuki's earlier works, and it shows in the art, though not necessarily in a bad way. Almost all the stories are "hello, I am a cute and odd little ball of fluff with a side of angst. No, wait, now I'm a giant inferno of angst and it's time to wrap things up." Suzuki's fondness for cute semi-tragic demon boys/spirits is very evident here (she also seems to like cute oddball vampire boys), and there are some elements that probably eventually grew into Kamisama Kiss. Overall I found it pretty enjoyable, and the stories a bit more original than a lot of shoujo one-shot collections.
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford. A slow start, but very enjoyable and interesting in the long run, tracing the Mongol Empire from 1206-1509 primarily through Genghis Khan's female descendants. Very much worth reading, except that I cannot stress enough warnings for the 5th chapter "War Against Women," which details various tortures and horrific executions in the years following Genghis Khan's death, primarily of women. It's factual and to the point and serves a purpose in covering the history, and not remotely prurient, but my brain so did not need to know about those methods.
Sakuran by Moyoco Anno. A single (but extra-long) volume seinen manga about the life of Kyoha, a fictional (as far as I know) Oiran of the Edo era. I feel like the mangaka read or watched Menoirs of a Geisha and went "ok, why don't I show you what life in the kind of environment you claim to be portraying would ACTUALLY be like." It's very detailed and fascinating, but also rather depressing and not light reading at all. Warning for lots of graphic sex and nudity, not all of it consentual. (And not meant to be titillating when it isn't.)
What do you think you'll read next?
I will hopefully start either Legend of the White-Haired Demoness or Journey to the West. Probably more manga. I want to get back to reading actual series and hopefully start catching up with some series, but right now, I seem to mostly want very short manga. I also have library books checked out, mostly non-fiction.