The #FridayReads Review (4/10/15)

Welcome to The Friday Reads Review, a regular Friday segment where I share what I've been reading the past week! Want to join the Friday fun? Post your own Friday Reads Review on your blog, and then leave the link in the Comments below!

>> CURRENTLY READING <<

Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt (ARC)

I've been in a serious novel slump the past few weeks so this got put on hold while I re-read the entire InuYasha manga series (see below). I'm trying to get back into it but I'm struggling, which is completely my fault, not the novel's - it's been a really good read so far.

>> JUST FINISHED <<

InuYasha Series (vols. 1-56) by Rumiko Takahashi (PBK)

4 Stars. Needed a manga fix and ended up re-reading the entire 56-volume series! A fast-paced and action-packed story that was even better the second time around. Review to come.

Skip Beat! vol. 34 by Yoshiki Nakamura (PBK)

5 Stars. I was all the flails and squeals with this volume!!! But the wait for the next one may just do me in.

Yukarism vol. 2 by Chika Shiomi (PBK)

4.5 Stars. Before the series release I was excited, and then wary, but when I finally read vol. 1 I found it interesting enough to start collecting and this volume really cinches that was the right decision! There's something different and unusual and intriguing about this story - it gives me chills and thrills and I can't wait to see how it progresses!

>> READING NEXT <<

Meteor Prince vol. 2 by Meca Tanaka (PBK)

I enjoyed the first volume a lot more than I expected so I'm excited to see how this 2-volume series ends!

So what are you reading this week?

Manga Review: Time Killers: Short Story Collection (Kazue Kato)

Title: Time Killers: Kazue Kato Short Story Collection
Author: Kazue Kato
Publisher: VIZ Media
US Release Date: September 2, 2014
Genre: Short Story Collection
Content Rating: Older Teen (violence, fighting, demons)

Format Read: Paperback
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase: Indiebound | B&N | Azon | BookDepo | RightStuf
Summary:

Explore fantastic realms of imagination in this stunning collection of short stories by Kazue Kato, creator of the smash hit manga series, Blue Exorcist! With Kato's amazing and distinctive art leaping from the page, Time Killers includes her first work, Boku to Usagi (Rabbit and I) and features the stories and character designs that would become her breakthrough series, Blue Exorcist. Take off on a flight of fantasy with Time Killers!

*          *          *

Why I Read It: I really like the author's current series, Blue Exorcist, and this collection promised a precursor short story to the series. My curiosity couldn't pass it up!

Art: There were several different styles as the author tried her hand at a few mediums, but the main style was playful but occasionally grotesque with great settings and some cute characters. Most of the pieces were black and white, with a few of the shorter stories and title pages in color.

Story: Eleven short pieces of different lengths and mediums on a wide variety of subjects. Most were interesting but there were several standouts for me, namely the last two in the book: Astronerd and The Miyama-Uguisu Mansion Incident.

• The Rabbit and Me: Teenage assassin and aspiring doctor become friends. Very violent but an interesting premise.
• Tomato: Fantastical world of humans and human-like rabbits. Rabbit and human guard team take a job to protect a rabbit woman's tomato patch from a greedy human. Violence and a life lesson ensue. The art and characters were a little too odd for me, and the story a little confusing.
• A Warrior Born of the Red Earth: Color, five pages. Native American warrior story. Tragic.
• Usaboy!!!: Color, five pages. Superhero bunny family. Comical but odd.
• A Guide to Princess Clothes: Color, one page. Comical.
• Highway of Life, Stray Star: Seven pages. Violent punk dad takes care of his little girl. Sweet.
• Nirai: Eight pages. Based on the mermaid legend? Not sure. Confusing but interesting.
• Master and I: Magical wish-granting rice bowl. Comical but serious story about how getting everything you want may not be a good thing. 
• A Maiden's Prayer: Eight pages. Dystopic fantasy about a lonely girl finding a home.
• Astronerd: My favorite! Boy tries to hide his love of astronomy at his new school but falls for a girl who loves it as well. Then aliens come to destroy the Earth! Can he save the girl? Fun and funny with great characters (including the aliens!) and an excellent story.
• The Miyama-Uguisu Mansion Incident: A precursor to Blue Exorcist, but the familiar characters play different roles. Same world and setup though, and a great story.

Extras: There is a fold-out color poster in the front, and an Author's Note at the back where she talks a bit about her inspiration for each story and where they were first published.

Conclusion: While not quite as good as I was hoping, I did read all of the stories and enjoyed most of them. Overall an interesting collection.

Read It Again?: Maybe the last two stories.

Scribble Rating: 

3 of 5 Scribbles

Waiting On Wednesday: Sweet Rein Vol. 2 (Sakura Tsukuba)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blogging event hosted by Breaking the Spine, in which one spotlights an upcoming release they are eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Title: Sweet Rein Vol. 2

Author: Sakura Tsukuba

Release Date: April 1, 2014

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sad at the thought of spending Christmas alone, Kurumi Sagara goes out for a walk. While she's crossing the street, a boy bumps into her, and a rein suddenly appears that binds them together. The overjoyed boy tells her she's his master and that she's a Santa Claus. Kurumi dismisses him as a crazy person, but then he transforms into a reindeer?!

Kurumi and Kaito have remained together for a year, but a Dark Santa appears, intent on breaking the two apart. Kurumi and Kaito's rein is severed, and the Dark Santa takes control of Kaito. Can Kurumi manage to get Kaito back, even when she's still unsure if he's truly happy as her servant?

Why I'm Looking Forward To It: In honor of the holiday, I've picked a Christmas-themed title - and a manga at that! I absolutely adored Volume 1 of Sweet Rein - while the premise is rather silly, the characters and story are delightful. Can't wait to see how this series continues!

So what book are you waiting on?

Currently...Curious

Between yet more health problems, Nano ML responsibilities, and life in general, I've been totally swamped. But I finally give you another entry for my "Currently..." segment, in which I let you know what I'm currently up to on a number of highly important topics.

I AM CURRENTLY...

READING:

Novels: In the middle of The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories, which I've been looking forward to for a while. I usually don't like short story collections (at all, really), but I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, and it really hasn't disappointed.
Manga: Have 5 volumes of Bakuman saved up (had to wait forever for Volume 12 from the library), and now I'm enjoying reading through them all at once. Each volume takes three to four times longer to read than regular manga, so they are always a treat. And they are such an inspiration for my writing resolve.

WATCHING:

TV: I was in need of a new old 1/2 hour comedy favorite, so of course I turned to The Addams Family. For drama, I finally, finally got my hands on Downton Abbey Season 2. As promised, it's even better than Season 1.
Movies: Watched Breakfast at Tiffany's again. I thought I remembered a bittersweet ending (i.e. she didn't end up with the guy), but she did so I was happily surprised. Only cried during the Cat alley scene, though.

Worth Mentioning: The Neighbors is my favorite new show this season! If you haven't seen it, DO - it's the funniest thing I've come across in a long time. I already plan to buy the DVD the day it's released.

WRITING:

Project P: Haven't made much progress until this week - just passed 7k for this month's Nano. I reached a point in my outline where I had nothing planned, so of course I threw them into a horribly dire situation I had absolutely no idea was going to happen until they got there. Always such fun. :) Yesterday had to re-do my timetable for the fourth time though, which took over 40 minutes of crazy math, but it was worth it. As long as it's now correct...I hope...
Project NB: I printed out what I have so far (39 pages) and re-read it. While a complete mess, the important bits are really good and I'd really love to finish it someday. It's literary fiction (with a supernatural-esque element), which is totally not what I normally write but I love it to bits.

NANOWRIMO:

Almost halfway through Nanowrimo 2012. Two of the three October programs went really well (one was a huge success, actually, to my surprise), and now I'm just trying to keep up with my duties. Luckily I've gained a helper this year (Shari is the bee's knees, guys, the bee's knees), so things haven't been as crazy as they could have been (considering I've been sick for most of my own November programs).

As for making 50k by December, I've given up all hope of winning. My record shall stand at 6 consecutive wins.

That's it for me. What are you "currently" up to?

Library Haul: Book Friends Are Here!

It's time for a look at my Library Haul, the tower of goodies I picked up during my weekly trip to the libraries (TL, ML, and CL). Sideways are borrowed, upright are purchased used from library Friends.

Here is this week's haul:

Highlights:

• Another stack of manga, although unfortunately most of them require an earlier volume first - my hold list is now quite extensive. I'm reading Natsume's Book of Friends out of order, though - it doesn't fully require consecutive reading.
• Picked up Emma Volume 1, by the author that does A Bride's Story. This is his English maid story. I had originally dismissed it, but now I'm curious. Also got A Bride's Story Volume 3 - this will determine if I collect them myself or not.
• Already read I Am Here Volume 1, and was really impressed. A review to come soon on my Japanese Blog!
• Wanted to learn how electricity works, so grabbed a children's book on the subject. (Anything older and it would probably go right over my head.)
• Finally got Timeless, Book 5 of the Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger. Unfortunately, I still haven't re-read past Book 1, so I have to decide to simply read the last book, or get my butt in gear and re-read the others already! The overwhelming amount of manga right now certainly isn't helping any.
• Got Doctor Who Series 6, Part 2! Can't wait to see what happens with River Song.
• Remembered to get Fleetwood Mac's self-titled CD - I really like Landslide, and have discovered a few other good songs on it as well.

What interesting items have you picked up from the library lately?

Library Haul: A Murder of Manga

It's time for a look at my Library Haul, the tower of goodies I picked up during my weekly trip to the libraries (TL, ML, and CL). Sideways are borrowed, upright are purchased used from library Friends.

Here is this week's haul:

Highlights:

• ML must've gotten a grant or something, because that added at least $10,000 worth of new manga, with more on order. It was like Christmas! I had to limit what I took to only the ones I really wanted to read, and left at least another stack like this behind. TT I'll get to read them sooner or later though.
• Excited to finally continue Black Butler! Luckily I don't need Volumes I & II because I still have every Yen Plus magazine, where it was originally serialized. While the same could be said of Pandora Hearts (originally serialized in Yen Plus), I think I still need a few earlier volumes before I can read what I have right now. :(
• Almost didn't get Bride's Story Volume 1, but now I'm glad I did. For a simple story, it's fascinating. I now know why it won an award.
• Snagged Doctor Who Series 4 & 5 - to re-watch the River Song episodes. Now that I know who she is, I want to see all the clues again!
• Hugo finally came in. I'll be interested to see what the actual plot is (I could never bring myself to read the book) - they never really say in the previews, just show the dazzle.
• Watched Mayor Cupcake last night. It's a cute and fun movie, and if you haven't seen it, maybe give it a try. Real politicians could learn a thing or two about getting out of debt.
• Main Street appears to be the independent movie of famous people that no one has heard about (Colin Firth, Orlando Bloom, Amber Tamblyn - I could go on). It will be interesting to see how good it is - but how can it not be with such amazing actors?
• David Guetta's newest CD arrived. And I have finally truly discovered Erin McCarley. Where has she been all my life?
• Picked up P.D. James' Talking About Detective Fiction. I don't write or read all that much detective fiction (watch a lot though), but it sounded like a good read.

So what did you pick up from your local library lately?

WWW Wednesday: Manga Madness

It's also time for WWW Wednesday from Should Be Reading. The three W's:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?

I am currently reading Kamisama Kiss Volume 1 by Julietta Suzuki. Or should I say, re-re-re-reading. It's one of my favorite manga (Japanese comics) series of all time  - Julietta Suzuki is a master storyteller. It's about a human girl who accidentally becomes the diety of a local shrine and inherits a grouchy fox demon as her servant (who she, of course, falls for). Adorable characters, a fun story, and lots of laughs. A definite must if you read manga, and a great series to start with if you don't!

I just finished reading 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. It was a pain to finish. Long story short, the MC (whose name escapes me - that's how memorable she was) was flat and boring and halfway through the book she just ruined the whole travel experience with her dour outlook. To me, the settings and letters were the actual MCs, and whenever the human MC got in the way I was like "Down in front! Down in front!" But she never moved, therefore ruining the read for the rest of us. Needless to say, I have no idea if I will be reading the sequel, although I think I'll give it a try simply on the hope that Maureen has learned how to craft characters by now and I'll be able to understand what's-her-name a little better.

Next I will be reading Kamisama Kiss Volume 2  by Julietta Suzuki. Really, I plan to read all the volumes I have today (4, to be exact). This series is one of my comfort-reads, and on a crappy day like today I can really use it. And Volume 5 comes out next Tuesday - woohoo! XD

So what's your reading stack look like?

Road Trip Wednesday: Mangaholic

It's time for Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival by YA Highway! Today's question:

What was the best book you read in September?

My answer:

While I did read a few "actual" books this month, none of them were quite up to snuff. So instead I choose the latest manga volume of the xxxHolic series by CLAMP - Volume 17, to be exact.

It is the 2nd volume in the Rô story thread, which I love even more than the original! Watanuki has taken over Yûko's wish-granting shop, but it's not as easy as she made it appear. He must learn the delicate balance between wish and payment, and master all of the new powers his inheritance has given him.

It's an amazing series by CLAMP (an all-female manga group), although most of their series are amazing! XD If you haven't given manga (Japanese comics) a chance, this is a great series to start with.

What was your favorite book this month?