Manga reading (or NOT reading) habits and writing-related links

[umadoshi]

Oh, Amazon. You have no way of knowing how far behind I am on my manga reading, but it's both hilarious and cruel of you to send me an email asking me to review vol. 9 (the final volume) of The Story of Saiunkoku when I haven't even read the first volume yet. *eyes complete series on shelf

Comments

[lyschan]

I've read the first couple volumes of GTO: 14 Days, and while it made me curious about the original series and what the characters had gone through up to that point, I thought the story itself was accessible without any prior knowledge.

I think you should read DRRR!!, but I am biased there :) (still, it's a lot of fun!) (also, I don't think that one's in any danger of going OOP soon, but if it ever does I have extra copies!)

And Yotsuba&! + Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service strikes me as a hilarious combination of current series. (I read both of those too.)

[umadoshi]

*wavers* Well, I'll certainly read the two or three GTO volumes I have, so I guess I'll see how I feel after that...whenever that is. >.>

I think I have two volumes of DRRR!!, so that'll be a start. At some point. La! (Is it still running in Japan? I know almost nothing about it, other than what I've seen in a few cosplay pics.)

I think Yotsuba&! and Kurosagi make me very well rounded. *g*

[lyschan]

DRRR!! is up to 7 volumes so far (two complete arcs, and a third just started serialization a month or two ago). 6 are out in English, so you're 33% caught up! It seems like a 2vol/year sort of publishing pace, so not terribly out of control. You can totally handle it :D When you get around to it :D Eventually :D

[umadoshi]

That does sound pretty manageable, all told. ^_^

[hymnia]

I empathize with having to-be-read manga sitting on my shelf, and also series that I can't bring myself to buy the next volume for until I am caught up, that are now several volumes ahead of where I left off. :/ If I can get my coursework done by about mid-June, then I'll get a couple of weeks off to catch up on things like that. I won't get caught up on *all* my series, probably, but I should be able to knock out the highest-priority ones, including Story of Saiunkoku and Sailor Moon.

Now if manga could be read via audiobook, that would be a different matter. Too bad that would kind of defeat the purpose!

[umadoshi]

I think the only real sadness I have about working in the industry is that I have some of that "but this is work" feeling about manga sometimes. :/ It doesn't make me not want to read things, but it makes it easier to prioritize novels or TV shows. And then I miss out on things!

...and I think I just sprained something in my brain trying to imagine manga as audiobooks.

[double_dear]

We're going to second the Durarara!! recommendation, from an entirely unbiased point of view. We haven't read the manga, but we have seen the anime and read the first two and two-thirds novels, and it's fantastic.

[umadoshi]

Good to know! ^_^