Yet another busy month. I've started watching the anime Haikyuu, so that is less time for reading... Which is fine by me - I'm having fun with that show!
Recently finished (books, including re-reads):
The Buccaneers, by Edith Wharton and Marion Mainwaring (1938). Thoroughly enjoyed this one! Nan's pseudo-fall from grace was a roller coaster to read in the back half of the book. I still don't get the whole "I'm going to totally destroy my life because I have a crush on someone" mentality of that era, but 'reading with modern eyes' and all...
Unease: Life in Singaporean Families, by Teo You Yenn (2026). Finally finished it! As I've said in previous posts, I know a little too much about the meta of raising children in Singapore for this book to be particularly useful. However, if you don't know much about the topic / haven't put considerable thought into it, it is worth the read. I intend to re-read her 2018 book on inequality in Singapore soon.
Murder is Binding, by Lorraine Bartlett (2008). Finally, a new cozy series to read! I thoroughly enjoyed the first book.It's different enough in premise and characterization for me to be excited about it, yet similar enough to other tropes and series to be, well, cozy. I was concerned going in that it would be too similar to the Clare Malloy series (protagonist is a bookstore owner, small town setting), but the series is substantially different. I find the sisters' dynamic to be fun now that they've settled and are less combative (a little like the protagonists of the Southern Sisters series). The double-villain twist actually works here. I usually hate the evil-twin thing, but it works okay here, too. Curious to see where the antagonistic relationship with the police go (can only last so long, right?). Twenty books and counting - plenty to keep me busy!
West of Sunset, by Stewart O'Nan (2015). Physical library pickup. I'm usually not into historical real-person fan fiction (excuse me - "historical novels"). Stewart O'Nan is good at writing sad-sack, washed up male protagonists, so I was interested to see his take on F. Scott Fitzgerald. A bit bummed out by the underwhelming ending - something that really worked for Last Night at the Lobster, but not in this book.
Recently finished (manga and comics):
Ghost World, by Daniel Clowes (1993). I've seen the movie twice and had strong reactions to it in different ways. (Watched it at 18 and again at 30, so you can probably guess the change in my opinion.) The comic book is completely different, both plot-wise and in general characterization! Truthfully, I think this is the rare case where I prefer the movie... A short read, so still worth it in the end.
Midway through:
Dracula Daily (aka Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)). Haha, at this point this one is a joke. I'm so far behind that the next cycle of emails has begun...
To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf (1927). Another joke one... Someday I'll get the steam to finish it.
Insomniacs After School, by Makoto Ojiro (2019-2023). Bumped this one up my to-read list after several people on a manga forum I'm on recommended it. An odd premise and a bit forced in getting the main characters to join an astronomy club, but a fun and promising manga. I'm only about 10 chapters in, but enjoying it so far. Helps that the artwork is good, too!
Inuyasha, by Rumiko Takahashi (1996-2008). Only about ten chapters in, reading it on a lark. It moves a lot more quickly than I remember. The only reason I'm reading is because it is free on Viz app. I've read about as far as I made it in books I borrowed from friends in middle school. Middleschool Nicole would be thrilled by how easily accessible manga is today!
Too Much of Life, by Clarice Lispector (1967-77). A physical library pickup. Lispector is one of those cool-girl authors that keeps lingering around my Pinterest. This book reads like a mildly interesting blog. It was probably more interesting to read in the newspaper in the 60's, but fairly boring now. I made it about 70 or so pages in before I decided 700+ pages was too much for me and returned the book. I'll read Hour of the Star one of these days...
this idea came to me in a prophetic vision of sorts and i had to make it and now i'm actually going to clean it up and get it printed as a bumper sticker because it's so. #me <3
I started a whole lot of books, and finished few. Even more books not listed were picked up from the library and returned unread. Both my kid and husband were sick this month (and me too), so I had very little time for anything other than caregiving.
Recently finished (books, including re-reads):
Feng Shui Modern, by Cliff Tan (2022). My husband has recently gotten into Feng Shui and insisted I read this book. It's okay. Nothing amazing, but I'm not particularly impressed by Feng Shui in general. Some common sense advice, and an unfortunately tendency towards uni-tasker spaces and furniture. Our apartment is too small for this way of thinking! Not particularly practical for us at all.
Dead Man's Chest, by Kerry Greenwood (2010). Another classic Ms. Fisher mystery. It, too, suffers from the too-many characters problem. This one was easier for me to manage. Maybe I've just gotten good at figuring out who to pay attention to and who to ignore? In other news, there is a new posthumously finished Ms. Fisher mystery coming out. Just when I thought I was in the home stretch with finishing this series..!
Recently finished (manga and comics):
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Deluxe Edition Vol. 1, by Hitoshi Ashinano (1994). A perfectly pleasant slice-of-life at the end of the world manga. It's been kicking around my to-read list for awhile, so when I came across it in the subscription library it was a quick pick. Very pleasant, but not compelling enough for me to go out of my way to pay for future volumes.
La Quinta Camera Capitolo, by Natsume Ono (2003). Charming little one volume manga by an author I like. Nothing spectacular, and not her best work, but still a pleasant read.
Pink Candy Kiss Vol. 4, by Ami Uozumi (translated 2026). This is officially a hate read for me. I really dislike the main love interest, and I find the conflict with her mother to be extremely contrived. To be fair, I don't like the manga micro-genere of "single lesbian woman falls in love with married woman and drama ensues". Just because it works in the The Price of Salt doesn't mean it translates well elsewhere...
Midway through:
Dracula Daily (aka Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)). Haha, at this point this one is a joke.
To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf (1927). Made it halfway through, then ran out of steam. The same thing happened to me with Orlando. I'll wander back to it eventually.
Unease: Life in Singaporean Families, by Teo You Yenn (2026). Reading along with this for an online bookclub (which is moving at an unnecessarily slow pace). This book would be more useful for those unfamiliar with raising children in Singapore, or for those in SG who haven't thought about how they structure their family at the meta level. Four chapters in and I haven't gotten any information that I didn't already know - but that is because I am already very, very familiar with the subject and the author's line of thinking. Will finish for the sake of the bookclub and keeping my husband happy.
Little Birds, by Anais Nin (1979) and Closed Casket, by Sophie Hannah (2015). Had to return these to the subscription library before finishing them. Will most likely not circle back to finish them.
The Buccaneers, by Edith Wharton and Marion Mainwaring (1938). I'm usually not into posthumously published novels, but so far this one is working. I always enjoy Wharton's spot on commentary on society and the social BS that goes along with it. A "the more things change, the more they stay the same" vibe. My one complaint has absolutely nothing to do with the book itself - whenever I talk about it at silent bookclubs or similar, people instantly compare it to Bridgerton, a very popular show I have zero interest in watching. That or Jane Austen (which I know I've read, but made zero impression on my teenage brain). I mean, I guess it's good these things are trendy, and I guess I'll have to engage with them to know what people are talking about.... I just don't particularly like the Regency Era. Ah well.
Six Feet Deep Dish, by Mindy Quigley (2022). Still trying to fill the Cat Who shaped hole in my heart. This one was so bad that I gave up after about 50 pages. Extremely annoying protagonist! One of those perfectionist-type characters that are clearly written by someone who has no clue what they are talking about, and just use it as an excuse to justify writing an overbearing-yet-suspiciously-successful protagonist. Never mind that in reality perfectionist types never actually get anything accomplished, other than stewing in their own fear of failure.
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