Book Logging
Jul. 2nd, 2009 10:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckStill playing catch up. It will take a few more entries to cover everything. I'll post in batches as I finish them.
Barlow, Steve and Steve Skidmore. Outernet: Friend or Foe - This kid's book was amusing but too predictable for my taste. Predictability of this sort isn't a problem for the target age group because part of what kids get from these stories is a feel for narrative rhythm and a sense of what to expect in stories. Without that expectation, every twist ending in the world will fail.
Anyway, this is SF about three kids who get their hands on a piece of alien technology that's being pursued by agents of an evil empire and protected by agents of the resistance against the empire. The kids are pretty flat, and I decided not to read the sequel when I read the first page of it and knew that the plot complications were all going to come from one character being stupid and greedy (and, one presumes, learning better).
Blade of the Immortal: Dreamsong - I'm kind of surprised, given the violence, that I like this series as much as I do. The art is also more shadowed and complex than I usually favor in manga.
How much does the order for these matter? I don't have the next one, but I have two or three after that.
Bleach 25-26 - I still kind of care about the series, but I'm also anticipating things that I've already been spoiled for that will make me care less than I currently do. This leaves me ambivalent. I suppose I'll keep reading as long as the library keeps getting it (and as long as it doesn't matter that I can't remember who all the shinigami are). I do wish that being clever mattered more.
Buso Renkin 7-8 - I still don't love this as much as Rurouni Kenshin. I think that I miss the sense of time and place that's present in Kenshin. I also like the way that history in Kenshin gives the characters a framework that I can understand for their choices. The characters in Buso Renkin seem shallow in contrast. (I just finished Rurouni Kenshin or I'd not be comparing so heavily even though I started this series based on knowing that it was by the same manga-ka.)
Our hero is still trying to survive being hunted as he searches for a solution to his impending doom. He has allies helping him and foes with particularly twisted styles of attack coming after him. There's nothing particularly new, but it can be fun.
I'm creeped out by Papillion, however. I think I'm supposed to be, but I'm not sure I'm creeped out for the intended reason.
Chibi Vampire 8 - There may be the start of non-romantic plot here. I hope so. I'd like to know more about vampiric politics. I'd also like some hints as to what Karin is and why she is the way she is. I don't mind the hero, but he's dull when placed next to the rest of it. I'd like to see him actively engaged in following Karin as she finds things out. Sadly, I suspect that neither of them will do much. They haven't so far.
D. Gray-Man 7-10 - I'm utterly confused. I can't remember who is where or what the fights are about. Do we know what the deal is with the Noahs? The fights are visually confusing, too. I want to know what happens, but I'm having problems following the story.
Edghill, Rosemary. The Ill-Bred Bride - I like the fact that, in this book, marrying money didn't actually solve the hero's financial problems. He and his family almost ran through his wife's money due to having no experience at managing money. I didn't find the characters hugely memorable. They were largely likable, apart from an aunt and cousin who were supposed to be awful, and I wished them well. I guess I'd call it a popcorn book. It was fun but not a keeper.
From Far Away 1-5 - These were quick reads. An explosion throws the heroine into another world, one filled with dangerous creatures and warring nations. There's a prophecy about her that leads armies to try to hunt her down. Fortunately for her, no one knows what she looks like because she was found by a man who had the sense to conceal her identity.
The girl has to learn the language, so the story progresses slowly. She can't ask questions, and no one can explain anything to her. The hero seems to have some sort of curse on him, something involving a risk of turning into a monster.
I'm interested in seeing more. I may have to ask the library to buy the series.
Golding, Julia. Secret of the Sirens - I read about half of this before I returned it to the library. I liked the bits of it I read enough to renew it once but not enough to actually finish it in an eight week window.
The book is about a girl who is sent to stay with her eccentric aunt (I think her parents were traveling). She discovers that her aunt is part of an organization of people who can talk to mythical animals and that she is something special even among such people in that she can talk to any mythical creature while most people can only communicate with a single species or small group of species.
There are complications due to humans decreasing the range available for the mythical creatures (shipping, pollution, deforestation, and so on) and due to an ancient evil attempting to make the mythical creatures go to war against humans. The book's the start of a series. I may try later volumes. I'm not sure, though. I'm likely to find the real world issues a difficulty because I don't see them as solvable without major upheaval.
GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka 1 - I didn't get very far in this. I'd picked it up through BookMooch, and I'll be sending it off the same way. It just didn't work for me, and I could tell that in the first dozen pages. Both the art and the language were off putting for me, and I suspect that the subject matter wouldn't be enough to overcome either problem.
Guin Saga 1 - Okay, I understand why the enslaved dancing girl dresses like that. I don't understand the very, very powerful sorceress-- even if she's bent on seduction-- dressing like that. The outfit appears to have sharp edges in very sensitive areas and to provide no support for her ultra-large breasts.
Irritation with the costuming of female characters aside, I'm mildly interested in where the story goes. The library has it, so I'll be trying more, eventually. There's a very pulp fantasy feel to the setting and events that makes me think of my one attempt to read a Conan the Barbarian book. That's not a favorite style of mine but can be acceptable when I lack better options.
Honey and Clover 1 - I tried this anime a while ago and kept getting distracted and forgetting who the characters were and how they related to each other. I think I'll have better luck with the manga. This is a slice of life about a bunch of students in art school.
Junk 1 - The protagonist (I can't accurately call him a hero) of this has no redeeming features, at least not in the first volume. I don't know if that will change. If it does, I'm kind of expecting a Peter Parker arc. He's already killed his parents with his new found power.
Basically, the protagonist is a shut in due to having been bullied at school. He fills out a form on the internet to acquire a prototype powered suit, agreeing to submit test data and so on. When he gets it, he starts beating people up.
If I'm recalling correctly, I found the art in this one disturbing because everybody's heads looked out of proportion to their bodies, broad shoulders and tiny heads, but I may be mixing this up with Guin Saga as I read them the same day.
Kare Kano 19 - I have no sympathy for the angst of the hero's biological father. I have a lot more sympathy for the hero's adoptive father. I don't know if I'm going to be able to make myself read even one more volume. I'm afraid of losing my love for the beginning of this series if I go all the way to the end. I'm kind of curious in a train wreck sort of way, but the stuff I love has been left behind. (I've read spoilers. I know I'll be angry.)
Loveless 1 - I think the thing with the ears is going to drive me crazy. I keep thinking that a society with that obvious an indicator of loss of virginity would ritualize it at a set and relatively early point so that no adults had ears. It would be something that everybody did at a particular time.
That aside, I'm interested in the plot. I want to know what's going on, why the hero's older brother is dead, what's going on with his parents, why people are attacking him and so on.
Maburaho 1 - I think I made it about a third of the way into this volume. I just couldn't handle the central conceit of the not particularly talented guy being chased by lots of girls for his genetic potential. I think I have the wrong mindset and would even if it were tastefully handled. (I keep wondering what marriage has to do with having the guy's children when he's not desirable as a husband to most of them.) I didn't find this tasteful.
Rurouni Kenshin 22-25 - And done! (I read the other, later volumes last summer. I really am done. Finally.) I'm not sure why I didn't read these sooner. For some reason, I'd gotten anxious about them and just stalled out. Basically, there were a bunch of fights. Kaoru apparently died. Kenshin gave in to despair. Other characters tracked down Enishi's hideout, and things started to get better.
Maybe I just didn't want to finish it. This takes away my last excuse for not working on the Rurouni Kenshin fic that I've been thinking about for seven years. Well, I suppose I could still use the fact that I'd talked withlunargeography about collaborating on it as an excuse. If she lets me.
Sanderson, Brandon. Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones - I think I want to play in a table top rpg that's set in this universe. I'd like to try to figure out how to make these powers be super powers, and the universe is fun.
I sped through this one, enjoying every second. Are Sanderson's books for adults like this?
Sandman: The Doll's House, Sandman: Dream Country, Sandman: Season of Mists - I can't remember which of these was which at this point. I don't think I'm going to push forward with the series right now. It's too anxiety inducing and too violent (yes, those are different things) with too much painful gore. I may come back to the series later because I have the impression that having an acquaintance with them is necessary for cultural literacy in the area of western graphic novels. I just don't want to deal with the unpleasantness.
Tenryu the Dragon Cycle 1 - I'm definitely interested in learning more about this world. I'm not really sold on the characters, but there are things happening, and those things intrigue me. This is a relatively standard (manga) fantasy setting with a princess (dragon) in peril and two young men looking to avenge the death of their foster father.
Barlow, Steve and Steve Skidmore. Outernet: Friend or Foe - This kid's book was amusing but too predictable for my taste. Predictability of this sort isn't a problem for the target age group because part of what kids get from these stories is a feel for narrative rhythm and a sense of what to expect in stories. Without that expectation, every twist ending in the world will fail.
Anyway, this is SF about three kids who get their hands on a piece of alien technology that's being pursued by agents of an evil empire and protected by agents of the resistance against the empire. The kids are pretty flat, and I decided not to read the sequel when I read the first page of it and knew that the plot complications were all going to come from one character being stupid and greedy (and, one presumes, learning better).
Blade of the Immortal: Dreamsong - I'm kind of surprised, given the violence, that I like this series as much as I do. The art is also more shadowed and complex than I usually favor in manga.
How much does the order for these matter? I don't have the next one, but I have two or three after that.
Bleach 25-26 - I still kind of care about the series, but I'm also anticipating things that I've already been spoiled for that will make me care less than I currently do. This leaves me ambivalent. I suppose I'll keep reading as long as the library keeps getting it (and as long as it doesn't matter that I can't remember who all the shinigami are). I do wish that being clever mattered more.
Buso Renkin 7-8 - I still don't love this as much as Rurouni Kenshin. I think that I miss the sense of time and place that's present in Kenshin. I also like the way that history in Kenshin gives the characters a framework that I can understand for their choices. The characters in Buso Renkin seem shallow in contrast. (I just finished Rurouni Kenshin or I'd not be comparing so heavily even though I started this series based on knowing that it was by the same manga-ka.)
Our hero is still trying to survive being hunted as he searches for a solution to his impending doom. He has allies helping him and foes with particularly twisted styles of attack coming after him. There's nothing particularly new, but it can be fun.
I'm creeped out by Papillion, however. I think I'm supposed to be, but I'm not sure I'm creeped out for the intended reason.
Chibi Vampire 8 - There may be the start of non-romantic plot here. I hope so. I'd like to know more about vampiric politics. I'd also like some hints as to what Karin is and why she is the way she is. I don't mind the hero, but he's dull when placed next to the rest of it. I'd like to see him actively engaged in following Karin as she finds things out. Sadly, I suspect that neither of them will do much. They haven't so far.
D. Gray-Man 7-10 - I'm utterly confused. I can't remember who is where or what the fights are about. Do we know what the deal is with the Noahs? The fights are visually confusing, too. I want to know what happens, but I'm having problems following the story.
Edghill, Rosemary. The Ill-Bred Bride - I like the fact that, in this book, marrying money didn't actually solve the hero's financial problems. He and his family almost ran through his wife's money due to having no experience at managing money. I didn't find the characters hugely memorable. They were largely likable, apart from an aunt and cousin who were supposed to be awful, and I wished them well. I guess I'd call it a popcorn book. It was fun but not a keeper.
From Far Away 1-5 - These were quick reads. An explosion throws the heroine into another world, one filled with dangerous creatures and warring nations. There's a prophecy about her that leads armies to try to hunt her down. Fortunately for her, no one knows what she looks like because she was found by a man who had the sense to conceal her identity.
The girl has to learn the language, so the story progresses slowly. She can't ask questions, and no one can explain anything to her. The hero seems to have some sort of curse on him, something involving a risk of turning into a monster.
I'm interested in seeing more. I may have to ask the library to buy the series.
Golding, Julia. Secret of the Sirens - I read about half of this before I returned it to the library. I liked the bits of it I read enough to renew it once but not enough to actually finish it in an eight week window.
The book is about a girl who is sent to stay with her eccentric aunt (I think her parents were traveling). She discovers that her aunt is part of an organization of people who can talk to mythical animals and that she is something special even among such people in that she can talk to any mythical creature while most people can only communicate with a single species or small group of species.
There are complications due to humans decreasing the range available for the mythical creatures (shipping, pollution, deforestation, and so on) and due to an ancient evil attempting to make the mythical creatures go to war against humans. The book's the start of a series. I may try later volumes. I'm not sure, though. I'm likely to find the real world issues a difficulty because I don't see them as solvable without major upheaval.
GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka 1 - I didn't get very far in this. I'd picked it up through BookMooch, and I'll be sending it off the same way. It just didn't work for me, and I could tell that in the first dozen pages. Both the art and the language were off putting for me, and I suspect that the subject matter wouldn't be enough to overcome either problem.
Guin Saga 1 - Okay, I understand why the enslaved dancing girl dresses like that. I don't understand the very, very powerful sorceress-- even if she's bent on seduction-- dressing like that. The outfit appears to have sharp edges in very sensitive areas and to provide no support for her ultra-large breasts.
Irritation with the costuming of female characters aside, I'm mildly interested in where the story goes. The library has it, so I'll be trying more, eventually. There's a very pulp fantasy feel to the setting and events that makes me think of my one attempt to read a Conan the Barbarian book. That's not a favorite style of mine but can be acceptable when I lack better options.
Honey and Clover 1 - I tried this anime a while ago and kept getting distracted and forgetting who the characters were and how they related to each other. I think I'll have better luck with the manga. This is a slice of life about a bunch of students in art school.
Junk 1 - The protagonist (I can't accurately call him a hero) of this has no redeeming features, at least not in the first volume. I don't know if that will change. If it does, I'm kind of expecting a Peter Parker arc. He's already killed his parents with his new found power.
Basically, the protagonist is a shut in due to having been bullied at school. He fills out a form on the internet to acquire a prototype powered suit, agreeing to submit test data and so on. When he gets it, he starts beating people up.
If I'm recalling correctly, I found the art in this one disturbing because everybody's heads looked out of proportion to their bodies, broad shoulders and tiny heads, but I may be mixing this up with Guin Saga as I read them the same day.
Kare Kano 19 - I have no sympathy for the angst of the hero's biological father. I have a lot more sympathy for the hero's adoptive father. I don't know if I'm going to be able to make myself read even one more volume. I'm afraid of losing my love for the beginning of this series if I go all the way to the end. I'm kind of curious in a train wreck sort of way, but the stuff I love has been left behind. (I've read spoilers. I know I'll be angry.)
Loveless 1 - I think the thing with the ears is going to drive me crazy. I keep thinking that a society with that obvious an indicator of loss of virginity would ritualize it at a set and relatively early point so that no adults had ears. It would be something that everybody did at a particular time.
That aside, I'm interested in the plot. I want to know what's going on, why the hero's older brother is dead, what's going on with his parents, why people are attacking him and so on.
Maburaho 1 - I think I made it about a third of the way into this volume. I just couldn't handle the central conceit of the not particularly talented guy being chased by lots of girls for his genetic potential. I think I have the wrong mindset and would even if it were tastefully handled. (I keep wondering what marriage has to do with having the guy's children when he's not desirable as a husband to most of them.) I didn't find this tasteful.
Rurouni Kenshin 22-25 - And done! (I read the other, later volumes last summer. I really am done. Finally.) I'm not sure why I didn't read these sooner. For some reason, I'd gotten anxious about them and just stalled out. Basically, there were a bunch of fights. Kaoru apparently died. Kenshin gave in to despair. Other characters tracked down Enishi's hideout, and things started to get better.
Maybe I just didn't want to finish it. This takes away my last excuse for not working on the Rurouni Kenshin fic that I've been thinking about for seven years. Well, I suppose I could still use the fact that I'd talked with
lunargeography about collaborating on it as an excuse. If she lets me.Sanderson, Brandon. Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones - I think I want to play in a table top rpg that's set in this universe. I'd like to try to figure out how to make these powers be super powers, and the universe is fun.
I sped through this one, enjoying every second. Are Sanderson's books for adults like this?
Sandman: The Doll's House, Sandman: Dream Country, Sandman: Season of Mists - I can't remember which of these was which at this point. I don't think I'm going to push forward with the series right now. It's too anxiety inducing and too violent (yes, those are different things) with too much painful gore. I may come back to the series later because I have the impression that having an acquaintance with them is necessary for cultural literacy in the area of western graphic novels. I just don't want to deal with the unpleasantness.
Tenryu the Dragon Cycle 1 - I'm definitely interested in learning more about this world. I'm not really sold on the characters, but there are things happening, and those things intrigue me. This is a relatively standard (manga) fantasy setting with a princess (dragon) in peril and two young men looking to avenge the death of their foster father.
