laceblade

• What are you currently reading?
W.I.T.C.H., volume 1 - I own the first four volumes, so I'm reading them & later volumes from the library to decide whether I'd like to keep it.
Halfway through volume one & I'm feeling pretty meh - the writing is pretty weak but the art is fantastic. I'll wait 'til I've read all of the volumes before making a decision.
So far it's pretty standard: 5 girls discover they have magical powers! It's a very mahou shoujo storyline, but I think this was created by Disney.

• What did you recently finish reading?
Shugo Chara!, volumes 10-12 - These were the last three volumes in the main series.
I really feel like the storyline ended with volume 10, and volumes 11 & 12 were pretty useless additions.
I'm now kind of dreading picking up the sequel (Shugo Chara!-chan) which I've already got checked out from the library.
I think I said everything I had to say about this series last week: I like the premise more than the execution. If I still have the first two volumes in my stacks, I think I'll be adding them to my sell pile.

Cross Game, volume 3 (collecting volumes 7 & 8 as published in Japan - I read the first two volumes last year & haven't picked it up for a while. This is still a more-moving-than-usual sports manga about baseball.
Still, often when Aoba picks up a baseball & throws a hard pitch, there will be at least one panel that's solely a crotch-shot of her panties when she lifts her leg in the air to throw the ball. Also a swimsuit scene that had some girls near a pool and had some panels that were literally nothing but shots of the bottom halves of their swimsuits. It's a sign in neon lights to me: THIS STORY IS NOT INTENDED FOR YOU.

• What do you think you’ll read next?
More manga, & also selections about Mary Magdalene & women in the Catholic church from a handout I picked up Monday evening at a mass I attended - officiated by a woman Catholic priest (!!!).

• What are you currently reading?
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson - I'm reading this for beer_marmalade & also because lots of my friends have been talking it up.
I'm not really a huge fan, I guess. This seems to be a book where the worldbuilding is way better than the writing. Unlike many sf/f fans, I don't really give a fuck about worldbuilding, so that on its own is not enough for me.


• What did you recently finish reading?
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer - It's been a long-ass time since I've read non-fiction. I saw this in a used bookstore & then checked it out from the library.
This book is about two fundamentalist Mormons who murdered their sister-in-law & her infant daughter in the 1980s. It's about the polygamist fundamentalist sect of Mormonism. It's also about the history of mainstream Mormonism & the violence that's always been a part of it.
Growing up, one of my best friends 5th through 10th grade was Mormon, & was one of the guy friends in our friend-group. So I've been interested in Mormonism for a while & am pretty familiar with its sanitized history.
This book presents a lot of events I was not previously aware of, including the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
In addition to pointing out how young & coerced a lot of people's plural wives have been - from Joseph Smith's to those living in these communities today - the book also focuses on the nature of belief, in people truly believing/knowing they are communicating with God & fulfilling his commands - even when they seem absurd to regular people (i.e., killing your infant niece).
Sometimes grotesque but also fascinating.
I'm sure millions of people feel the same way about Catholicism. Like, I still find the whole "golden plates" premise & Joseph Smith himself absurd, but I'm sure many feel the same way about transubstantiation.
Anyway, I feel like I'm not doing a great job with this review, but I loved this book & might look into reading more by Krakauer.

Shugo Chara! vols. 5-6 - Currently filing this under "okay but not great."
I love Amu's wardrobe (she is the protagonist). The premise of this series is that she feels like she can't be her "true self." She has mini-characters who hatch from eggs & can transform her into truer versions of herself (via henshin).
She hangs out with other members of her school who have this ability, too.
Amu gets a fourth egg with an X on it, which is later revealed to be a diamond. It doesn't reveal an aspect of Amu's true self right away because she's "down."
During the triumphant scene in which this x-egg finally changes into Diamond, Amu says, "I do feel frustrated. There's no one who would feel happy when they lose. Of course I'll feel frustrated if I lose. But losing...getting hurting is not the end of it. If I have the will to try harder the next time...I'll get stronger when I get hurt. People who know loss should be able to shine, too. I still don't know what the real me is like. I might be someone who is wishy-washy. But...I believe in it. I believe in the sparkles inside of me."
MAHOU SHOUJO MANGA, HOW YOU SPEAK TO ME WITH YOUR NONSENSICAL PEP TALKS. That's what I'm here for, & that's what I got :D

Basara vols. 2-6 - I am still SO PLEASED with this series, omg it just fantastic.


• What do you think you’ll read next?
More Basara, more Shugo Chara, & more of the other manga I've got checked out from the library ^_^
It'd be nice to read more non-fiction, too.