#book overview

[hotcomicstv]

My Jodorowsky Collection

[second-wolf]

Sooo, I was gonna make this blog about the book I’m writing, and then I just… didn’t.

Anyways, here is information on the book I’m writing!

Side note: This book is in it's early stages of development so take a decent number of names, character description, and places with a grain of salt, as they may be subject to change. I will try to update them as the book develops.

Themes!

The main theme of my as of yet unnamed book is all about how we can process the world around us, especially when issues arise. A lot of the themes are somewhat personal, as I first conceived the main idea of this book during a fairly tumultuous time in my life.

The main idea is that there is no one way to work through issues. Even if one idea may work the best, one tool in your tool belt can only take you so far. A hammer won’t screw something together like a drill.

It also has a few minor themes of dealing with chronic issues or disabilities, but since this is a fantasy novel, of course the disabilities are kind of superpowers. They do have their moments where it’s anything but though.

Magic System!

The magic system is fairly simple in all regards. In the broad strokes we have:

Molders- Basically alchemy. They can change the shape or material of anything they touch so long as they are aware of what the material is made of. The higher their understanding of what they are molding, the easier it is for them to mold it. One drawback though is organic material is usually fairly hard to shape, mostly things like food or anything capable of sustaining life, mostly because its fairly complex chemically.

Adapters- Kind of similar to Molders. They can change the shape of stuff, but only metals, and it has to be absorbed into their body first. How easily they can essentially shapeshift using the metals depends on the metal's softness, like gold is one of the easier ones to use because its fairly soft, whereas tungsten is one of the harder ones.

Enforcers- They can boost their strength, speed or durability by up to a total of 100%, with that 100% being equal to around 10x what their current body strength can be able to handle. The only drawback is that they have to be mindful of how quickly they boost their 'stats' and how they divvy up that 100%, like if your strength is suddenly 10x more powerful than normal, you might break your leg by taking a step, so maybe balance it out with a durability boost too, because although you'd be weaker, you'd be tougher.

Illusionist- maybe the most broken of the four abilities, idk. They are able to create any sort of hallucinations they want, so long as they can clearly imagine it. Depending on the skill level it could range from crappy visual hallucinations to a full on sensory nightmare, affecting all five senses. Granted, the more complicated the illusion the greater the mental toll it take on the user, which can lead to things like headaches or even brain bleeds if one pushes themselves too far. Also, when it comes to making illusory sensations, its hard to make sensations that one has not directly experienced.

Characters!

Eli/Elijah- the main character

He’s around 16 or 17, and grew up in not quite a negligent home, but it wasn’t very loving either. His mom was mostly working as a kid and his dad was always too tired to do much. He also never had much luck with friends either, as they always found him odd or annoying given that he almost was always reading rather than playing or hanging out with everyone else.

Tobi- my favorite

Tobi is trauma incarnate. He grew up in an underground lab and was the product of human experimentation, which in this case was more of a “mess around to keep our funding but it actually worked” kinda way. Tobi is blind, because he has no eyes. He still can see, kind of. He’s more able to ‘sense’ than see, and more of the different materials that are around him than anything like color or light. He also has a nigh crippling fear of crowds and major trust issues, mostly from growing up in an underground lab. He also has horns, because this is my book and I can do whatever fantasy bs I want. Oh also he’s like 12 or 13.

Sylvana- the sassy lady

Sylvana is a noble, kinda, from the wealthiest nation. The reason it’s kinda is that the society is a strict meritocracy, where someone’s skill in adapting (one of the magic macguffin powers) determines one’s status in society. She’s the mc’s love interest too. She’s around the same age as Eli. She has a very sharp tongue and is extremely skilled, given her father is one of the most powerful people in their country. I haven’t quite fleshed out her character more than this, as this book is still in fairly early stages.

Ollie/Oliver- big buff boi

Oliver is Australian. But like. Caricature Australian. He’s really buff and strong but also very wholesome and optimistic, sometimes borderline toxic optimism. He’s kind of the reigning champion fighter of his country, but only in his age group, which is everyone under 20 (he’s 19). His mother was the one who trained him to fight, and also schools the others in fighting.

Artun- The old cranky lady

She doesn't really show up till more towards the end, but she basically acts as the mom of the group for the final stretch. To her, the entire group are a bunch of children who have seen way too much, even just that they got to her door, as she lives in a very remote place. She is about to throw hands with everyone who traumatized her kids.

King Greed the Avaricious- the antagonist

He is literally greed personified. His kingdom has been in shambles for hundreds of years and he wants everything. Not even for the good of his people, he just wants what everyone else has to the point they get as poor as he *thinks* he is (he actually is rather rich, but not to him).

Setting!

The world the main story takes place in is called Kordra, an unusual landmass, as it looks very similar to a compass. It has four main countries.

Aur- A golden country with massive amounts of wealth and influence, as it provides food to most other countries, but is a heavy meritocracy based on one's Adapter abilities, even to the point of a noble title not being handed down simply because one isn't skilled enough.

Ruin- Capitalism if it was mixed with the storyline of Fallout with a hint of the Lorax. It was the most prosperous nation for a long time, with it's Molders able to make piles of dirt into pure gold, however this made the leaders of Ruin very greedy and shortsighted, and they ended up using up all of their natural resources and nearly starving their people as they couldn't just transmute food into existence. As such the old kingdom fell till not even it's name remained, hence it now being called Ruin, with only the capital of Matus still standing.

Enta- Basically Australia. Its a mostly desert climate where everything is deadly and you're either crazy or a criminal to live there. It's very survival of the fittest, but not in the way Aur is.

The Hallowed Hollow- Not many know much about it. The people there used their illusory powers to keep up a massive misty illusion that confuses anyone who walks into the forest, to the point they either luck into the exit or starve trying to find it. The people there are very unsure of the outside world, as several decades before the story, an extermination was carried out against them by Ruin, thinking that they may have been hiding some sort of treasures inside.

Here's a map for the visual learners:

Plot!

Finally, the fun part.

The plot of this as-of-yet-unnamed-book is fairly simple in terms of basic structure. Eli goes into the otherworld, meets friends, gets traumatized, gets healing, happy ending.

I don't want to spoil a lot of the story, as I am trying to make it into an actual book, however I will divulge a bit.

Eli starts in Matus, having freshly fallen from the sky, somehow, still working on that, and gets shipped to that lab that Tobi is held at, and they spend many months there before breaking out, basically brothers at this point. Then they go to Aur, then Enta, then HH, and then kick the kings ass somehow. This book is very in it's early stages and so I only wanna give out the barebones, so a lot of it is still a TBD.

I hope you stick around to see the progress, as I'll probably be asking for feedback to see where things can be changed. I do welcome feedback on any of this, but just please be respectful, as this is also a very personal story for me. Thank you!!

[ladyloveandjustice]

My Top 12 Favorite Anime of 2024 (and more)!

We had a lot of good anime in 2024, so here's the list of my top 12 favorites and some bonus great anime as well. If you get tired of clicking the review links, check out my anime overview collection for all of them here.  

You can also check out my post about my favorite manga from 2024 here and my favorite books of 2024 here.

These are in no particular order!

Delicious in Dungeon (a.k.a Dungeon Meshi)

Dungeon Meshi  is one of my favorite stories period, and easily my top anime of the year. The basic premise is that Laios and his party of adventurers need to travel through a monster-infested dungeon rescue his sister. Rather waste precious time earning money for food, Laios decides they should just eat the monsters they encounter as they travel. But then that simple plot spins off into so much more...

The story combines cooking and adventure animanga expertly. It has some of the most impressive and fascinating worldbuilding I've ever seen, top-tier varied character design and a great plot. It's also funny as hell, and I love its main cast of nuanced eccentric weirdos with all my heart. Even the characters who have five minutes of screen time feel like you could watch a spin-off series about them.

It's not just about food, but the cycle of life and death, about hunger of all kinds, about ecosystems and societies and finding solace in the monstrous...there's a lot simmering under this story!

So, go ahead and eat up! And read my review here for more!

Mayonaka Punch

Canceled YouTuber, Masaki, meets a pathetic lesbian vampire, Live. Live agrees to help Masaki launch a new YouTube channel, but in exchange, Masaki has to let Live suck up all her blood when they reach 100 million subscribers.

 This is the kind of stuff I watch anime for. This is what dreams are made of.

Do you support women's wrongs? Are you craving some women who are loveable shitheads? Do you want a great ensemble comedy about five disaster vampires wreaking havoc and a cynical human along for the ride? This show has all that, plus some down bad lesbian vampire shenanigans! But there's also a lot of growth for the main character, and the show has a lot of pathos in how it explores how the internet and its outrage train can do a number on one's mental health.

It's a ton of fun! See my full review here!

Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.

Being a magical girl is no longer the domain of teenagers, and has evolved into an actual career dominated by adult women. Kana becomes a magical girl for a scrappy start up company, and tries her best to navigate working life.

It's the magical girl story about adult women I've been craving for years! Magical girl media often explores the struggles of adolescence and growing up, and this show takes us to the next step by using magical girls to explore what it’s like to be a young woman entering the working world. The focus is one Kana struggling to grow her confidence and accept support from her workplace, but it also has a lot to say about companies exploiting their workers, prizing efficiency and growth over actually taking care of their customers, and it shows how the world could be better than what it is right now. Check out my review here for more detail!

Girls Band Cry

After being bullied, Nina drops out school and ends up starting a band with four other girls, including the woman whose music saved her at her darkest moment. Nina's determined for the band to stick it to the people who once looked down on them. GBC features some wonderfully messy and entertaining teenage girls, actually incredible CGI animation and great music. Nina, the lead, is allowed to be angry and obnoxious and powered by spite, but the narrative sympathizes with her and loves her spirit, even if she sometimes messes things up. All the girls have rough edges and raw emotion and a great dynamic with each other. They also flip people off a lot.

It was kind of screwed over by streaming, but don't sleep on it! See my review here!

Natsume's Book of Friends (Season 7) 

Anime's sweetest boy and his horrible cat (affectionate) are back, and it's time for more yokai adventures! I’ve already talked at length about how this series is special–check out my series review/ Rec post for the series here. I also did an article titled The Courage to Speak: Mental Illness and Recovery in Natsume’s Book of Friends that goes into more in-depth analysis. The story is sweet and charming and sometimes heartwrenching and very important to me.

It's yet another season of lovely, bittersweet yokai tales that tug on your heartstrings, the characters continue to heal and grow in slow but satisfying ways. It just feels so nice watching this series again and letting the love, comfort, and catharsis wash over me. See my review here.

Dead Dead Demon's DeDeDeDe Destruction

A giant mothership is hovering over Tokyo. The aliens have done nothing, not even leaving their ship, but Japan and America are already trying to blow that UFO up, and show off who has the best weapons, causing many civilian casualties along the way. Meanwhile, two girls are just trying to living their lives.

This anime goes hard on criticizing the military industrial complex, Japanese nationalism and imperialism, American imperialism, xenophobia, mistreatment of immigrants, rich people, and conspiracy theorists. That means it's often devastating and visceral, but it also follows some fantastic weird girls and their ride-or-die soul bond, as well as other charming, funny teenagers who are just trying to live in a world falling apart around them. You can also look forward to some plot twists that recontextualize everything you know!

You should also see my review for some content warnings and a really important message about episode order if you want more detail, you can read it here.

Senpai is an Otokonoko

 Makoto is an "otokonoko" ( a term that means crossdressing boy) and he's figuring out his relationship to gender, and hiding his interests from his mother. A girl named Aoi confesses to him, thinking he's a girl. But he reveals the truth, she's ecstatic about it, much to his shock. Meanwhile, Makoto's best friend Ryuji is also crushing on him...

It's tough to be a queer kid in a world full of rigid gender roles and insidious homophobia, and this anime shows the unfairness of that struggle. But it also shows the joy of finding those who accept and understand you, and of slowly becoming comfortable with who you are. The show knows how to make you really roots for these great kids, and it's really good at tugging the ol' heartstrings. See my review here for more!

A Sign of Affection

The anime follows Yuki, a shy girl who's been deaf since birth, and Itsuomi, a world-traveler and polyglot, fall in love. They both live in very different worlds, but as their romance blooms, they're eager to learn more about each other.

A Sign of Affection is shoujo romance at its sweetest, with soft colors, gentle blushes, tender moments, and plenty of warm fuzzies. The animation is beautiful and the show treats Yuki's perspective with care and delicacy as the story goes on. It also have a great focus on communication and consent in a relationship. Read my review here! 

YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master

In this world, people have the ability to shapeshift into yatagarasu, the giant three legged ravens from Japanese mythology. Prince Wakamiya, who's next in line for the emperor, is thought to be an incarnation of the powerful "Golden Raven", so the four women chosen as his bride candidates (each who carry the hopes of their respective provinces) compete fiercely for his hand. Yukiya, a canny young boy, has been pulled into being the prince's attendant, and both Yukiya and the women soon find themselves pulled into a deadly web of mysteries and political machinations.

Yatagarasu is a tightly woven tale of political intrigue, featuring lots of palace folk plotting against each other, multiple assassination attempts, spies, fascinating worldbuilding and use of mythology, well executed plot twists, and complex characters. Yukiya is a very likeable little trickster with a heart of gold, and he works well as an audience surrogate who has to keep up with all this weird court drama. In the first half, the story focuses a lot on on women contending with rigid roles and how that leads to both enmity and empathy between them. But disappointingly, most of those characters are dropped or have their roles reduced in the second half of the anime, which is a shame.

Overall, this anime is a story that hooks you with it's story and it's dark, majestic atmosphere and never lets go. It's just plain good, and pretty underrated, so I'd suggest checking it out!

The Apothecary Diaries (Episodes 13-24)

The second half of The Apothecary Diaries was somehow even better than the first half, crafting a compelling ongoing mystery and delving into MaoMao’s backstory. There were quite a few big thrills that made me gasp aloud. MaoMao, the world's best poison-obsessed detective, pulled off some show-stopping feats and she remains an incredible, endearing character. Especially now that we’ve learned she has a killer evil laugh. Check out my review of the first part of The Apothecary Diaries here and slightly more detail on this run of episodes here.

Dandadan

 Another one you've probably heard of, it's the story of two kids- Momo, who was abducted by aliens and Okarun, who was cursed by a yokai. Now they have to break Okarun's curese while aliens and yokai are hunting them!

Dandadan is an anime bursting with absurd action and humor, and it has a boppin’ soundtrack and amazing animation from Science Saru. It’s wildly weird in the best way, and the characters are hilarious lovable losers. It's also the rare example of a battle shonen that actually treats its female lead as an equal to her male partner, in screen time and in battle. I adore Momo with all my heart- she's fun, she's bombastic, she's badass, she's everything.

However, the main problem I have with the show is its pattern of putting Momo in sexual peril. I go into more detail about this and the show in general in my review here.

Train to the End of the World

 A story about four girls and a dog traveling across a weird, warped version of Japan to find their missing friend, Train to the End of the World is wild. I absolutely adore bizarre anime about equally bizarre girls, and this delivers. We see the girls encounter a cult with mushrooms growing out of their heads, screaming goatmen and even zombies on their journey. The dynamic between the different characters is great, and the dialogue is snappy. If you appreciate wild and weird zaniness that also has a lot of heart and great friendships, give this show a try. My full review is here.

Bonus Anime- some other stuff you might want to check out!

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!

Despite an extremely goofy title Cherry Magic quickly became a surprisingly grounded, thoughtful and heartfelt BL romance worth watching. See my full review here.

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!

Rishe has lived seven lives, had lots of adventures, and in every single one of them, she has been killed as result of the world war started by the emperor of a neighboring kingdom. Each time Rishe dies, she's sent back to the moment the crown prince of her own country broke off their engagement (she's actually pretty happy about it). But in her seventh life, the future Emperor sees her, is instantly smitten by how cool she is and proposes to her. Rishe decides she might as well enjoy life chilling in the palace before things inevitably go to hell.

7th Time Loop has a fun conceit, and it features a vivacious, badass heroine who's a joy to watch. Having lived as a commoner in most of her past lives, she's ready to use her smarts to help people--whether it's going undercover to help a maid who's being bullied or addressing illiteracy among the servant girls. Whether she's beating up kidnappers or politically maneuvering, she's learning and growing and kicking ass. While her love interest is a bit too broody for me, I do deeply relate to how Rishe's badassery clearly turns him on. The antagonists and plot are sometimes a bit silly, but it's always a good time. A josei anime about an awesome gal is just what the doctor ordered.

Acro Trip

A silly show about a magical girl fangirl who's recruited to an evil organization by an incompetent villain,  Acro Trip is a lot of fun, and I recommend it to any magical girl enjoyer. I also recommend it to anyone who loves pathetic failguys and girls. Our "villain" Chrome is the most hilariously pathetic of them all. You like bad boys? Well this man is literally bad at everything. See my full review here.

Whisper Me a Love Song

 I have to give a shoutout to the only textual yuri anime that came out this year--it's production basically completely collapsed, but it's still watchable and the story is a sweet and solid girl band romance. At least consider giving the manga a shot if nothing else! See my review here!

[leroibobo]

when the homes in the depopulated palestinian village of lifta were originally built is impossible to tell and most likely varies from house to house. the area's been known since ancient times, including having been written about in the hebrew bible. it's retained multiple different names throughout history - lifta by romans, nephto by byzantines, clepsta by crusaders, then lifta again by arabs. in more recent times, the area saw battle in the early 19th century, when it saw a peasant's revolt against egyptian conscription and taxation policies. (egyptian-ottoman ruler muhammad ali had attempted to become independent from the ottoman empire, and sought to use the area of "greater syria" which palestine was apart of as a buffer state.)

the village was predominantly muslim with a mosque, a maqām for local sage shaykh badr, a few shops, a social club, two coffee houses, and an elementary school which opened in 1945. its economy was based in farming - being a village of jerusalem, farmers would sell their produce in the city's markets. an olive press which remains in the village gives evidence to one of the most important crops its residents farmed. the historically wealthy village was known for its intricate embroidery and sewing, particularly of thob ghabani bridal dresses, which attracted buyers from across the levant.

lifta also represents one of the few palestinian villages in which the structures weren't totally or mostly decimated during the 1948 nakba. 60 of the 450 original houses remain intact. from zochrot's entry on lifta:

israel's absentee property law of 1950 permits the state to expropriate land and assets left behind, and denies palestinians the right to return to old homes or to reclaim their property. it's estimated that there's around 400,000 descendants of the village's original refugee population dispersed in east jerusalem, the west bank, jordan, and the palestinian diaspora.

like many depopulated palestinian houses, some of those in lifta were initially used to settle predominantly mizrahi immigrants and refugees, in this case 300 jewish families from yemen and kurdistan. the houses weren't registered in their names, and the area generally saw poor infrastructure and no resources including water and electricity provided by the government. most left in the early 1970s as a part of a compensation program to move out people who'd been settled in depopulated palestinian houses - if they didn't, they were referred to as "squatters" and evicted. (holes were even drilled in the roofs of evacuated buildings to make them less habitable). the 13 families which remain there today only managed to do so because they lived close to the edge of the village.

in 1987, the israeli nature reserves authority planned to restore the "long-abandoned village" and turn it into a natural history center which would "stress the jewish roots of the site", but nothing came of it. several more government proposals on what to do with the land had been brought up since then. this culminated in in 2021 when the israel land administration announced without informing the jerusalem municipal authorities that it issued a tender for the construction of a luxury neighborhood on the village's ruins, consisting of 259 villas, a hotel, and a mall. since 2023, they've agreed to shelve and "rethink" these plans after widespread objection.

the reasons for the objections varied significantly between the opposing israeli politicians - who see the village as an exemplar of cultural heritage and "frozen in time" model of palestinian villages before 1948 - and palestinians - who largely see the village as a witness of the nakba and a symbol of hope for their return. lifta is currently listed by unesco as a potential world heritage site, a designation netanyahu has threatened to remove several times.

many palestinians who are descendent from its former residents still live nearby. like with many other depopulated palestinian villages, they've never ceased to visit, organize tours of the village, and advocate for its preservation.

[definitely-not-a-wasp]

Sometimes I think about how Max said “we need to get educated so we can think critically and understand the world, like this very specific example of why people in Chad might be aggressive towards American volunteers” (like the fact that those volunteers were experimenting on their children), and then she had the flock go to an art museum and read about the Roman Empire instead of. Y’know. Doing any research on Chad.

[sforzesco]

hii i really love your work and it got me really interested in roman history but i don’t know where to start from, do you have any resources for roman history in general?

depends on which era of rome you're interested in. I'd probably search something like "(whichever era is most interesting to you, ex; middle/late republic, empire, later empire, etc)" along with "overview book," and go from there.

my personal favorite for the late republic is The Last Generation of the Roman Republic by Erich S. Gruen because the title is a banger, or more generally: H.I. Flower's Roman Republics

[wearethekat]

January Book Review Overview

Amatka (Karin Tidbeck)

The Pillar (Kim Fielding)

Gothictown (Emily Carpenter)

Once Was Willem (MR Carey)

Single Player (Tara Tai)

The Ministry of Time (Kaliane Bradley)

Murder by Memory (Olivia Waite)

Direct Descendant (Tanya Huff)

Nicked (MT Anderson)

Fella Enchanted (SO Callahan)

Hammajang Luck (Makana Yamamoto)

Embodied Exegesis (ed. Ann Leblanc)

A Brother's Price (Wen Spencer)

Death of the Author (Nnedi Okorafor)

A Palace Near the Wind (Ai Jiang)

The Queen of Fives (Alex Hay)

The Rainfall Market (You Yeong-Gwang)

The Legend of Meneka (Kritika Rao)

The Good Women of Fudi (Liu Hong)

The Mountain in the Sea (Ray Nayler)

Haunt Sweet Home (Sarah Pinsker)

The Serpent Called Mercy (Roanne Lau)

The King's Messenger (Susanna Kearsley)

DNF:

This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us (Edgar Cantero)

North is the Night (Emily Rath)

The Empress (Kristin Cast)

The Failures (Benjamin Liar)

Lightfall (Ed Crocker)

Water Moon (Samantha Sotto Yambao)

[manuscripts-dontburn]

[cjbolan]

Reading the A.I. overviews of Emily Windsnap and they’re…interesting. Worse than I thought. Like whomever wrote this only skimmed or didn’t even read the book . For example: Emily’s mom being a merperson and suppressing her own memories? Complete opposite of what actually happens.

These AI overviews make it seem like Mary’s mistakes are all purely her own fault and ignore Mr Beeston’s bad influence on her. They’re doing her dirty.

Also is the mother-daughter relationship strained or like a friendship? Those are two very different things ! Make up your mind !

Emily and Mary’s relationship has ups and downs, but I think it’s a huge stretch to say they have a strained relationship. They share far more good moments than bad ones.

This feels like yet another example of fandoms simplifying complex women.

[idontmindifuforgetme]

i love anthologies. anthologies are so sexy

[florbelles]

sometimes the worst part of finding books you worked on out in the wild is seeing wtf the publisher did with the cover art

[siilverwiitch]

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝑶𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍'𝒔 𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝟏

𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓: 𝑴𝒐 𝑿𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑿𝒊𝒖

𝑪𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 & 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑰𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒃𝒚: 日出的小太阳 (𝒕𝒂𝒊𝟑_𝟑)

𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝑰𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒃𝒚: 𝒁𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒂𝑪𝑾

𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚: 𝑺𝒖𝒊𝒌𝒂 & 𝑷𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒆 (𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓)

𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚: 𝑺𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒔 𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕

★★★★☆

𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑬𝒈𝒈: 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒖𝒆 (𝑽𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆 𝒋𝒂𝒓) 𝑩𝒂𝒅 𝑬𝒈𝒈: 𝑴𝒖𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 (𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏) 𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: 𝑺𝒂𝒏 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒈 (哥哥 (𝑮ē𝒈ē) 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒆) & 𝑿𝒊𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒂𝒏 ("𝑫𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒏𝒐?")

𝑵𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝑨𝒓𝒕

[boosstergold]

Didn't get a reply back on this but I'm going to post a few (DC) recs anyway? These are mostly places I think are good to start. (Disclaimer that these are influenced by personal taste).

Easy mode: Short contained run, probably less than 30 issues (can be more), very unlikely to have any crossovers, does not require much (if any) further knowledge of characters.

Medium mode: Approx 40-75 issues, will have some crossovers but you won't need to read them if you don't want to, may require a little wiki-ing about some characters/events but only if you're curious.

Hard(er) mode: We're reaching 100+ issue territory, many crossovers (some which can be ignored, some which may be confusing if ignored but you can wiki those if you don't want to read them). Believe me it is fairly easy to ignore a missing crossover/event issue and barrel on back to the main story in most cases.

Green Lanterns

Easy: Far Sector, Green Lantern: Legacy - both self-contained, introduce new characters.

Medium: Green Lantern Corps vol 2(2006-2011) - a few crossovers events here, (don't feel you have to read every blackest night crossover lmao just read what you want even if that is just this comic alone), Green Lanterns (2016-2018) (Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz).

Hard(er): Green Lantern vol 3 (1990-2006) (Kyle Rayner's run) #48 onwards, long run, not all of it is amazing quality but it is more good than not. Significant number of crossovers because this spans 12 years.

Superman

Easy: The Man of Steel (1986) six issue mini reintroducing Superman post-crisis, Superman Red & Blue (2021), Superman Smashes the klan (2019-2020), Batman/Superman: World's Finest (2022-ongoing)

Hard(er): Superman (1987-2006) + The Adventures of Superman (1987-2006) + Action Comics (1938-2011 starting at #597) These 3 titles run concurrently and the story sometimes moves from one to the next meaning you will miss something if you're not reading all three. (I am currently reading these and am only in the first quarter so cannot say anything about quality of later issues).

More under read more

Blue Beetle

Easy: Blue Beetle vol 2 (1986-1988)(Ted Kord), Blue Beetle vol 3 (2006-2011)(Jaime Reyes)

Hard(er): Justice League International/America (it renames at issue #26) (1987-1998) Team book (obviously) and a long run where quality is not always consistent but is fun overall and essential for Ted's character.

Booster Gold

Easy: Booster Gold vol 1 (1986)

Hard-(er): Justice League International/America (see above)

Misc.

Easy: Young Justice (1998-2003) (if you like Tim, Kon, Bart, Cassie etc an essential read)

Medium: Wonder Woman vol 5 (2016-2023) #1-#54 a good re-introduction of Diana post n52 (side note that I've heard Wonder Woman vol 2 (1987-2006) is good but I have not read it yet).

[markantonys]

one of my earliest WOT book-related memories is reading the brief wikipedia summaries for each book and getting to one of the slog books that mentioned "perrin continues searching for his wife" and i thought "damn, he still hasn't found her yet?" little did i know

[vampiristik]

Kemutai Hanashi - Review

Takeda and Arita hadn't seen each other even once since graduating high school. Yet, on a rainy day, everything begins to change when they decide to take in a stray cat.

These two men are not friends, not lovers, not family. And yet, they long to be close.

A chance encounter leads two former classmates to share a home.

This slice-of-life manga portrays a relationship that defies easy labeling, resisting the urge to fit into conventional definitions.

But is it truly necessary to name what they share?

People need words to communicate with one another — but true connection, true understanding, often forms beyond language.

It blossoms in silences, in glances, in the rhythm of shared routines, and in moments felt rather than spoken.

In this way, the manga sheds light on the inner emotions that linger in the shadows of words — on things that cannot be defined, yet are wholly real, embodied not as entities, but as feelings.

Thus, Kemutai Hanashi becomes a quiet elegy to the sanctity of inexpressible emotions, hidden behind its warm and serene atmosphere.

It reminds us that some of the deepest bonds exist not through speech, but through silent understanding.

Some people, perhaps, are not meant to be explained — only experienced.

Is it friendship? No — it’s more than that. Love? Perhaps… but something here refuses to fit even within love’s boundaries.

The bond between Takeda and Arita transcends society’s relational categories.

Labels fail them — because while labels offer comfort and structure, they also impose limits, stifling what is genuine.

What they feel is not ordinary friendship, but neither do they seek to name it.

This avoidance is not born of fear, but from a quiet, conscious wish: to protect the purity of their connection, to keep it free from the constraints of definition.

Their relationship is more than companionship — it is a sanctuary, a quiet refuge, an unspoken understanding.

It is free because it is unnamed, real because it resists categorization.

The most striking part of their bond is that neither feels the need to claim it with a name. To name something often implies possession — and with possession comes burden.

But their bond is formed not from burden, but from understanding — from a shared existence, silent yet profoundly felt.

(Possible Spoilers)

Tiny chances... A greeting, a coincidence, a glance... Human relationships often balance precariously on these seemingly invisible details.

When the cat they had taken in dies, Takeda and Arita are forced to confront how fragile these unseen ties can be.

The fear that grows within the characters touches a universal anxiety lurking within us all:

The fear that one day, those we love — those who once felt inseparable — could simply drift away, as if nothing had ever connected us.

"At this rate, one day we'll stop seeing each other and forget like it never mattered."

What a brutal possibility...

Forgetting seems natural, like a fine layer of dust settling over the past.

Yet here, the manga captures not the naturalness of forgetting, but the terror of how easily it can happen.

Without continued contact, even the most precious memories can fade, lost as if they had never truly existed.

And haunting all of this is a silent fear:

Not just the fear of losing others, but the fear of disappearing ourselves — fading quietly from someone else's life without leaving a trace.

But the most poignant moment of the story lies in the line:

"Even if it’s easy to forget me, it doesn't mean you’re unimportant to me."

Here, we find the quiet resistance of a heart willing to endure — even when faced with the reality that love and connection may not always be reciprocated.

Even in the face of inevitable separation, the character holds fast to their emotions without denial.

Sometimes, as people grow apart, feelings deepen.

As meetings dwindle and voices fade, the memory of connection becomes all the more profound.

Forgetting, loss, and silent departures...

These emotions do not merely inspire fear; they awaken a deeper awareness of what — and who — truly matters.

Conclusion and Overall Commentary

Kemutai Hanashi initially offers readers a peaceful, soft slice-of-life experience.

Yet beneath this calm surface, there is another presence — a deep emotional resonance, like a quiet echo.

The true strength of the work lies hidden between the lines: In the silences between characters, in the bonds left unnamed, in the emotions that words fail to capture.

This delicate dance between two familiar souls speaks to the reader willing to look beyond the obvious.

For in this story, the loudest voices are those that remain unspoken.

Behind the warmth on the surface, the manga leaves readers quietly grappling with profound questions.

Thus, it offers not just a pleasant reading experience, but a subtle call to introspection.

Every calm scene reverberates through the emotional background of the reader’s own life:

Which bonds are strong enough to withstand forgetting?

Which relationships defy the need for labels?

When does someone’s place in our lives move beyond words?

Kemutai Hanashi is a story with two layers:

The first, a simple and serene portrait of life.

The second, the hidden emotions, fears, desires, and anxieties that seep through the cracks of that portrait.

And only those who look closely will truly perceive the deeper story, the one that lingers quietly — beyond words.

[wearethekat]

November Book Review Overview

The Dallergut Dream Department Store (Miye Lee)

Feast While You Can (Mikaella Clements)

The Wolf Hunt (Gillian Bradshaw)

A Magical Girl Retires (Seolyeon Park)

Monstrous Nights (Genoveva Dimova)

Rose/House (Arkady Martine)

Sargassa (Sophie Burnham)

Only Mostly Dead (Allie Temple)

The Bloodless Princes (Charlotte Bond)

The Teller of Small Fortunes (Julie Leong)

Misery Hates Company (Elizabeth Hobbs)

The Pairing (Casey Mcquiston)

Shorefall (Robert Jackson Bennett)

Heaven Official's Blessing, vol. 8 (Mo Xiang Tong Xiu)

Echoes of the Imperium (Nicholas Atwater)

Point of Hopes (Melissa Scott)

The Chatelaine (Kate Heartfield)

A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience (Stephanie Burgis)

The Twice-Sold Soul (Katie Hallahan)

The Courting of Bristol Keats (Mary E Pearson)

The Legacy of Arniston House (TL Huchu)

Interstellar MegaChef (Lavanya Lakshminarayan)

The Muse of Maiden Lane (Mimi Matthews)

Alibi (Sharon Shinn)

The Last Hour Between Worlds (Melissa Caruso)

We Shall Be Monsters (Alyssa Wees)

The Ten Percent Thief (Lavanya Lakshminarayan)

The Sirens Sang of Murder (Sarah Caudwell)

Locklands (Robert Jackson Bennett)

The Moonstone Covenant (Jill Hammer)

A Trinket for the Taking (Victoria Laurie)

The Husbands (Holly Gramazio)