discworld looks like such a fun book series!!! but the large amount of novels and of different suggested reading orders have put me off actually starting the series. do you have any suggestions?

Yes!!!

Here's a little secret for you: most of the Discworld novels are actually fairly short, especially the early ones. I first read almost all of the Discworld books in one summer between 8th and 9th grade (there was roughly about 35 of them published at that time). So while the number of books can look intimidating, most of them are a much quicker read than the doorstoppers people tend to imagine when thinking about classic long-running fantasy series.

Regarding the reading order: yeah, there's a ton of different suggested reading orders out there. This is for two reasons. The first reason is that quite simply, the earliest books in the series... don't measure up to the standards of his later works. They're not bad, per se. But when compared to his later books, they're not as polished and the pacing isn't great. Early Discworld books also don't have nearly as much pointed social commentary; they're largely parodies of the standard sword-and-sorcery fantasy tropes that were popular in 80s pulp fiction. They're still decently funny if you're familiar with fantasy genre cliches from 40 years ago, but even then they may not be compelling enough to make you want to read thirty more of them. That's why most Discworld fans try to get people to start by reading later works.

Which brings us to our second reason for all the different reading orders: unlike many series where reading the books out of order wouldn't make any sense from a plot or character development perspective, each novel in the Discworld series could technically be a stand-alone book. While most of the books do follow each other chronologically in the same order they were published, they don't need to be read in that order to be understood. My personal reading order for Discworld was literally "whichever book is currently available at the library within biking distance" and I still was able to enjoy all of them.

Within the broader series, there are a few "sub-series" - series which follow the same character and/or set of characters over time. These sub-series are usually the easiest way to get people into Discworld, because once they become invested in a particular character they're likely to want to keep reading about that character.

The main sub-series people tend to recommend is the City Watch sub-series (starting with "Guards! Guards!"). This is for a number of undeniably valid reasons. The main character is very flawed but very likable, the books usually have a whodunnit plot that can attract people who might not normally read fantasy genre, and they're pretty influential in regards to the overall development of the Discworld's world building.

The second favorites for recommended sub-series are usually either the Death books (starting with "Mort", follows the actual physical Grim Reaper and his mostly human family either having or solving various existential crises) or the Moist von Lipwig books (starting with "Going Postal", a later but important entry in the series following conman Moist von Lipwig as he establishes various governmental institutions such as the post office or the mint (this series literally helped me better understand our real-life contemporary fiscal system)).

But what might draw you in to Discworld in general really can depend on what kind of interests you have. For example, if you're a big fan of Shakespeare and are really familiar with his works, Wyrd Sisters will probably draw you in with all the Shakespeare references. But if you're not as familiar with Shakespeare, then that particular book may not be the most interesting starting point.

My first Discworld novel was "The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents" (my friend at the time wanted me to read it because she had pet rats and was scouring the library for books where rats were heroes instead of villains). It's technically a young adult novel, but the storytelling and writing style was intriguing enough to get me looking for more.

I think my single favorite Discworld novel is "Small Gods", which is a standalone novel (not part of any sub-series) about what religion means. Part of it is that I happened to read it at just the right time in my life, but also it's just a great book that discusses some truly meaningful issues around belief and religion and it influenced how I see the world. Plus, on a conceptional level? The plot is hilarious. "All powerful god of a monotheistic religion accidentally gets stuck in the form of a tortoise and only one single person can speak with him so now they have to work together to prove to everyone in their pseudo-Catholic community that God is currently a literal tortoise."

I guess. If you've managed to read this far. If you have any further questions. Feel free to ask as you can probably see that I'd be more than happy to answer them.

P.S. This is one of the better "get started reading Discworld" guides I've seen

After the Forest - A Book Response

After the Forest by Kell Woods showed up as a newly purchased item at my library, and after reading the summary, I downloaded it as an e-book on Libby. I love fairytale retellings, and this one about Hansel and Gretel (or Hans and Greta, as they're known in the book) looked promising.

This post will contain spoilers, so scroll past if that sort of thing bothers you!

Overall, I really enjoyed it! I was hooked from the first page by the very close and cinematic first person perspective. All my senses were engaged, and I was intrigued that this story would be grappling with Greta and Hans' trauma from being abandoned and then getting kidnapped by a cannibalistic witch, as well as the reputation they earned with their escape-by-murder.

I was also delighted that this story wove in the tale of Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red, and Rumpelstiltskin! I even felt there were some sly references to Beauty and the Beast and Bluebeard! The magical realism of it all was wonderful too -- I do enjoy stories that feel like they could have happened, once upon a time and long ago. Speaking of magic, I was fascinated by the distinction between tattermagic and greenmagic, and the cost and effects of both.

The characters are all flawed -- Hans has a gambling addiction spurred/made worse by being trapped in the village he longs to get away from, Greta is spurned as a suspected witch who is deeply affected by her experience with the gingerbread witch and the loss of her parents, and frequently makes bad but understandable decisions. Supporting characters Christie and Rob have their own secrets and secret pasts that haunt them and, though well meaning, are often selfish and harsh with others. Even the antagonists are humanized, making complex villains of them all. I love that kind of character work.

As for the romance between Greta and Mathias; it was soft and sweet and so understandable. I especially loved Greta's constant refrain of 'Were they blue, or green, his eyes?'. Mathias was a lovely character, fully realized and wonderfully kind and sad and noble. One quote that made me catch my breath with the beautiful yearning romance of it all was: 

"I know you're angry [...] Even so I would follow you to the very edge of Hell had I the scent of honey on your skin to lead me."

Even out of context, it's such a sensual and longing bit of dialogue, but in context it's simply breathtaking.

Speaking of: the prose! Very lovely, very deft. Sometimes entrancing and sensory, always deft rather than flowery to the point of disorientation, and every character had a distinct voice. 

While I did feel like the middle of the book unfolded a bit too slowly, I think once I understood that this book was about Greta and other characters' internal development just as much as it was about the mysteries of the plot, I was able to settle into the unraveling of it all. The characters themselves aren't aware of the genre or story they're in, after all. I'd need another read to determine if my impression that they were sometimes a bit too obtuse or made decisions that were clearly bad ideas was just a result of my outside perspective and familiarity with the tropes.  Still, this concluded in a very satisfactory -- or at least well-grounded -- and heart-wrenching manner for all involved! I recommend it to anyone who enjoys adult retellings and expansions of fairy tales, romantic tragedies with happy endings, complicated family dynamics, the effect of trauma and grief, and magical realism.

Content warnings for the novel (non-comprehensive): brief instances of sexual harassment, assault and rape (non-graphic), gore and murder, references to cannibalism, brief/implied but non-graphic sexual scenes, and mind-altering magic using blood.

Les Mis translations…

It has occurred to me that most people in the fandom will have read different translations and those who may wish to read the brick who haven’t already, maybe confused on what translation to buy. I have explained my opinions and favourites below and I hope it helps anyone who’s looking to find the correct translation for them. If anyone wants any additional information about any translation (I’m aware I haven’t fully explained the positives of some) just ask no matter how long after this post was made.

[ for those of you like me who get super nervous about interacting with old post, don’t worry I won’t find it weird and will most likely respond even years later :) ]

***

My favourite translations are Hapgoods, Wilbours and Donoughers. I have read (or attempted to) all the translations of les mis - some multiple times - and from this have found that each provides a different literary purpose to me while being enjoyable.

Wilbour is one of the most accurate in terms of a word for word translation from the original french (which I also have read). The 19th century feel that it captures, as well as being close to Hugo’s original language makes it a favourite.

Hapgood - like Wilbour - also captures the 19th century feel, with the structure of sentence being closest to Hugo’s (e.g. punctuation nearly identical to were it falls in the original french) while maintaining the poetic language and flow of Hugo’s writing. It was also the first translation I read and understood, for me capturing the overall essence of the french Les Misérables.

Donoughers translation is the one I go to for a ‘relaxed’ read. If I want to casually reread les mis I will use this translation. It’s quick to understand and does not require the dedication needed to deeply appreciate Hapgood/Wilbours translation. That said, I have edited my copy of Donougher, writing in the original french or my own translation in certain places, such as my favourite narrative plot points or particular beautiful sections of language that Hugo uses. In some place Donougher does - in my opinion - complete mistranslated some words (such as describing Enjolras as ‘capable of being fearsome.’ which from original french should translate to ‘capable of being terrible.’ which to me has a completely different implication). This being said Donougher is extremely effective to quickly read and enjoy, the informative notes are extremely helpful.

As for why I dislike other translations: Wraxall - while enjoyable lacks for me the character of Hugo’s original work, Denny is overly blunt and harsh in my opinion and unnecessarily edits Hugo’s writing, Wilbour revised (Lee & Norman) is to modern for me and is easily overwhelmed by Donoughers in terms of a more easy read translation, Rose - while good for some people - made me feel almost uncomfortable and I did not end up finishing it as I found it was so modernised it lacked any feel of Hugo’s original work and serious passion at the state of society at the time.

Additionally for those looking for the line ‘do you permit it?’ : Wilbour, Wraxall and Hapgood are the translations where you will find it.

Overall I recommend the original french for those who can read it or our willing to learn, even it is just to cross reference to a translation to truly understand Hugo’s original intention in certain passages. If french is not accessible for you I would advise Wilbour for those who want a direct translation from Hugo for language, Hapgood who want a direct translation but with a more poetic style and language similar to Hugo’s original work, and Donougher for those who want an easier read but still the character of Hugo’s Les Mis.

I started watching Shadown and Bone; here are my thoughts

First of all, a big thank you to everyone who recommended this show to me! Before we start, I want to say that I will be critical of the show in my review, but that doesn't mean this is a hate watch, in fact, my friend and I are really enjoying it. We just like commentary :)

I'm only on episode two and I will probably update this thread as I go. Here are my thoughts on the first two episodes:

First, things I didn't like:

Too much narration. This only has to do with episode one. While I have no qualms with some opening narration, especially for a fantasy setting, I really thought it was unnecessary for Alina to provide her own narration after the opening one and after the credits. It was a bit clunky and hard to watch.

Confusing. Again, this mostly applies to episode one. I did say that I had no problem with the opening narration, however as someone who came into this show knowing nothing about the setting, the opening narration did nothing to enlighten me, I just came out of it confused. My friend and I only understood wtf a Grisha is in episode two.

Poor pacing. Leaning onto the previous point, the pacing of episode one left us horribly confused. They seemed to want to start in medias res, which is fine, but then they kept cutting back to flashbacks of Alina and Mal's past. This was horrible to attempt to follow, while also trying to grasp the main plot, Kaz's plot, and the overall lore. Speaking of Kaz, what was also horribly paced, poorly explained and confusing was the fact that Kaz and Alina's plots take place two weeks apart. My friend and I genuinely thought the two plots were simultaneous until the moment Alexei appeared. While I do understand the show probably wanted to avoid time tags such as "two weeks earlier" and "two weeks later," which would have been clunky, I do think they could have conveyed the time difference more competently.

However, I'm happy to say once the viewer has seen episode one and understands the plot somewhat, episode two mostly fixes the pacing issue already. You know who's where and when and what they're doing and there's fewer and more understandable flashbacks.

The main cast. I'm so sorry to say, but Alina seems to suffer from the "I don't wanna be a hero" complex which, while not inherently bad (my friend and I keep joking that this is just ATLA; the Grishas are benders and Alina is the Avatar, and you'll remember that Aang also has a "I don't want to be a hero" complex), with Alina it feels kind of forced. I'm just not buying her defiance. As for her narrative foil, the Darkling, he just seems like a by the books, cookie cutter dark and mysterious and badass love interest who is the main character's superior. Sorry, it's just the vibe I'm getting, but going in I already knew that these two characters would probably be my least favorite.

Now, onto the things I liked:

The aesthetic. I'm more on the screenwriting side myself rather than the cinematography side of things, but simply put, this show is beautiful to look at. The military base is very well designed, the Fold looks as ominous as everyone says it is, inside of it as well. I like that the lighting is also such that even in dark scenes, or for example in the Fold, you know what's going on. The clunkiness of the Barrel (? sorry I'm still a bit unclear on all the location names, but what I mean is where Kaz and his gang reside) and its whole vibe are immaculate. Great scenery, beautiful to look at as I said.

Costumes. Again, I'm more on the screenwriting side of things, but I adore the real life inspirations and diversity in the costumes, as well as how they play a part in the story (the Second Army coats that are bulletproof).

Magic vs. technology. We do joke that Grishas are just discount benders, but in fact the magic system is pretty interesting. What I love especially is the detail about how advancements in technology have changed the way Grishas are perceived. This is not often seen in fantasy, this relationship between magic and technology, as most fantasy just opts to be set in medieval times, but here, we have a very intriguing exploration of this relationship.

The plot. While I did have my qualms with the pacing, I do like the plot so far. It's attention grabbing and keeps you invested. So far, so good.

The main cast. I know I said I'm no big fan of Alina and the Darkling's, first I want to say that Ben Barnes and Jessie Mei Li are a delight in their respective roles. However, I am a big fan of the rest of the main cast. To anyone who knows me it'll come as no surprise that Kaz Brekker is my ultimate favorite, but I also adore Inej and Jesper, him especially. Mal has his charms as well. My friend and I joke that Alina and the Darkling are a bit too straight for me, while Kaz and Inej seem like two bisexuals who are (or will be) in a straight passing relationship, and that's why I like them a bit more haha. Either way, the cast is extremely intriguing, Jesper is a delight that Kaz's gang desperately needs considering Kaz's own and Inej's constant brooding. I don't mind the brooding, of course, it fits them very well, but it's good to have a comic relief. I love the characters, even Alina and the Darkling in my own way.

And that's it so far! I'll check back in during the week when we watch more.

The Dawnhounds review

4/5 stars Recommended if you like: sci-fi, body horror, LGBTQ+, Indigenous author, magic

I definitely thought this posted last Wednesday only to discover it was scheduled to post on November 26, lmao. Sorry about the mix-up!

I have to say that I'm kind of confused about what was going on in this book. Looking at other reviews it seems as though this is a common theme, so I know it isn't just me or that I missed some important element of the story. It's definitely confusing, especially once you get about 50% of the way through and the action starts picking up. I think slowing down the plot or explaining certain things a little more would've been beneficial and would clear up a lot of the confusion readers experience. That being said, I think I'm one of the few people that liked the prologue. I didn't mind not understanding entirely what was going on at that point and what we learn there does come back around. I was definitely intrigued by the captain/surgeon's story and wanted to learn more but we don't really get a lot (read: almost nothing) about him and the crew. I was very intrigued by the mushrooms/living city element. I think it's a cool take on futuristic biophilic cities. I also liked that there were life threads connecting the city and its buildings and inhabitants together. The city fed off the people living there and vice versa (in a way). I would've liked some more descriptions of the city and explanations for how everything worked. I particularly wanted some clarification on whether the mushrooms are ones we're familiar with, just supersized, or if they're something else but share a name. Yat is an interesting character. She has this whole arc dedicated to realizing she's become someone completely foreign to her younger self and that she's serving a cause she doesn't really believe in. I liked seeing her get to figure things out and I appreciate her bravery once she sets her mind to something. I also liked that her character arc makes a circle with an (off-page) earlier point in her life and rather than changing wholly it feels like she comes back into herself. Sen was probably my favorite. As much as I liked Yat's character arc, Sen's storyline/plot made a lot more sense to me than Yat's did and that made it a bit easier to read. He was kind of hard to get a read on at the beginning of the book, but he's clearly someone who's seen a lot of shit and is really just world-weary for it. He's got a good head on his shoulders and has an understanding and flexibility to him that makes him a good character to have on your side. I liked Wajet as well and honestly think Yat is a little hard on him. He may occasionally do immoral things but he seems to have a good heart. And honestly that might the problem. Yat has this view of him that isn't substantiated in the text and it makes it hard to understand where she's coming from or sympathize with her POV toward him. The pirates have a lot of potential, and I liked the parts that I understood, but I felt Yat's time on the ship was one of the messier parts of the book. I wanted to like that part more than I did because it's magic and pirates and mystery, but so much of it had me confused. Plus, there were a lot of characters that I had trouble keeping track of. The body horror is hinted at in the prologue but doesn't really come back into the book until the latter third or so. I liked that portion and thought it was an interesting take. There was a good sense of simultaneous mutation and decay that I liked and it was just creepy enough for me to like it without getting freaked out. There was a lot of chaos going on at this point, but I honestly feel like these scenes were some of the more coherent ones from the second half of the book. I would've liked some additional information about why the Blanks were so important for this part since it seems like the body horror element could impact anyone, but whatever. Overall it's an enjoyable albeit very confusing book. I think I would suggest waiting for the sequel before reading this one since I suspect it'll have more explanations than we got here and being able to read one after the other will be helpful for understanding everything that happens.

I'm Not Saying I'm Homesick, But...

Yes, yes I HAVE been reading a lot of Alaska-based romances lately. I miss having mountains around that you can't drive over, and this book is set right in Fairbanks, which is where I was raised. I recognized more than a few of the locations here, and almost more than the characters and actual romance, I loved being immersed back in my home town.

That said though, y'know what strategy has literally never failed me when choosing books in a genre that is somewhat famous for it's broad range of quality? Following authors I like and seeing who THEY recommend. My road to Elva Birch was 100% through CE Murphy, and it was an excellent path. I am literally doing the math again on getting physical copies of the other four books in this series, because Libby--much as I love it--doesn't have them. In the meantime, let's talk The Dragon Prince of Alaska.

Carina and Toren are pretty adorable as a couple, and as far as shifter lore goes, I really appreciated that Carina had some reservations about the "fated" part of fated mates, especially once Toren explains that it's a spell. That was a nice underlying question, even if the effect on the relationship was...minimal at best. I wasn't mad about it, but your mileage as a reader may vary.

I also really enjoyed Carina's legal troubles, because as far as plots go in romance novels, framed for murder by a massive bank that the protagonist caught laundering just SHATTERING amounts of money was interesting and political in a way that really served to build the world. That was deftly handled, and I appreciated it massively.

The character work was also pretty good, given how many needed to be introduced and developed. I liked all the dragon princes, not just Toren, and the family dynamics were really sweet and real. I am very excited to get to read the rest of the princes' books.

Finally, I just need to shout out the incomparable Mrs. James, who completely understood the assignment. Like yes, you absolutely should make a production of pointing out the bedroom of the princes with whom the future princess is to get it on as the first stop on the Alaskan castle tour. Mrs. James runs that castle and quite frankly might be my favorite secondary character in the book.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this light, fluffy read that evoked home so strongly.

Happy New Year all!! I told myself that I would finally read the Harry Potter series at the beginning of this year, my husband and I spent the holiday week between Christmas and new years watching all the movies and I just finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

01/02/2023

This book receives a 9.9/10 for me, I got the books for Christmas two years ago and am finally going through them! Much like many, the movies remind me of my childhood, however after the Prizoner of Azkaban, I always seemed to get confused by the storyline and never really understood the world past that point. Watching all the movies again really helped, and I love that the books provide a bit more in depth look at the story as well. I am currently reading on my paperbacks as well as co-listening on Hoopla, all of the books are available through audio books if you didn't know. I recommend the book for sure and will continue on with the series.

01/03/2023

I enjoyed the audio book more than I enjoyed the movie for the Chamber of Secrets this one has never been my favorite there's just something about the plot that I've never been a super big fan of however I loved the book there were a lot of points in the book where I laughed and there were a lot of points in the book that provided additional information that you don't find in the movie which is the same for the first book as well. I rate this book 9.8/10. And once again I definitely do recommend it!

01/04/2023

I believe this book has been my favorite in the series so far, the ending made me so happy. Also the story itself in this book explains so much more than what the movie does so I highly highly recommend reading this one as well if you haven't already. I am reading these through both audiobook and the physical paperback so that is why I'm going through them so quickly. This one is also rated 9.9/10. I do recommend the audiobook as the narrator is wonderful. On to the next!

01/08/2023

Once again no surprise here I am blown away by the information that was in the book that was left out of the movies I am absolutely LIVING for all the little connectors that are provided in the book and I completely understand why not everything was put in the movie because if it was the movie would have been like 10 hours long okay maybe that's an exaggeration but you get my point. Also SPOILER AHEAD but I am so flipping happy that there was essentially a whole chapter dedicated to Dobby in this book. 9.9/10 absolute banger and reading these is making me want to watch the whole collection again.

01/12/2023

At this point I feel like I just keep on saying the same thing over and over but this book was so good this might be my favorite so far I love all the little tidbits that weren't added to the movie because the book is so in depth and I absolutely recommend the read. 9.9/10 rating for this one as well😂 SPOILER I also like learning more about professor trelawneys.. Part lol.

01/15/2023

This book was still more informative than the movie and I freaking love that, but I have to say the previous book is still my favorite. And the the events that happen in this book just suck iykyk🙄. I still love this series and love this book it gets a 9.8/10.

01/18/2023

I'm really really happy with how everything ended except for the deaths that nobody wanted obviously. I loved reading this series, I have a bad feeling that I might not find another Series this year that I love as much as this but we will see because I'm going to be reading ACOTAR in February. I loved the books, absolutely loved them. This book I would rate 9.9/10 and the series overall I would rate 9.9./10 even with the couple 9.8's that it had. This will be a series that I re-read over the years. I absolutely recommend reading the books especially if you've seen the movies and if I didn't have the physical copies already I would be purchasing them. I did co-read these with both audiobook and the paperback and I do suggest doing that because you still get the feel of the book but you also get to go through it a little quicker with the audio if you're anything like me and read at a snail's pace. This was a great start to the year. This is probably going to be one of my top series for the year and also one of my top series ever!

Ps. I pictured all the characters as depicted in the movies.

2, 15

sina!! thank you!! <33

2: top 5 books of all time:

(in no particular order bc i could never decide lol) here goes: hot milk, deborah levy / the hunger games, suzanne collins / notes of a native son, james baldwin / the song of achilles, madeline miller / good omens -  neil gaiman and terry pratchett

15: recommend and review a book:

Everybody in this room will someday be dead by Emily Austin.

I discovered this book last month and I have never felt more seen or understood like that before. I, orginially, picked it up because the first sentence on the back of the book felt very me, in a funny, my friends would describe me like that way. And, then, the rest of the book was not what I expected. But the trend of 'oh, hey it me,' continued on. It's as if Emily Austin plucked every thought from my head and put it down on a page. Every paragraph made me go 'oh'. Don't let the blurbs of the book fool you; they will tell you it's a 'laugh out loud novel.' Meanwhile, I cried on every goddamn page. The main character is a twenty-something lesbian struggling with anxiety and depression in a way that is not. cute. Her hygiene suffers, her apartment and health fall to the wayside and it is all just. Real. Her depression is honest and painful and so, so relatable it hurts. Don't get me wrong, I can understand why people reviewed the book as funny because it is. It is chock-full of situational comedy and an awareness of the world that begs you to laugh out loud. It is, also, however, traumatically real. We are introduced to the main character, Gilda and from the first page on, Gilda makes you understand and emphasize with her, makes you feel that she gets loneliness. Loneliness, when you're around others, strangers, co-workers, and even loved ones. The kind of loneliness that sits deep in your heart and claws its way into your body, your mind, until you can't do anything but succumb to it. Yes, I make this book sound bleak af, and I think it might not be, not to everyone, but to someone who struggles with the same things she does, it is bleak. The funny parts are there because the writing is wildy creative and witty and earnest but overall this is a book that hits home about depression and anxiety. The actual plot of the book is hilarious in its absurdity, I will admit, but I kept getting drawn back into Gilda's mental state and the way she viewed the world. I love this book, every page of it. It made me feel understood and seen and heard and if I ever needed to point at one piece of art or media to encapsulate what it's like in my brain, I'd point you in the direction of Everybody in this room will be someday be dead. It is a brilliant read. And a painful one.

here's some of my favorite quotes:

"I never know how to answer that question because I don't feel like I am out. I feel like I am in a constant state of coming out, and like I always will be. I have to come out every time I meet someone."

“The fact that I’m able to carry myself through life without being crushed beneath the psychological weight of being alive proves that I’m a con artist. Aren’t we all con artists.” 

I have this bizarre feeling like I was a different person at every other stage of my life. I feel so removed from myself then. Sometimes I feel like I was a different person a month ago. A day. Five minutes. Now.” 

“I feel so profoundly inside of myself, I can't stand it.” 

tldr: It's like the exact opposite of escapism lol, like. welcome to my brain, enjoy your stay kinda vibe. 5/5.

✨ send me book asks ✨

Stripping Away The Bloat - The Umibe No Etranger Movie Did The Manga Dirty

I finally got around to watching the movie of Umibe no Etranger - a movie I didn’t know existed based on one of my old favourite BL mangas. And oh boy, does this adaptation reflect a painful trend in manga to anime/movie adaptations overall. Allow me a moment to rant, if you will...

TL;DR: READ THE MANGA BY THE LOVE OF GOD IT’S WONDERFUL. Also the movie is super pretty, but here’s a semi-detailed look at why it still really didn’t do the manga justice. You bet I came with receipts.

A few important notes before you start: 

1. Remember this is just my opinion, and I’d love to hear other people’s point of view on the matter, whether you agree or disagree! 

2. I am not fluent enough in Japanese to read the original without a translation, so my thoughts on the manga are coming from fan translations, which 100% might have affected how I view this! The anime I’m a little more sure on as I can generally tell when the subtitles have deviated, but that does mean I may have missed something/something was lost in translation that means something I say here is incorrect. I’m very sorry for this, so remember this is my view based on the media types I’ve consumed. 

3. Also the manga cuttings I use are not the best quality because of tumblr’s sizing, so even more of a reason to go read the books yourself! 

I’m aware I’m very late to this party, but when I saw the other day that this movie had been made, I was horrified that I hadn’t known about it sooner. I read the manga years ago, and adored it - it’s genuinely a sweet and beautifully drawn romance, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone. With that, however, the movie was a huge disappointment to me and I just need to have a moment to gush in a less than positive way. 

The Pros: 

Let’s get this out of the way, I’d still probably recommend this movie to anyone who likes romance anime-style movies. It’s beautifully animated. Seriously, this movie is stunning, with wonderful expressions, bright colours, and a pretty well suited soundtrack too. The animation tries to match the original art style of the manga, and frankly, I think it captures it perfectly. 10/10. Gorgeous. Watch it just for the prettiness. 

I’m also a big fan of any BL/GL adaptations that get a little more into the mainstream. This movie is definitely a huge win in terms of representation, especially when the manga (on the whole) avoided the more negative tropes that the BL/GL genres have historically been known for. (More on that later...) So that’s a win, and I will take it. 

The Bloat Cut: 

To put it simply, this movie fell into the trap of what I call (in my head) ‘cutting out the bloat’. As a long-time anime and manga fan, who has seen countless adaptations over the years, it’s a common theme that tends to make or break an anime. 

‘Cutting out the bloat’ to me means that the adaptors cut out a lot of the ‘smaller’ moments and panels that are seen in a manga. This movie was thankfully very good at following the original plot and took us through the same beats that the manga did (many adaptations don’t bother doing that at all), but they left out a lot of the extra stuff - the aforementioned ‘bloat’. 

The bloat isn’t really bloat in that it is pointless, however: the problem is that these little moments and scenes are seen to be pointless by the adaptors. Again, understandable: they have a limited run time, and it’s hard to include every little tiny moment, especially when they are ones that are easily scanned passed. Some bloat cutting is necessary to make an adaptation viable at all, but sometimes, it can be hugely detrimental to the piece. Umibe no Etranger is a key example of this. 

Setting: 

I watched this movie without rereading the manga, and as such, I was quickly thrown off by how bad the movie was. This was one of my favourite mangas, wasn’t it? Had I really had such terrible taste? (Yes, let’s not go there, but this manga was not one of my high-school bad decisions). 

The characters felt strange. Personalities did complete 180s after the time skip and did some questionable things that I couldn’t recall finding issue with when I read the manga. The two main characters felt so hot and cold that it didn’t feel like the story I remembered. Even the pacing felt off and janky at times. 

After watching, I went back and reread the manga, and this is where I saw all the ‘bloat’, the little intricate moments and minor panels that were easy to overlook but made the story what it was. Here’s a few of the biggest examples I could find. 

Shun:

Oh, Shun. What did they do to you? 

Shun’s character was bizarre. In the first 15 minutes of the movie, he was bubbly, friendly, and even bold enough to flirt with Mio. After the time skip, he was sour, cold, and completely withdrawn from the world. I understood Mio’s confusion because after the time jump he was a completely different character. 

The manga is often focused on Shun and his inner thoughts, and he’s the one who is hurt the most by the bloat cutting. For starters, he wasn’t as over-the-top friendly at the start of the manga as he was in the anime, and we’re able to see his inner thoughts and worries that cause his reservations from the first few pages we meet him. We also get more hints earlier on as to Shun’s past that explain a lot of his behaviour as a whole, as well as getting little hints as to why he’s even more negative and exhausted after the time jump. 

Mio: 

The biggest bloat cut out in terms of Mio is the big plot point of the phone call. For context, before leaving for the time skip, Mio promises to call Shun once he’s gotten to his new home. In the movie, this is never really brought up again, focusing on the relationship in the present, but this was a huge point to leave out. I think it was cut out because it was explained in one short scene in the manga, and therefore easily mistaken for bloat. 

In the manga, it’s explained that Mio does call, but it’s Eri who answers, and there’s a very important conversation that sets up Mio’s whole character development and explains why he returns to the island set on having a relationship with Shun. Eri warns him that calling Shun, despite knowing that Shun has feelings for him, is cruel and unfair, and tells Mio he shouldn’t contact him unless he’s worked out his feelings. It’s a great scene, and a real shame to leave out when it explains firstly why Mio never called back, and secondly why he is so adamant about his feelings and love for Shun when he does finally return: because he saw Eri’s warning to mean ‘don’t come back unless you are serious’.

Relationship:

In the movie, Mio and Shun didn’t really seem to have a relationship until the drama kicked up and then it quickly seem to disappear again. Shun was extremely held back and reserved, and barely ever seemed to return Mio’s feelings (even in the scenes he was instigating) - he even totally avoided anything resembling physical contact at first. 

Compare this to the manga, where there are little hints of their relationship progressing throughout the chapters. For one, Shun is never as cold and blank as he seems in the film, and when he does seem that way, the manga quickly shows a glimpse of his thoughts to explain how he’s exhausted or distracted - without those little bloated thought bubbles, he just seems... a little cruel frankly.

A really good example of this is the beach kiss scene. In the movie, as Mio is about to kiss him, Shun suddenly announces that he’s hungry and avoids the kiss altogether, leaving Mio confused. 

In the manga, they actually do kiss - it’s their first kiss, in fact. Shun seems embarrassed and his ‘I’m hungry’ feels like more of a way to distract them both. He explains he’s exhausted (which is fair enough, this is a big thing for him to process on little sleep that his inner thoughts earlier in the chapter already set up) rather than just outright shunning him. (Ha. Shun. shun. Get it?) 

A more *noted* bloat they cut out is that Shun and Mio get physical in the manga way earlier than the movie, the touches just not quite being everything Mio wanted. Without those more tender moments, where they actually seem like a couple, it seems like Mio is chasing after Shun desperately, whilst Shun couldn’t care less about him. It detracts from the whole relationship. Below are some examples of the two of them actually seeming like a couple that were cut from the movie, including longing looks from Shun, Shun hugging Mio whilst he’s asleep, and Shun asking to kiss and touch Mio. 

The Issue: 

Bloat cutting always annoys me, but usually, if it’s not hindering the story, I don’t mind. What bothers me most of all in this movie, is that without these subtle little panels and moments, the relationship between Shun and Mio seems... forced, frankly. In the movie, Shun seems to be the instigator of the flirting, and then after the time skip he acts practically disgusted, avoiding a lot of Mio’s advances, and we don’t get to hear his inner thoughts like we do in the manga to explain why he’s feeling this way. 

In the manga, during these ‘bloat’ pieces, Shun is an actual willing participant in the relationship, and Mio isn’t just forcing his advances onto Shun. It’s natural. It’s not flipping between hot and cold, or suddenly ramping up after a big moment of drama, it’s slow and careful and a real relationship. 

This would be a bad change in any adaptation, but it’s especially so in this one. Anyone who is a fan of BL specifically is probably aware of the genre’s bad rep historically for having some... questionable consent issues. This manga didn’t have them. The movie? I’m not so sure, and that’s why it’s rubbed me the wrong way. I could spend another 1000 words talking about this issue as a whole, but I’ll leave it there, you get the idea.

Expected? Yes. Okay? Meh. 

There’s no real point to this post aside from to complain a little and point out just how much more the source material gives us. Cutting the bloat always happens, and I don’t want it to stop happening per say, that would be impossible, but I’d kill for adaptors to just take a little more time to work out what is unnecessary and cutable bloat, and what is something they should really keep in. 

The movie is still cute and beautifully made, so please go watch and see for yourself! Mostly, I’d highly recommend the manga: it’s got the same gorgeous art style, only about 5 chapters long, and the story and relationship is that little bit more firmly built. 

I’ll stop ranting now, and I hope this actually made sense? Anyway, congrats on making it all this way.

anime reviews for all my tomodachis

sk8 the infinity (2021) -- this show is a breath of fresh air. i did not expect to like or care about skateboarders. but this show has it all. STYLE. so many sick ass moves, 90s skateboarder iconography, colourful sticker art, graffiti. animation is done surprisingly really well with an insane amount of detail to backgrounds, little character quirks, close ups and slow mo cinematics highlighting just how cool those sick ass moves are. storyline is tight and simple for what it is, but it gives this feeling like there is so much more to explore in this world that 12 eps does not give nearly enough justice to. reki and langa are the dog and cat personalities that we all love. the idea that you can transition from snowboarding to skateboarding is neat. music is awesome, and races have songs that i swear simple plan could have come out with. very solid quality anime that goes all out in terms of craziness. the drawback is that it's not enough and needs more. top recommendation if your life is boring right now and you need some flavour to spice it up. 8/10

jujutsu kaisen (2020) -- i'm going to be controversial here because i did not care for this show. i wanted to love this so bad. the storyline is a complete mess. there are serious problems in how it goes about explaining how the world works, what the characters' motivations are, what we're supposed to be moving towards, and what the stakes are. i love the character designs but i have no idea who they are as people so i'm not invested in the slightest. tell me why the main trio don't get any eps together until idfk when? i don't know how they work together, how they fight together. i expect this team 7-like dynamic because they are portrayed as a trio. i don't know why they suddenly have a life and death competition with another school. i don't know if they are supposed to be friendly or if they have the ability to kill each other. jujutsu's tone is meandering between serious and don't take it too seriously and i can never tell which is supposed to be when. it's too jarring. the humour in this show is... unique, probably best encapsulated by the baseball ep where they had each character's description as something random like "left the stove on." i enjoyed that ep but mostly because it was self-contained and didn't have any skills or plot points that go unexplained. but i don't know what it really did for the plot. similar to the humour in general, i don't know what they do for the character other than being humorous on its own. this show is the epitome of style over substance. things that look or seem cool, or look or seem funny, without actually being in service of anything. events seem to happen in some arbitrary fashion. stuff or characters are introduced but then immediately put aside because something else happens. the premise itself of yuji trying to find all the fingers to eat is fine (but i don't get why he's in any hurry to do so if he's just going to die if he does) and this ninja-like world of curse magic is interesting. but this could benefit from some serious reworking of the overall story structure, and if the author found an actual story they wanted to tell. i was so confused most of the time that i could not enjoy or get through the non-action parts. 5/10

wonder egg priority (2021) -- i probably shouldn't put this because i didn't actually get past like 3 eps. it's fine but i get the sense it's self-aggrandizing. the colourful psychedelic dream metaphors for bullying is definitely something. but the connections between the design of the enemies and the real-life trauma are vague (i am comparing this to something like persona where it's pretty clear and easily understood despite being a monstrosity). you have to make leaps and jumps to guess what everything means, what exactly the process is to getting into this world, what the garden means, who the other girls are, what the eggs mean, what their powers are, and maybe i'm just too stupid to appreciate any of it. somewhat has madoka magica vibes but that show was more tight. animation is overall really nice if just looking at pure aesthetic. this score is meaningless but 5/10

2.43 (2021) -- countryside volleyball anime, not unlike if hq was a little more soggy and depressed. this starts out fine but makes a lot of questionable decisions as soon as ep 2 that offend me more than anything. i don't have a lot to say about this other than in ep 10 a rival team has a snowball fight outside and one guy tries to "save" the team captain from slipping and falling to his doom. he does this by making a dive for where the captain's ass is going to land, thereby having the team captain land directly on the guy's head. this results in a dramatic cliffhanger -- did he break his neck? die? are we going to see his funeral in the next ep? next ep, he is now out of commission for the game with a broken arm. make of this what you will. 2/10

skate-leading stars (2021) -- by this point i can see you wondering what's wrong with me. this show is not about skateboarding nor ice skating. it is about team coordinated ice skating. is this a real sport? no idea. do i know how it works? no. and yet this show was oddly decent. i think it's the idea that none of the characters seem like ice skaters that makes it hilarious to me. the main guy has all of the grace, delicacy, and anger-fueled rage of eren jaeger. he is formerly semi-retired who learns to work within a team. his side man is an evil glasses character who is literally just coming up with evil plans all the time. this typical shonen team is just trying to mind their own business but these two new guys are the worst people ever and won't stop being nuisances. it's a disaster but all of it is the perfect combination of "why" and "sure this is fine." you will probably find this boring but i found it unintentionally funny and ridiculous. it doesn't try to hit too high. 6/10

horimiya (2021) -- right away, i didn't really get the premise. it's supposed to be about "a girl that is bright and popular at school but a slob at home, and a guy that is plain in school but is actually emo/punk." so this is like a "must hide my true identity" type situation. but... there is nothing to hide. hori is not a slob at home. she removes her makeup and does chores. i guess i was thinking it would be more extreme like an extreme hoarder type personality. miyamura also just wears more black and puts in some ear piercings, but his plain personality is the same. he doesn't become a gangster or start mouthing off or anything. these traits also don't really affect the rest of the story in any significant way. whole chunks of episodes are dedicated to random daily life talk about some topic of interest between the classmates but they're never all that interesting. they go into some relationships between different characters but they're also kinda boring. this is a very surface-level type shojo. if you don't have much life experience, you might find this passable. but there are much better shojos out there. 3/10

god of high school (2020) -- this is simultaneously a work of art and a pile of trash. this is the coolest thing ever and will also make you the saddest and most depressed you've ever been. the first half is the best action, character study, style, design, everything, you've ever seen. the trio feels like a real trio all with tragic but intriguing backstories. fighting for your sick friend in the hospital? wanting to keep alive your obscure martial art that runs in the family? give me that good shit. if the rest of the show was just these straightforward 1v1s with each character showing off how fucking cool they are and telling me how they got there and why they deserve to be the best, i would be okay with that. there is not much expectation of plot. what is a god of high school supposed to be? no idea. i just want to see cool shit. i don't know why it devolves into some apocalyptical story plot with aliens and stuff. this show suffers from i think running out of ideas or trying to be more than it is. first half is 8/10, second half is 2/10.

Thoughts as of end of s1 of Link Click. This is... mostly just going to be spam.

- I’ve been thinking this the last few episodes and I think as of the finale I still believe it to be the case that the show works best when trying to tell fairly self-contained stories about people and their relationships.

- Ngl, I’d seen some speculation online about an “opposing” person who could possess people, but I hadn’t really bought into it until Liu Min suddenly lost control of his legs again in the last ep. I guess all the mentions of “my friend” as well as the police case weren’t totally for nothing. I do feel the plot side of things has been weaker than the rest, so we’ll have to see how this spins out in s2.

Rest of thoughts under cut.

- My main qualm tbh is how Emma’s been handled. In episode one, they made sure to characterise her by her connections with her boss, her parents, and generally did a really good job of making people empathise with her and giving a hopeful end to her story before pulling the rug out from under everyone’s feet. So, episode one on its own I don’t take issue with because for shock impact it worked super effectively and hit emotionally hard because of the entire setup. What I personally didn’t like was how we returned to her in later episodes, found out it was worse than expected, and then the writers tried to pull the exact same trick as episode one. I’m not going to say the scene at the bridge wasn’t still emotional because it was, but I do find it a bit... not sure the best word to use here... “cheap”, perhaps? Because you give hope and take it away once, that works. But to do so again after even more build-up about potentially saving her? It does feel a bit like they’re just trying to cash in emotional hit points, just a tad.

- Semi-related to the last point is my half belief that Emma’s death was always a node and so CXS didn’t actually cause her death so much as change the opportunity for when Liu Min could get at her. (This is also somewhat backed up by Lu Guang’s confusion over how Emma could be saved when it looked like CXS was persuading her successfully not to jump) However, CXS believes (and the way it’s presented to the audience also agrees with this, I’d say) that Emma would originally have survived and CXS sending the message altered the node to cause her death. Ultimately, I lean towards the former explanation, but I don’t know which is “correct”.

- Time travel mechanics. As you can tell by the above, as of the finale, I’m not totally sure as to how these actually work. The mechanics started fairly solid by virtue of being deliberately ambiguous around it all and sticking to the node explanation. However, I think they start losing consistency around the point of the Doudou episode with the revelation that if CXS goes into a picture from CCTV footage he’ll just appear in them as himself rather than as whoever took the photo. And the fact that the past was clearly changed enough to guarantee Doudou’s safety when that seemed tied in with the node of him being abducted. I think the latter I can perhaps try to explain away if you try to make it about “visible nodes” rather than just “nodes”. By which I mean, if the situation as LG/CXS understood it was that someone had died on x day, then they could manipulate the situation so that this person only appeared to die on x day, and then that person had to not be revealed as alive to them until the present day. And this would all check out because to them the nodes hadn’t been “changed”. That said, I’m not sure at all if that was what was intended by the writers or if I’m just trying to explain away plot holes here.

- My favourite arc is definitely the earthquake one. I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up on rewatch, but on my first go around every single episode in that arc worked excellently and for different reasons, at that. First episode was more about establishing the scene and near the end there’s the worry Cheng Xiaoshi is going to be impulsive again. Second episode is meeting the characters of the arc more and just building the sense of unease because why is Lu Guang saying nothing will change? And then the last episode is where you know where it’s going and the episode uses that to full effect, especially with Chen Xiao’s mum and the parallels to Cheng Xiaoshi’s own parents. I think if I were to make someone watch any arc within the series, this would be the one I’d recommend.

- The fact there’s going to be a season 2 reassures me at least on one of my major quibbles with the show, namely how Cheng Xiaoshi had a lot more development than Lu Guang or Qiao Ling. Definitely hoping that next season is going to use the opportunity to fill in all the gaps we’ve left there, especially given how promotional materials, the opening, and the ending all give the impression of a much more balanced cast than we ended up getting in season 1?

- I’ve barely skimmed around the fandom for this series beyond finding general discussion threads for each episode, so I don’t know how correct my impression is here, but I feel like the sound design for the episodes is super underrated. Whenever it uses the ending music to build tension before cutting to the ending proper, for one. But I think the best use of music was in the original Xu Shanshan confrontation with “Liu Min” as well as its replay ft. Cheng Xiaoshi. The insert songs were also pretty good. (Meanwhile my impression on the art/animation is that I like it personally for its quirks and how it shows expressions really well, but I can definitely see how it may be an acquired taste)

So yeah, those are my thoughts overall. I guess it I were to give the series a rating I’d say around 7.5/10 overall, though my opinion varies depending on the arc and I think that how s2 pans out when that releases could definitely affect my opinion of s1.

Review of Starless Sea

Overall Rating: 9/10

Quick Take: Really an ode to creative collaborative storytelling and what it means to create

Suggestion to Other Readers: DEAR GOD do not make the same mistake I did and read this all in one sitting. I had a horrible headache by the end. This book is DENSE and PACKED with symbolism so if you don’t want mega brain hurt at the end, space this one out.

Overall vibe: I very much got ‘Never Ending Story’ vibes while reading this book

Hot Take: If you hate pretentious books that are filled with flowery symbolism, this book is NOT for you. Like, if you hate philosophy (in the sense of, “why are we even here man? What’s our purpose in life???”) or, like, classical poetry (I’m very much thinking in the terms of Emily Dickinson level confusing), don’t even look at this book. BUT if your like me and you absolutely love symbolism and complex plots that confuse the fuck outta ya and give you headaches, I highly suggest this book!

The layout of this book was super funky, and was probably the main cause of my headache. The book is split up into 7 (? pretty sure) sections, each section titled after a book that is in the actual book, Starless Sea. In each section the chapters switch between the main story, Starless Sea, and parts of the book that the section is titled after. Thus, what you essentially get is the main story plot + a gagillion short stories. Oh, and all the short stories are important to the main plot and are packed with clues and symbolism. It’s. So much. There’s also, like, a b-plot and a c-plot revealed midway through the book that makes things even more confusing so you have to work hard to separate the plots and then look back at how it all fits together or else you're gonna be hella confused. 

Overall, I loved this idea! I liked reading what the characters had read (it made me feel closer to them) and seeing how the short stories connected with the main plot. And it all connects, you just have to strain your brain to see it all. Like, you're gonna need a conspiracy board for this one. 

On to characters. I actually really liked our main duo! I’d read some reviews that said they thought the Main Lead was boring, but I didn’t think he was that bad. He really never tried to run away, nor did he ever whine about the situation he was in. I understood his fervent need to figure the situation out and there was never a time I thought his actions were out of character. I think he was a very good representation of a hardcore reader. 

My favorite character was defo Dorian though, but that’s because I love gremlin characters. 

On to setting. Wow. Fantastic. Amazing. I will now be forever depressed at the fact that I will never be able to set foot on a Harbor. Like. uuuggghhh. Erin Morgenstern’s biggest strength is her ability to set the scene and atmosphere. Like, if you’ve read Night Circus (which I highly recommend if you haven’t yet) you KNOW what I’m talking about. She pulls the same magical shit in this book as well. 

Now. Romance. I feel like the romance between the main couple in this book wasn’t as well done as Night Circus, but I also feel that romance wasn’t the main point of this story, so I’m willing to forgive a little, especially since there is so much other stuff going on in this book. 

Overall, this book was a thank you letter to readers and creators. It was about what it means to make something, and what makes that something magical. It was about love, in all it’s different forms. 

If you’ve been actively looking for something that’ll hurt your head I highly suggest this one!     

The Cost of Knowing - General Questions

During the last month I read the book The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris, a black writer and long time participant of NaNoWriMo. @readerbookclub published their questions for members of their club who've read the book on July 1st and I'm gonna do my best to answer them as good as I can. I wanted to point out, that this is the first novel I've read in English since my school days and while my English is good enough to understand everything, it was still an unusual feeling having a book that's not in my mother tongue before me. Now on to the questions:

1. What did you think of the book? What were the things you enjoyed and the things you didn’t enjoy?

In my opinion it was a very good book. I honestly enjoyed reading it and while I mostly did read the book during my lunch breaks at work, I sometimes really struggled to put it away. While it typically wouldn't be the book I would choose for myself (it's MC is very far away from my own living reality and as stated above, I usually don't read books in English and it hasn't been translated (yet)) I am glad I was pointed to read this amazing story. It gave me insights of the truth of so many people and fears that I as a white woman never have to worry about. I really enjoyed how the book portrayed Alex' struggle with what it meant to be a man, how the somewhat old-fashioned views of his father would conflict with Alex fragile and anxious personality. I also related a lot to Alex when it came to going into crowds since I myself had a very grave anxiety of crowds when I was a teen and early twen.

2. What are your thoughts on the plot? What were the things you liked and the things you didn’t like?

The plot is rather compact going only on for a few days with necessary flashbacks. At first I was surprised by Alex "curse" to see the future 'cause the blurb made me think touching this photo would cause a one time event of a vision while instead he always had those visions while touching something. I can't imagine how horrible that must feel... Overall I like everything about the plot, the only thing that I would have liked is to know a little more about Isaiah's point of view. I know the book is written from Alex' perspective and this kind of limitation comes with a first person narrator. This is the reason nower days I prefer reading books in third person as it gives you the insight on all important characters. I personally would have loved to know if Isaiah believed everything that Alex said about his future or if he felt that he might be lying maybe even knew from his own ability. I actually thought his ability was more interesting than Alex' and would have loved to know more about it! The other thing that I didn't like was Alex' whole dealing with his "curse". That was getting on my nerves through out the book. It is very clear that he really loves Thalia so why doesn't he trust her enough to tell her about it. I know he was afraid because of the Shaun-incident but he was a freaking scared kid when all that happened. Imp it would have been a shit move from Thalia to blame him for what happened when he really took the time to explain everything to her (that what he sees is definite etc.). She would probably have understood his fear of loosing Isaiah too and that whole unnecessary fight before the concert could have been avoided.

3. What scene did you find most emotional in this book?

Surely the one around the shooting on the concert. I was holding my breath during that scene since secretly I still hoped Isaiah's future could still be adverted, I really don't wanted him to die... I was almost sure it would happen at the concert and I seriously wasn't ready to read him die. The scene of his death itself wasn't so emotional since it kind of happened out of nowhere (what surely makes it even more unbearable for Alex).

4. If there’s one character you could meet, who would they be and why?

Oh I would love to meet Thalia, she seems like a great girl and reminds me a lot on myself when I was her age, always changing hair colors and the way she dresses. I think we'd get along well.

5. Were the characters convincing? Or did they come across as unrealistic?

Hm, that's kind of though. Some reactions weren't realistic imo. Like Thalia's before the concert when she found out about the "curse". I don't think that beetle as a proof for Alex' skills would be enough for me personally. And I don't think I would instantly jump on conclusions that he also knew that her brother would die. For me it didn't get clear if she really believed him 'cause it's never mentioned again that she ask him about the curse, why it's gone etc. but of course that could be off screen (what would be dumb...). So in total the characters came across as realistic but with unrealistic touches.

6. Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Already have =) Gave the book to my fried yesterday. I really think it's a great story and made me wonder about the issues poc are still facing in today's society. I also had a really intense conversation with a friend of mine how's from Ivory Coast and his experiences with the police and I was shocked that it's just the same here in Germany as it is in the US. He also had a cop sitting on his neck, luckily only for two minutes but he still feared for his live. I would everyone recommend to read this book since it really opens your eyes about the injustice that poc are still living with.

7. Would you consider re-reading it in the future?

I don't re-read book much tbh. But I'd consider it if it ever gets translated. And I would love to see a movie! The soundtrack would be amazing! (I created a playlist with the artists that are mentioned in the book and it's my power playlist now xD)

Thank you @readerbookclub for the great questions and this wonderful (for me) first reading recommendation. I'm looking forward on discussing the book with you guys and I hope we are talking soon!

Master and Apprentice- Book Review

(Nobody asked for this review but here it is. This is spoiler free but it does contain spoilers for the prequel movies. I’m not a book expert and I don’t even know how to speak in English to begin with, so excuse my poor grammar.)

“Master and Apprentice” is a canon novel written by Claudia Gray about the relationship between Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi eight years prior to The Phantom Menace, and how a single mission changes the dynamic between the two forever. So, this book is a prequel to “The Phantom Menace”.

If you are a prequel’s fan and you really want to know more about the master and apprentice relationship between Qui-Gon and Kenobi and also expand your knowledge on the prophecies side of the jedi culture, this book is going to be a MUST read. Like, I’m telling you right now, you are going love it. It offers a new perspective on the Star Wars saga as a whole and a lot of stuff started to make more sense to me after reading this.

One of the first positive things I can say of the book is that I really liked the dynamic between them. The relationship between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan is not near as perfect as we see it on The Phantom Menace, but get to know more about why they liked each other so much. It’s almost a family bond and the struggle they go through feels really real. They are complete opposites in some aspects but in this story, you’ll find out why they stick together and why Obi-wan appreciated his master that much. Also, it gives an insight to the relationship between Qui-Gon and Dooku as well, and that alone makes the book worth a read.

The new characters introduced in this story are perfect and I loved them deeply. Their backstories and development were incredible. Their role in the story is more than helping the protagonists: it’s about highlighting the differences between the morals of Qui-Gon and the Jedi Council, and through how the Council and Qui-Gon reacts to certain situations that arise because of these characters you can see why the jedi council was decaying already.

The prophecies make a lot more sense after reading this book, and that was the only aspect of the prequels that I never really understood. The Mortis Arc on Clone Wars shed a light on one of the prophecies, but this book goes deeper and shows more than one prophecy, as well as saying where they do come from and why Qui-Gon is so invested in it.

All of this development occurs while main story is taking place on the planet of Pijal, where this duo goes to help another jedi solve a series of crimes and also help with the diplomacy of the entire planet. The plot is really surprising, to the point that I was following the story but never knowing what was going to happen and it was great. The story always makes sense and the turns the story takes are amazing. There are things we as viewers of the movies already know, like the fact that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan will continue to be master and apprentice at least until The Phantom Menace, but the other things that are a stake here will keep you interested from the beginning to the end of the book.

Qui-Gon really steals the show in this one. I’m going to be honest; I didn’t really care much about him before this book (And Queen’s Peril, of course). I didn’t hate him but I wasn’t really sad about his fate as I was with other characters of the franchise, but this book just turned Qui-Gon into one of my favourite Jedi. Knowing what he is thinking about and how he operates is really fascinating, and also it does wonders to explain why Obi-Wan is the way he is.

One of my favourite bits of the novel was that every now and then there are some flashbacks to Qui-Gon as an apprentice of Dooku, and those flashbacks really changed the way I saw both characters and makes Dooku falling to the dark side way sadder.

This book made me nostalgic, sad and really excited at the same time. If you have read my other reviews, you will know that I really like prequels, especially The Phantom Menace, and this was such a treat for my brain. I loved it. I really liked how it gave me a more adult perspective of some of the themes mentioned in that movie while keeping the plot feeling like a Star Wars story still.

The story kept me turning pages. I forced myself to only read five chapters a day because I don’t want to run out of books to read, but if I hadn’t done that I would probably had finished it in two days at max. It was so entertaining.

I didn’t find anything I didn’t like about the book, like, at all. I will give it a second read and will update this review if I find anything in particular that I didn’t like. This book, alongside with Guardians of the Whills, is definitely one of my favourite Star Wars books (for now).

Overall, this is a fantastic book. I would recommend this book to prequel’s fans, people that like crime stories, people interested in the prophecies, people that like Obi-Wan, people that enjoyed the mortis arc, people interested in the dynamics between the jedi prior to the appearance of the first sith in a thousand years, people interested in the downfall of the jedi council, people that love found family and to everyone to be honest, this is an amazing book.

If you are triggered by slavery, I suggest to not read it because it is a heavily featured and mentioned thorough the whole plot and it could disturb you. Also, if you are really really young, I wouldn’t exactly recommend it to you know right now because it does contain mildly inappropriate content here and there. Nothing really explicit, but it would contain a T in AO3 if it was a fanfic. You also need to know that the book does get angsty at some points of the story, so if you are looking for a read that makes you feel good from beginning to end, this is book maybe its not for you at the moment, but maybe you could check Queen’s Peril, that goes on a more hopeful vibe and I had already reviewed it here.

Otherwise, it adds a lot to the Star Wars lore as a whole and I wouldn’t recommend skipping it.

I hope you find this review useful and give this book a chance if you are interested!

February Progress Update, March Goals:

(Updated as it’s now the end of the month) How February went:

Chinese novel chapters read in February (so far): 27 (a huge amount! Last month’s was 8. This month - 4 were Guardian, the rest are 寒舍)

Chapters I studied with Listening-Reading Method: 2 (Catch me barely doing L-R and just reading Guardian instead...)

Chinese shows watched: 6. (I expected this number to shoot up and I was right! Word of Honor - tian ya ke adaptation - is airing and I am watching the raws first then the English subs as they release. I’m also maybe going to start Anti Fraud League since I finally finished ep 1. YouTube recommended me another Zhen zhehan drama - he plays Zhou Zishu in woh. It’s called Demon Girl and I’d had it in my list to practice anyway with when I got bored since it’s set 1920-1940s, one of my fave drama settings, featuring a demon heroine in which demons are like mutants who live among us. Which happens to be my LITERAL favorite story setup - mutants/monsters/etc sci fi or supernatural setup in which the story uses it to tell fantastical tales while also commenting on real social issues. Some stories do it better than others - In The Flesh and Bureau of Transformer do excellently, Love and Redemption and Guardian do some fascinating stuff with it, Heroes touches on it only a little compared to Xmen which is known for it, and Merlin often failed to commit to a strong message. But regardless - if a story has this Setup I will ultimately wanna see. So that show definirely has 3 selling points now: my Fave story setup, a heroine as the lead, and an actor I like as the other lead. I also found Mystic Nine and LORD Critical World in HD on a chinese site so I’m very tempted to just watch them in chinese only since it’s more convienient then the english sub links I have for the shows. An interesting update: trying to watch a show this month was easier than in the past - last month I could barely watch Any shows, and before that I distinctly remember shows being harder to catch the details. I watched Anti Fraud League ep 1 fully this month and caught all details roughly without pausing - and like 3 sentences of exposition on main character Mi Huo I paused and replayed the scene just to catch all the chinese subtitles and clarify I understood correctly. I think I got about 90% of the details - because I was a little vague on some word meanings and just guessed on those. And grasped 100% of the overall plot. which is well beyond where I was at month 10-11ish last time I tried watching shows. Also yay! A detective show felt as easy as watching a fluff romance which is so great, because I like this genre much more! Although I am going to give a grateful shout out to Granting You A Dreamlike Life because... while the shows first 15 eps I did watch are Not My Thing, I watched it like 8+ months into learning and it was both a challenge and easy enough TO watch and keep watching. Which made it great for improving. I really think it helped a lot. And I also think... at this point I probably could rewatch guardian without eng subs and be fine. When I watch shan he ling today I guess I’ll find out if I can handle a wuxia plot though without eng subs lol)

Japanese Audio listened to: 14 (no change, this is since start of year)

Personal books read: 11 (since 2021 started - so 6 books in February. I have been reading SO MUCH lately, I’m really excited? I’ve been meaning to read so many of my books I just hadn’t gotten around to it. This is also likely to increase as I’m about to finish dmbj 2 next time I pick it up).

Some other things:

@a-whump-muffin​ u inspired me and sometime soon I will be trying to play KH in japanese again, and looking at ur super amazing grammar guide u made ToT (I might try nier automata if its bearable just because I’m playing all the drakengard/nier games right now but... the language is a lot more sci fi so i’m not sure that’d go well... also i want to check if my final fantasy type-0 has japanese language settings...). But like... I am definitely up for looking at a grammar guide, and looking up words on my phone as I play. Now that’s a study method i could DO maybe ToT and also like!!! ultimately i want to do it anyway!!! i just figured it would be drowning and chickened out! but like. to study doing what u wanted to do anyway in the language??!!! wowwww ;-; i mean that’s basically why i’m reading chinese but u get the idea

Other japanese updates: I’m still listening to quickleur I just haven’t done any listening lately (u can tell by the L-R status above lol). It did help a lot though even the bits I listened to, as far as refreshing my mind on particles and verb endings. And the explanation on sentence structures u gave @a-whump-muffin​ !! (who is god tier if ur studying japanese they are <3 <3 )

Part of the ‘personal books read’ goal - I’m counting any textbooks I read in that category, in the hopes if I frame it in my head as reading for personal interest instead of studying, I will do it. Ideally I would LIKE to read my DeFrancis Chinese books, Chinese Nature Method grammar book, Chinese Sentence Patterns book, 2 books I just ordered, my japanese reading books (the 1st one a good refresher the 2nd one literally could be... my textbook for years its got so much). Those chinese books in part because WOW I am so used to so much grammar in context when reading, but when I go to produce language I’m a hot MESS. And I think just like... I really should read those books and fill in the gaps in my understanding and like solidify the correct understanding of what I can comprehend. Sometime.... I ALSO should read my Alan Hoenig chinese characters book. But will I???? AHA. I forgot to mention in my last reading post - but brute forcing learning the hanzi has been going fine actually. I was concerned just looking up hanzi when reading, that I would struggle to learn the new ones. But I can confirm that reading has gotten easier, and I’ve picked up a LOT of hanzi I was previously brute force looking up repeatedly while reading. So like... as long as this keeps working, I’ll keep doing it. I’m very lazy and the path with least resistance and mental exhaustion is what I’ll keep doing, if it works, even if it might be slower. (Although I do think the hanzi books I have are very useful and have helped me speed up progress when I used them).

I learned how to make gifs this month and I’m overwhelmed with all the stuff I could try to do? Idk its very cool i’m very excited about it.

Goals for March:

Basically, we’re sticking to the quite steady study plan I’ve had the past few months, which has boiled down to: read chinese, L-R, listen/watch if desired, do something listening related in japanese if desired. It’s not well rounded or anything but I’m making steady progress and its easy to keep doing.

Anything in bold is what I’m doing right now/likely to do (although we know how often I just derail).

Read chinese novels. (This can include Guardian. Currently includes: hanshe, guardian. On hiatus: Tian Ya Ke).

Listen-Read Guardian. (Reading guardian in Any way is the priority so if this happens yay, but if it doesn’t I’ll be happy if I’m still working through guardian and just postponing the listening part).

Optional. Play video game in japanese, use a dictionary and grammar guide when confused af. This one’s imminently likely just because the instant I get Nier remastered I’m playing it, and also playing Nier Automata etc games, so like... the opportunity and desire to play the japanese versions of games I want to do that with WILL hit me. 

Optional. Watch chinese shows. This one’s also likely because a priest novel drama adaptation just dropped (Word of Honor, shan he ling, tian ya ke/Faraway Wanderer’s adaptation) and I don’t want to wait for the english subs. 

Optional - unlikely (I’m not in the mood to listen to stuff lol). Audios. Keep listening to Japanese Quicksleur when there’s down time (like playing games), and Chinese Spoonfed audio if I feel like it. 

Personal. Keep reading while I’ve got the motivation to. I am really enjoying getting through all these books I’ve wanted to read for so long. 

BELOW I will eventually link a list of story recs (also see tag rec list for more):

Poyun 破云 (recced)

Poyun 破云 2

一级律师 by 木苏里 (recced)

盗墓笔记 series

默读 by priest

他们的故事 by 一根黄瓜丝儿 

寒舍 by 夏灬安兰 pingxie supernatural au

818 (pingxie)

鎮魂 by priest (chapter 4)

天涯客 by priest

Qi Ye 七爷 by priest

六爻 by priest

FGEP

犹记斐然 foxghost rec

一受封疆 foxghost rec

女主大人 我错 gl

将军府小妾生存报告 gl

夜半衣寒 by 夏灬安兰 pingxie (can u tell i like this author)

(瓶邪同人)所谓一切发生在网配+番外 (writer and radio voicer pingxie au)

死亡万花筒 kaleidoscope of death

将军府小妾生存报告  

女主大人，我错了  

魔女霓裳

公主饶命 GL

民政局领到了媳妇

In progressing difficulty, books I want to read and should be ready to read now, a la foxghost’s recommendations:

那些風花雪月 by Gong Zi Huan Xi (took 14 months of study before I tried to read this, did try, did not click with me lol)

不正當關係 by Gong Zi Huan Xi (foxghost said this was the same difficulty as the story above, so I’m probably ready for this one too).

*SCI 谜案集 by ErYa (I’ve heard this somewhat easy to read, is a good story, and since its case-centered I think it would be a good intro to later reading books like Silent Reading by Priest)

龍圖案卷集  by ErYa (There is an audiobook on Ximalaya!)

黑風城戰記  by ErYa (sequel to novel above)

Then the recommendation says you should probably watch a lot of shows for some vocab (I sort of do so I’ll see how that helps me out), and you can start tackling xianxia, like Priest’s “六爻, and then 鎮魂, then 殺破狼, and pretty much any other of GZHX’s works.” I would guess this point is when Tian Ya Ke would be more my reading level, when 六爻 is, at the beginning. I would guess after 鎮魂 is when I could try to tackle Can Ci Pin. Sha Po Lang is steampunk and fantasy, so I would guess it has some of the sci fi type words - so if I’d be ready for that, I might be ready for Can Ci Pin at the same time.

New Year’s Evil

I got the idea to start this challenge while stoned in the middle of the night and desperate for a goal. Something to put myself into. And I thought, “COVID has made me a shut-in who only watches films and talks to people. What better way to spend that time than to actually attempt to beat that world record I set out to beat so long ago. Unfortunately, I’m doing it very unofficially so only the people I talk to on a regular basis are likely to pay it any attention. I’ve got to point out here and now that my scoring system for films is arbitrary and is not a true reflection of how much I enjoyed watching a film. My scores are based on silly things that I give and deduce points for as I see fit. The Esper Scale of Entertainment (or the ESE) is understood by no one, but I will give a clear indication of why points were given and taken away at the end of each post. With those two things out of the way, I’ve got to admit I really enjoyed New Year’s Evil despite its 35/100 ESE rating. It starts off with a disappointing horror movie rule-breaking trope. There’s a woman of color in the first scene. Clearly, this means the killer is going to kill her. She committed one of the ultimate horror movie sins by being a woman of color, and thus, the movie gods decided she had to die, which was made even worse by her cliché killer-pops-out-from-behind-a-shower-curtain death. Then we get the opening titles. About eight 80s punk-rockers are packed into a convertible and blasting “New Year’s Evil” by Shadow, the video I attached to this post. So, from the word go, I have no idea what I’m watching, but I’m here for it. The song slaps, so I’m immediately all in. Earlier we saw the Yvonne (the woman of color) talking to a friend over the phone saying, “I’m on my way” before her horror-movie-trope demise, and once the credits end, we are more properly introduced to Diane, aka Blaze, a TV/radio personality who is hosting a party she calls New Year’s Evil, which appears to be a punk show where all the opening title convertible punks were headed. Before going out on stage and starting the show, Diane/Blaze’s son rocks up in fancy coat tails with blue jeans and a crumpled tie. He’s handsome as hell, but holy hell, I can’t deal with this look. I should have probably taken more than five points off for this look alone, but it’s too late now. Anyway, Blaze and Derek (Coat Tails) have a weird mother-son exchange, and their interactions are cringey at best, but incestual-feeling at worst. Anyway, the show Blaze is hosting is a punk rock show where there are some unexplained people on a stage answering telephones (is it a telethon? We don’t know. No one seems to be pledging anything. Are they making requests? It is not explained). So, Blaze is the host and decides to get in on the answering-the-phone action. When she does, a modified voice says to call him “Ee-vil!” He pronounces it exactly the way Mermaid Man does in Spongebob Squarepants, and I could only see the ridiculous face of Mermaid Man in my head any time he said it (because, oh, yes, friends. He can’t only say it once! Anyhow, the man says he’ll be killing one person on the hour every hour from 9 pm to 12 pm. (East Coast’s New Year to West Coast’s New Year) So, naturally, Blaze informs her agent that he needs to get ALL the police there to protect everyone. Meanwhile, there’s a mosh pit happening in a sanitarium, where they are watching the New Year’s Evil show live on television. While we are at the sanitarium, an orderly (I think?) and a nurse sneak off to have some fun. The orderly has a small radio capable of recording external sound (like an oversized Talkboy) as well as the sound being emitted from the radio. The nurse makes some mention of it, to which he responds, “I always come well-equipped.” She giggles, bites her lip and says, “I bet you do!” Which tells us, as the audience, that not only are they about to do the do... but this dude’s definitely the murderer. Because we’ve already seen one horror movie rules death. So, of course, we need to see another. Nurse lady has sex? Nurse lady has to die. From here on out, there are more killings as the police rock up and try to sort out what’s happening. They’re portrayed as very useless, very authoritarian/demanding, and very judgmental -- soooooo, accurately, I suppose, is the word I’d use. They’re portrayed accurately. We see the killer in the car with two women, one of which is a ditzy blonde who just cannot shut up. She talks about all the different types of meditation she’s tried. She tells the killer her friend tried one of the types, too, for her “nervous diarrhea”. You know, just the thing you tell a stranger you’re thinking about sleeping with... that your friend gets nervous poops. The ditzy blonde girl is our next horror movie trope. “The Fool”. Done in by her own stupidity. They stop somewhere for snacks or some such (I honestly don’t remember), and the friend goes in leaving the killer alone with the ditz, whom he strangles with a plastic baggie that is also full of weed. When the friend comes back, the car is gone and in its place is her friend’s shoe. She sees a nearby dumpster with a piece of fabric matching her friend’s dress poking out. She walks over while some generic horror music mixed with some Walmart Brand Jason Voorhees breathing plays, and she opens the dumpster, and the killer is inside with a lighter which he flicks on and grins menacingly at the woman, who is yanked into the dumpster, where we can assume she, too, was murdered.

I should note that somewhere before being murdered, the ditz says, “When a girl doesn’t have a date on New Year’s Eve, she’s in Shit City.” And ditzy girl? I hear ya. From here on out, there are some necessity injuries. He is being hunted down by bikers for what seems like no reason at one point, so he hides at a drive-in movie, where he sort of kidnaps a girl who was getting felt up by her boyfriend. He yanks the dude out of the car and throws him aside after stabbing one of the bikers who was chasing him. We don’t see him die, so I’m going to assume it’s an injury since he seems to only be interested in killing women. He then, later, knocks out a security guard trying to get into the punk party because the police have now determined that Blaze is probably the final target. The police and Blaze are about to check on Blaze's hotel room (the party is being held in the hotel in a ballroom or something, I’m assuming. Convention center? I don’t know. The place is connected to the hotel), where her son is, and they pull a gun on him. She yells that it’s her son, and they apologize and leave, and she apologizes to Derek saying she forgot he was there, and he storms out, “YOU ALWAYS FORGET ME WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”. The police leave, and when another officer comes back, THE KILLER ANSWERS HER DOOR. PLOT TWIST -- THE KILLER IS DIANE/BLAZE’S HUSBAND!!!! He called earlier to say he would be late, and when he shows up? HE’S THE KILLER!!!! I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming. The husband was mentioned briefly, but my brain didn’t connect it, so it was a pleasant surprise that this 80s film done duped me. Good job, New Year’s Evil!!

Anyway, Blaze is seen in the elevator moments later flirting with the officer, who’s married and has two sets of twins, information to which Blaze comments, “What’s the matter? No TV?” Suggest, Blaze. Very suggestive! It sucks that your creepy murder-husband rigged the camera in the elevator, so he knows about your weird suggestive conversations with randos, something it seems his son has also alerted him to, because when he reveals he’s the killer to her, he mentions that ladies are evil in general. Okay. So, it wasn’t just me. It wasn’t speculative. Dudeski really does just hate women. The whole film is just, “Guy hates women. Guy’s New Year Resolutions include killing all the nasty womens.” He tortures her a while by handcuffing her to some chains underneath the elevator, and then making the elevator go up and down with some fuse box of some kind that happens to just be easily accessible and next to where the elevator is. At least I haven’t seen this form of torture in film before, so that’s fun. The end is relatively boring. The police sort out that the husband used to be in the sanitarium we saw earlier where the nurse died. They find him torturing his wife, and they chase him to the roof, where he runs to the edge of the building, quotes Hamlet, and immediately plummets to his death wearing a goofy mask that he’s only worn twice in the film, both for short periods of time. He dies on impact, and everyone goes to investigate the body. The son picks up his mask and ominously stares into the distance, telling us before he’s actually told us that he’s totally going to take up his father’s quest to murder the womens.

Blaze is put in an ambulance, and when it pans to the driver, it’s the son, wearing his father’s mask. The film ends, the credits roll, and I move on to the next one.

Overall, I laughed throughout. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this film, but if you’re bored on New Year’s Eve and feel like a “horror” film, this one isn’t the *worst* one you could watch. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the ESE rating I gave it.

Quick ESE explanation: every film starts with 50 points for being a film. From there, I add or deduct points based on... my whim.

35/100

50 +4 for packed punk convertible +2 for New Year’s Evil 80s metal theme song +1 for switchblade comb -5 for coat tails with blue jeans -5 for creepy incestuous mother-son duo -2 for Mermaid Man pronunciation of “Ee-vil!” +10 for “I always come well-equipped.” “I bet you do” -5 for punks moshing to some funky blues -5 for predictable horror movie trope deaths +2 for maniacal punk laugh +3 for the “Oops” because he pissed off the bikers +5 for punks booing the police at the New Year’s Evil party -7 for the creepy incestual feeling of the interactions between Blaze and Derek +10 for PLOT TWIST!!!! -25 for the woman-hating killer +5 for creative elevator thing +2 for Hamlet quote -5 for highly predictable ending