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Oops, I spent more time writing this than I'd intended. It's hard to believe January is more than halfway over.
What I Finished Reading This Week
The Scum Villian’s Self-Saving System vol. 1 – Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
So this was cute, silly brain candy reading. The narration and worldbuilding were more superficial than the Japanese equivalents I'm used to, but I did enjoy the irreverent tone and ridiculous quandaries in which the protagonist found himself. And yes, Luo Binghe's ignorance of the cause of Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu's sudden change in behavior and resulting devotion to Shen is something I am Very Much Here For. (Better yet, the creepy underpinnings of Luo's devotion are largely mitigated by the plot because, because the object of Luo's devotion is not his actual abuser.) All said, it’s much tamer than most BL novels, more sweet than sexy; if Sugiura Shiho were to write a novel, it would probably read a lot like this.
The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom – John Pomfret
No one writes better nonfiction than journalists, this lucid, in-depth, and compulsively readable book being a case in point. Even Pomfret's occasional slip-ups are good( Read more... ) I very much enjoyed this well-written book.
The Winter Isles – Antonia Senior
This novel is about the quasi-historical, quasi-mythical Somerled, a chieftain whose territory covered much of western Scotland and the Isle of Man in the late-11th and early-12th centuries. Senior has done her research, and the book pretty accurately depicts the grim conditions of the time: constant threats from famine, Gael or Norse raiders, the shifting political dynamics between those groups and the English and French, and the constant threats to women from childbearing and men (beatings, rape, forced marriage, spousal abandonment, religious misogyny). There’s no anachronism here, which, again, makes for a good but dispiriting reading experience. Where Senior missteps is ( cut ). To Senior’s credit, the narrative relays these plot developments (aside from the aforementioned whump) in the same dispassionate fashion as the others—no romance novel melodramatics here—but they still sit uneasily with her commitment to unflinching historical realism in the rest of the novel. So ultimately, while I appreciate the book’s qualified commitment to realism, these elements prevent me from wholeheartedly recommending it.
Pilates – Alycea Ungaro
This book does as good a job explaining dynamic movements through words and static images as it's possible to do. It’s clearly written and presented in an intuitive format, and I appreciate the excellent illustrations, pointers on what to focus on (posture, breathing, etc.), and explanations of pitfalls to avoid. That said, there are some things that just can’t be conveyed in this format (exactly how long is "one pulse"?) And more basically, while I appreciate the routine’s potential to increase one’s abdominal strength (in particular), I still came away from it all with the feeling that I would rather just do yoga. But for anyone who’s interested in Pilates, this is an excellent book.
観音経の話 – NA (Kannon-kyo no Hanashi – NA)
I’ve read the volumes in this series on juzu and copying sutras, and found them to be something of a mixed bag. That’s definitely the case with this volume too. It starts out promisingly with a good overview of the Kannon Sutra: its internal divisions and how it relates to the Lotus Sutra. But then it goes off the rails—the actual phrase the author uses to describe his irrelevant digressions, which comprise close to half of the volume. These cover everything from elephants to urban legends to the supposed looming reintroduction of a military draft to modern Japan, but by far the worst of the lot is the entire chapter devoted to shaming people who are too poor to afford the many anniversary rites after a relative’s death for not coming up with the money somehow. (Said rites are pretty much the only way many Japanese Buddhist temples interact with the community in post-war Japan, so much so that there’s a term for it: “funeral Buddhism.”) The only personal details the author provides are that he’s a married, 64-year-old priest; reading between the lines he’s probably affiliated with a Nichiren-based temple. Regardless, HE WANTS YOUR MONEY and he’s willing to threaten you with undying remorse for causing the eternal hellish torment of your deceased loved ones to get it. I may hold on to this volume for the complete text of the Seson-ge printed in its final chapter, but there's not much to recommend it beyond that.
What I Finished Reading Last Week
The Dragon and the Griffin – Aidan Meehan
In contrast to Meehan’s other volumes, The Dragon and the Griffin does not explain how to draw the element of Celtic art it discusses. Rather, Meehan wrote the volume to make the case that the Norse or Viking influence on Celtic art is less pronounced than many art historians would have it, and with some reservations, I think he largely succeeds. He relies on some filler to hit the page count necessary for a full-length book, but it still makes for an interesting read for anyone with an interest in the subject.
League of Dragons – Naomi Novik
This was a solid conclusion to the series. I enjoyed the strategy and battle scenes, and the reappearance of so many secondary and tertiary characters from the previous volumes. If it didn’t hit the characterization or emotional heights of earlier books, neither was it as dull as some of the others, and the ending leaves enough open for all the fanfic continuations one’s heart could desire.
What I Am Currently Reading
Seraphina – Rachel Hartman
I've only read the prologue and first chapter, but I like the characters, language, and worldbuilding so far, all of which give me strong Goblin Emperor vibes.
Heaven Official’s Blessing vol. 1 – Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
I appreciate that the translators have adapted the glossaries for each book, instead of pasting them wholesale from one to the next. The descriptive language in this book is a bit more fleshed out than in Scum Villain but it's still pretty basic, and like Scum Villain, the translation is frequently pretty clunky. (And I could do without "XYZ said" at the end of every bit of dialogue.) All that said, the 60-odd pages I've read have still entertained.
What I Finished Reading At Some Point In 2021
最遊記ＲＥＬＯＡＤ ＢＬＡＳＴ (1) – 峰倉かずや (Saiyuki Reload Blast vol. 1 – Minekura Kazuya)
At least a decade had passed since I last touched this series, which was stumbling a bit due to Minekura’s poor health (and subsequent deterioration in the quality of her illustrations). I was therefore very pleased to see that her art had returned to form in this volume. The storytelling was a bit wobbly in the manner of a new series getting its footing, which this more or less was, given the amount of time that had lapsed since the last volume of Reload.
最遊記ＲＥＬＯＡＤ ＢＬＡＳＴ (2) – 峰倉かずや (Saiyuki Reload Blast vol. 2 – Minekura Kazuya)
This is a full return to form. The storytelling and art are both top notch, and there’s a real sense of impending crisis as the narrative draws to its long-awaited climax. There are also plenty of nods to fan favorite scenes and interactions from all the previous runs, which I at least was fully on board for.
最遊記ＲＥＬＯＡＤ ＢＬＡＳＴ (3) – 峰倉かずや (Saiyuki Reload Blast vol. 3 – Minekura Kazuya)
The extended battle in this volume was really well done, as evidenced by my investment in the survival of secondary and tertiary characters whom Minekura had only recently introduced. I really dug this, and I’m really bummed that once again, there is no more story to be had and no indication that any will appear any time soon, if ever.
What I’m Reading Next
I finished seven books in the last two weeks and acquired no new ones. Let's see if I can keep this momentum going.
What I Still Have Left To Review
The Last Graduate ・ Scythe
これで以上です。
What I Finished Reading This Week
The Scum Villian’s Self-Saving System vol. 1 – Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
So this was cute, silly brain candy reading. The narration and worldbuilding were more superficial than the Japanese equivalents I'm used to, but I did enjoy the irreverent tone and ridiculous quandaries in which the protagonist found himself. And yes, Luo Binghe's ignorance of the cause of Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu's sudden change in behavior and resulting devotion to Shen is something I am Very Much Here For. (Better yet, the creepy underpinnings of Luo's devotion are largely mitigated by the plot because, because the object of Luo's devotion is not his actual abuser.) All said, it’s much tamer than most BL novels, more sweet than sexy; if Sugiura Shiho were to write a novel, it would probably read a lot like this.
The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom – John Pomfret
No one writes better nonfiction than journalists, this lucid, in-depth, and compulsively readable book being a case in point. Even Pomfret's occasional slip-ups are good( Read more... ) I very much enjoyed this well-written book.
The Winter Isles – Antonia Senior
This novel is about the quasi-historical, quasi-mythical Somerled, a chieftain whose territory covered much of western Scotland and the Isle of Man in the late-11th and early-12th centuries. Senior has done her research, and the book pretty accurately depicts the grim conditions of the time: constant threats from famine, Gael or Norse raiders, the shifting political dynamics between those groups and the English and French, and the constant threats to women from childbearing and men (beatings, rape, forced marriage, spousal abandonment, religious misogyny). There’s no anachronism here, which, again, makes for a good but dispiriting reading experience. Where Senior missteps is ( cut ). To Senior’s credit, the narrative relays these plot developments (aside from the aforementioned whump) in the same dispassionate fashion as the others—no romance novel melodramatics here—but they still sit uneasily with her commitment to unflinching historical realism in the rest of the novel. So ultimately, while I appreciate the book’s qualified commitment to realism, these elements prevent me from wholeheartedly recommending it.
Pilates – Alycea Ungaro
This book does as good a job explaining dynamic movements through words and static images as it's possible to do. It’s clearly written and presented in an intuitive format, and I appreciate the excellent illustrations, pointers on what to focus on (posture, breathing, etc.), and explanations of pitfalls to avoid. That said, there are some things that just can’t be conveyed in this format (exactly how long is "one pulse"?) And more basically, while I appreciate the routine’s potential to increase one’s abdominal strength (in particular), I still came away from it all with the feeling that I would rather just do yoga. But for anyone who’s interested in Pilates, this is an excellent book.
観音経の話 – NA (Kannon-kyo no Hanashi – NA)
I’ve read the volumes in this series on juzu and copying sutras, and found them to be something of a mixed bag. That’s definitely the case with this volume too. It starts out promisingly with a good overview of the Kannon Sutra: its internal divisions and how it relates to the Lotus Sutra. But then it goes off the rails—the actual phrase the author uses to describe his irrelevant digressions, which comprise close to half of the volume. These cover everything from elephants to urban legends to the supposed looming reintroduction of a military draft to modern Japan, but by far the worst of the lot is the entire chapter devoted to shaming people who are too poor to afford the many anniversary rites after a relative’s death for not coming up with the money somehow. (Said rites are pretty much the only way many Japanese Buddhist temples interact with the community in post-war Japan, so much so that there’s a term for it: “funeral Buddhism.”) The only personal details the author provides are that he’s a married, 64-year-old priest; reading between the lines he’s probably affiliated with a Nichiren-based temple. Regardless, HE WANTS YOUR MONEY and he’s willing to threaten you with undying remorse for causing the eternal hellish torment of your deceased loved ones to get it. I may hold on to this volume for the complete text of the Seson-ge printed in its final chapter, but there's not much to recommend it beyond that.
What I Finished Reading Last Week
The Dragon and the Griffin – Aidan Meehan
In contrast to Meehan’s other volumes, The Dragon and the Griffin does not explain how to draw the element of Celtic art it discusses. Rather, Meehan wrote the volume to make the case that the Norse or Viking influence on Celtic art is less pronounced than many art historians would have it, and with some reservations, I think he largely succeeds. He relies on some filler to hit the page count necessary for a full-length book, but it still makes for an interesting read for anyone with an interest in the subject.
League of Dragons – Naomi Novik
This was a solid conclusion to the series. I enjoyed the strategy and battle scenes, and the reappearance of so many secondary and tertiary characters from the previous volumes. If it didn’t hit the characterization or emotional heights of earlier books, neither was it as dull as some of the others, and the ending leaves enough open for all the fanfic continuations one’s heart could desire.
What I Am Currently Reading
Seraphina – Rachel Hartman
I've only read the prologue and first chapter, but I like the characters, language, and worldbuilding so far, all of which give me strong Goblin Emperor vibes.
Heaven Official’s Blessing vol. 1 – Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
I appreciate that the translators have adapted the glossaries for each book, instead of pasting them wholesale from one to the next. The descriptive language in this book is a bit more fleshed out than in Scum Villain but it's still pretty basic, and like Scum Villain, the translation is frequently pretty clunky. (And I could do without "XYZ said" at the end of every bit of dialogue.) All that said, the 60-odd pages I've read have still entertained.
What I Finished Reading At Some Point In 2021
最遊記ＲＥＬＯＡＤ ＢＬＡＳＴ (1) – 峰倉かずや (Saiyuki Reload Blast vol. 1 – Minekura Kazuya)
At least a decade had passed since I last touched this series, which was stumbling a bit due to Minekura’s poor health (and subsequent deterioration in the quality of her illustrations). I was therefore very pleased to see that her art had returned to form in this volume. The storytelling was a bit wobbly in the manner of a new series getting its footing, which this more or less was, given the amount of time that had lapsed since the last volume of Reload.
最遊記ＲＥＬＯＡＤ ＢＬＡＳＴ (2) – 峰倉かずや (Saiyuki Reload Blast vol. 2 – Minekura Kazuya)
This is a full return to form. The storytelling and art are both top notch, and there’s a real sense of impending crisis as the narrative draws to its long-awaited climax. There are also plenty of nods to fan favorite scenes and interactions from all the previous runs, which I at least was fully on board for.
最遊記ＲＥＬＯＡＤ ＢＬＡＳＴ (3) – 峰倉かずや (Saiyuki Reload Blast vol. 3 – Minekura Kazuya)
The extended battle in this volume was really well done, as evidenced by my investment in the survival of secondary and tertiary characters whom Minekura had only recently introduced. I really dug this, and I’m really bummed that once again, there is no more story to be had and no indication that any will appear any time soon, if ever.
What I’m Reading Next
I finished seven books in the last two weeks and acquired no new ones. Let's see if I can keep this momentum going.
What I Still Have Left To Review
The Last Graduate ・ Scythe
これで以上です。
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