Books of 2010

[themadpoker]

January
1. Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner -- 4 stars

I liked this. It's set in a dystopia following a magical war which ended badly for all sides. The prose is spare and things move at a fast pace but it worked well. There were quite a few unanswered questions left at the end of the novel (who started the war? Why do the trees still want blood?) but all the major stuff wrapped up and I hear there's going to be a sequel. All in all, a good start to 2010!

2. He, She and It by Margaret Piercy -- 3.5 stars

In a dystopian future set after environmental disasters have ravaged the Earth a woman fights the corporation she was once employed by in order to regain her child and protect the freedom of her enclave. Also her boyfriend's a cyborg.

I think I probably would've been more interested in this novel if I hadn't already read quite a few sci-fi, dystopia, and cyberpunk novels that dealt with the same themes. Her concept of the Internet is one I've read in a dozen other books -- you can even find the same idea in .hack//sign if you prefer anime or manga. The Other learning to become human is another I've seen dealt with in better more interesting ways. Also I felt the parallel storyline with the golem dragged, I was hoping the grandmother really had finished when she temporarily quit. It was nice getting a novel with a female Jewish protaganist though.

So yeah! You may like this book if you haven't read much sci-fi or cyberpunk before, otherwise I'd give it a miss.

Hahaha, I take it allll back. This is why I shouldn't write a review when I've only finished 3/4 of the novel! Way to bring it home Marge Piercy, I'm raising this to a 3.5 star rating.

Click her for a more lollerskates concerned summary of the first half of the novel.

3. Sand Chronicles Volume 5 by Hinako Ashiwara -- 4 stars

"It's called first love because there's a second and a third time too! Don't make your first your last!"

Fuji. ♥

4. Nana Volume 19 by Ai Yazawa -- 5 stars

I love this manga best in the WORLD. <3 I don't even really have a ship for Nana, because I basically ship whichever two characters Yazawa has interacting on any given page. THAT'S how awesome the relationships in Nana are. Nobu and Yuri are being adorable and in love? Ship! Nana O. is asking Nana K. to live with her again and promising to take care of her and her baby? Ship! Takumi tells Nana K. that he's a womanizer but she's the one he really loves and somehow I can really believe it coming from him? Ship!

Best. Manga. Ever. ♥♥♥

5. Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted -- 3 stars

Very short, more a novella than a novel. I liked the way Lucius was all spiky and sharp. Felt true to life.

6. Ice by Sarah Beth Durst -- 4 stars

A retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Only Sarah Beth Durst could make me believe so wholeheartedly in the love story of a human girl and a polar bear.

7. Bad Apple by Laura Ruby -- 5 stars

I've got a huge crowd now--teachers, students, even Ms. Esme. They pass back and forth in front of the mural, whispering to one another. Sometimes they glance at me and whisper and some more.
They're trying to decide if I'm crazy.
They're trying to decide if I'm any good.
They're trying to decide if seeing Chelsea Patrick naked is too horrible a punishment for the public.
They're trying to decide if they believe in fairy tales.
And I want to say, listen, there's no living happily ever after, just living happily, with the happily part relative, defined by what's possible in the moment. And there's a story here, one familiar and one not, where a girl is freed from a tower, a sister is freed from herself, and they go to visit her grandpa. But instead of packing bread and wine, they bring him some ginger ale and maybe applesauce. And the wolves they meet along the way are soft and playful as puppies, the wicked women sing lullabies to their own reflections in their mirrors, and the huntsmen all put down their axes to chase squirrels through the woods.

Laura Ruby usually writes about stories and rumours and high school with a dash of romance and friends. She's pretty much always excellent.

8. Otomen Volume 4 by Aya Kanno -- 4 stars

Oh look Yamato the irritating is back. Well whatever we have a new character called Flower Boy! He has a tragic backstory where his girlfriend dumped him because he loved flowers more than her! Thus he concludes that loving flowers is a SIN! Until Asuka breaks through to his flower loving heart helping him realize it's okay for boys to like flowers~ (and then proceeds to realize that maybe his girlfriend had a point since this dude is like obsessed. He sees a pretty person he wants to put flowers on them! It's his MO). I wonder if there's live action drama for this series? It's just the right kind of crazy for it to work.

9. Naruto Volume 36 by Masashi Kishimoto -- 3 stars

Huh. So the Akatsuki's goal is world domination. That's kind of cliche. :/

10. Antique Gift Shop Volume 3 by Lee Eun -- 2 stars
11. Antique Gift Shop Volume 4 by Lee Eun -- 2.5 stars
12. Antique Gift Shop Volume 5 by Lee Eun -- 2 stars

Weaksauce manhwa is weaksauce. Also, chatspeak gets irritating fast.

13. Sand Chronicles Volume 6 by Hinako Ashiwara -- 4 stars
14. Ouran High School Host Club Volume 13 by Bisco Hatori -- 4 stars

Everybody loves everybody and they're all wonderfully ridiculous about it. <3

15. Mixed Vegetables by Ayumi Komura Volume 5 -- 3 stars
16. Mixed Vegetables by Ayumi Komura Volume 6 -- 3 stars

-pokes Hayato- You go back to being a nice boy. I don't like this jealousy business.

17. Lord of the Flies by William Golding -- 3.5 stars
18. Bleach Volume 27 by Tite Kubo -- 2.5 stars

Okaaay. Was Bleach always this boring? Because if I'm basically going 'boring boring boring Grimmjow is kind of hot boring boring boring omg hi Tatsuki! I missed you <3 boring boring boring' there is a bit of an issue there. And seriously KT? ANOTHER rescue the girl arc? Come on man! Put a little originality into this please.

19. High School Debut Volume 9 by Kazune Kawahara -- 3 stars

I don't really like the 'Two Boys Fight Over a Girl When She's Already Made Her Decision' trope. :/ So yeah. Haruna's still adorable but points lost for that.

20. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 1 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 1 star

Dear Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok,
YOU DO NOT GET TO USE MY RELIGION AS CULTURAL WINDOW DRESSING. IF YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE CHARACTERS SAYING THINGS LIKE INSHALLAH THEN TRY FOR SOME SEMBLANCE OF ACCURACY ON HOW ISLAM WORKS.

NO LOVE,
ME

21. Gestalt Volume 1 by Yun Kouga -- 2 stars

Blah blah blah videogame style wordbuilding blah blah blah fanservice blah blah blah no time to develop a relationship, instant!love because he is a ~kind~ slave master blah blah blah fight scene. Why am I even reading this you ask? Because my recent overload of schoolwork has left me far too exhausted for any kind of fiction requiring a brain. Bring on the mindless entertainment!

22. Gestalt Volume 2 by Yun Kouga -- 1.5 stars

Oh come on Yun Kouga. Ouri was turned into a girl specifically to weaken him? His sister enchants men into falling in love with her to fight for her because that is the only way she could ever possibly win? Suzu gains strength from being prettier then her sisters? Too much genderfail, too little plot. I quit.

23. Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan -- 3 stars

The protaganist was initially difficult to like so I struggled with this. I did warm up to her by the end though.

24. Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve -- 4 stars

Oh man, this was interesting because Gwyna's not my usual girl protaganist. I really liked the way Reeve messed about with gender having her dress as a boy and essentially feeling like she was one although I don't know exactly how I feel about her going back. Alright I guess since he did show how difficult it was. Anyways I really found Gwyna interesting because she was such a survivor, it was kind of her core character trait. Like she wasn't cruel but at the same time she wasn't one of those near-saintly gets-over-things-real-quick kind of girls you read sometimes. Also I got this thread of being pleased at her own cleverness which was actually kind of cool. Plus there was this theme woven throughout about how stories grow and how they make people stronger which was pretty great. Here, I'm going to give you a quote and if you think this sounds like a girl you could be into you'll probably like this book.

This is after pretending to be the lady of the lake and offering a boy a drink from her 'healing goblet' because she knew he needed some sort of hope/belief to actually want to get better:

As for the kiss, you can't blame me for that, can you? He was so lovely and so easy to fool. Sitting there with his eyes shut, all surprised. Just a quick warm touch of our lips together, over in a heartbeat, but I felt glad to have the memory of it.

So lovely and easy to fool. I have no idea why I love you so much for that Gwyna but I really do. She's such a person, doing something good but getting a little something out of it for herself too. ♥♥♥

25. Orange by Benjamin -- 2 stars

Picked this up because the cover was gorgeous. The art stayed lovely throughout but I can't really recommend because it felt alot more like a series of impressions then a story. Couldn't really care about the characters at all.

26. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 2 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 2 stars

Apparently I feel that I really need more rage in my life? Seriously, don't ask me why I picked up this volume because I really don't know. Anyways this was slightly better probably because I was familar with its brand of fail and braced for it. There was a scene at the beginning where Shahrazad kisses Shahrayar's feet and thanks him after he beats him and I was ASKJDJDJAKHDKAD NO. Now I remember why I never got into yaoi, it's because seme/uke dynamics fill me with HATE. But I did like the story Shahrazad told this time a bit better which is why it gets one extra star. I think I can probably manage to read this without too much yelling if I just skip over all the primary world bits and only read the stories.

27. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 3 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 2 stars

You know what I just realized? Shahrayar is a textbook case of manpain. Also I really hope Ali successfully leads the revolution and kills him.

28. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 4 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 1.5 stars

And of course, the minute I mention it comes an entire VOLUME dedicated to Shahrayar's manpain. >_> Why the hell am I still reading this?

29. We Were There Volume 4 by Yuki Obata -- 4 stars

Oh this manga. It's a little like Nana in that you get this sense of reflective sadness throughout even when the characters are being normal. I like that the writing feels so delicate. Careful.

30. We Were There Volume 5 by Yuki Obata -- 4 stars

I was so torn on Takeuchi in this book. On the one hand, I was like 'omg he likes her, they would be so cute together, they should totally date y/y?' On the other hand it would have been so awesome for once to see the guy's best friend be nice to his ex just because he likes her and thinks his friend is behaving badly. Maybe next time.

31. We Were There Volume 6 by Yuki Obata -- 4 stars

Why does the Yano/Nanami ship have to actually be interesting? It makes me very torn on the Takeuchi situation. I mean I love him! When I love somebody I usually want them to get with whoever they want. And then you gotta go and complicate it by making the competing ship cool and character revealing. Jeebus, Yuki Obata, way to be a good writer. :/

32. Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter -- 3 stars

33. My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki -- 4 stars (50books_poc: Book 1)

I actually liked this. 0_o I mean I liked it to the degree that if I'd picked it up on my own somehow I would've kept reading. Rare is it do I have an assigned coursebook that I like so well!

34. Monkey High! Volume 1 by Shouko Akira -- 3 stars

Reserved Girl/Monkey Boy OTP! =D I really really like Haruna. She's this one normal person trapped in a community of crazy people. And she handles everything with such a minimum of drama! Like when her ex-boyfriend shows up acting interested, she just straight up tells him she's got another boyfriend now and walks off. <333 There's my girl. Dramallama in Monkey High has to come from other people because Haruna doesn't contribute to it.

35. High School Debut Volume 10 by Kazune Kawahara -- 3 stars

0_o There's a new character in this volume. How to describe her? Socially awkward doesn't begin to cover it because there's awkward (which I can sympathize with! I have had many not so great moments) and raised by wolves in complete isolation from all human society. The second is a better descriptor than the first. Also it looks like there's going to be a mistaken jealousy storyline with Haruna which meh. I think she's starting to get Flanderized, Haruna's oblivious sometimes but she's not stupid. I really think she would know better than to worry simply because she sees Yoh smiling at her once. Particularly when Yoh has told her how uncomfortable the girl makes him!

Books: 10
Manga: 25
50books_poc: 1


February
36. Hikaru no Go Volume 16 by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata -- 3.5 stars
37. Hikaru no Go Volume 17 by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata -- 4 stars
38. Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden Volume 9 by Yuu Watase -- 3.5 stars
39. Curly Girl: The Handbook by Lorraine Massey -- 5 stars

OMG, I tried her tips about the shampoo and the conditioner and it made a HUGE difference. This book is amazing, I'm going to buy myself a copy so I can have it handy all the time. Rock on Lorraine Massey! \o/

40. V. B. Rose Volume 6 by Banri Hidaka -- 3.5 stars

AHAHAHAHA, Yukari has the worst alcohol tolerance EVER. He had one sip and he's being all Ageha my love~ xDDDDD I guess I am starting to be okay with the Ageha/Yukari ship. As long as she still has tons of scenes where she and Natsume are adorable together I will grant them my blessing.

41. Whistle! Volume 18 by Daisuke Higuchi -- 2.5 stars
42. Whistle! Volume 19 by Daisuke Higuchi -- 3 stars

In this volume there was a scene where guy is caught trying to gather info on the Kanto region team. Three team members are very displeased at this intrusion and seem poised to make their displeasure known when another guy steps in front of them and carries the other guy away bridal style. Later after he's put him down he basically flatters the dude into letting him pick him up again. 0_o I can see no possible reason for this diversion unless perhaps it's to illustrate that Sho's complete lack of interest in romance is not necessarily characteristic of soccer players in general for they are just as likely to have boyfriends or girlfriends as any other population group. Or something like that.

43. Whistle! Volume 20 by Daisuke Higuchi -- 3.5 stars

A black guy in Whistle! =D Hey guys, remember the time when he was one of the two strongest players on the Tohoku Select team? And when he pwned the two guys who were all 'you're not Japanese'? And I was like 'Yes! Owned! Feel the burn racist sore losers!' Yeah, that was great. =D I felt a whole lot of conflict when his team played Tokyo Select, let me tell you. Because on the one hand, I love Sho and the rest of my boys. On the other was my deep desire to see Kotaro Abe pwn all of Japan. Sympathy for a brother vs. sympathy for the main characters! TOUGH TIMES. But at least he has been super awesome this volume. I can live with the inevitable loss if there are enough 'OMG look at that talented kid, did he just TWIST IN MIDAIR!?' moments.

44. Emma Volume 8 by Kaoru Mori -- 4 stars

Kelly and Doug are the CUTEST. ♥♥ I was sort of sad when the Eleanor Campbell story ended, it felt like we only got to see the beginning. Maybe there will be more of her in the next volume? I live in hope.

45. Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon (50books_poc: Book 2) -- 4 stars

"Eating like this reminds me of our journey," Chen Yong said.
"I come here often with a snack. I think about it a lot."
"And by snack, do you mean two sweet buns, a thick slab of bread, and lots of dried pork?" He laughed before she could retort. But the sound of it lifted her own spirit, and she chuckled despite herself.
"I usually just have a fruit myself," he said.
Ai Ling tossed a persimmon into his lap. "I'm sorry if you don't know how to eat properly."

BEST. ♥♥♥ I love Ai Ling. She is a food loving feminist Xian girl after my own heart. Reading this book made me hungry.

46. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 5 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 3 stars

This wasn't utterly terrible! Except for the bits with Shahrayar, my hatred for him has reached irrational levels. Seriously, I opened this volume and saw his face and was overcome by paroxysms of sheer HATE. My hands were clenching with the desire to punch or strangle him. So yeah. >_> I do like Sehara though! The boy is doing his best in a bad situation, I can always feel some sympathy for a moral person trying to survive. Also the footnotes on Islamic history were actually accurate this time, which was nice.

47. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 6 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 2 stars

WHATEVER, Han SeungHee, WHATEVER. You can try as hard as you like, I will never ship Sehara with Shahrayar. I mean for one thing it's difficult to have a romance with a dead guy (in my heart of hearts Shahrayar is dead. He just doesn't exist. This version of the manhwa is about 100x more palatable to me).

48. Tempted by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast -- 2.5 stars

Oh Casts, why must you be so terrible? Look I am good with ridiculous vampyre-with-a-y power fantasies and trashy soap opera-esque romance. These things can be enjoyable in their way. But everytime I try to just surf along the story you keep hitting my over the head with your heterosexism and your inability to write POC as anything other than one dimensional sterotypes. DDDD= Stop it, just stop it. Think about what you are writing. Would you make reference to Zoey's heterosexuality with every action she takes? Would you write something like 'She screamed in terror straightly'? No? THEN WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS AN ACCEPTABLE THING TO DO TO DAMIEN? And I swear to God if you don't give Shauna or Kramisha some characterization soon I will throw a pillow at your ahead. And while we're at it could you refrain from referring to Shauna has having cappuccino coloured skin? There is something inherently icky about constantly making reference to her skin colour with food descriptions.

Umm something positive. :/ Well I liked that you finally acknowledged what a tool Eric is. That was cool.

49. Sand Chronicles Volume 7 by by Hinako Ashiwara -- 4 stars
50. We Were There Volume 7 by Yuki Obata -- 3.5 stars
51. We Were There Volume 8 by Yuki Obata -- 3.5 stars

Nana hasn't seen Yano in 4 years! I would like volume 9 NOW please.

52. Naruto Volume 37 by Masashi Kishimoto -- 3.5 stars

So basically this entire volume was about how Shikamaru is awesome and smart. =DDDD I liked it.

53. Naruto Volume 38 by Masashi Kishimoto -- 3 stars

Uhh okay it's Sasuke. Whatever. The problem with reading a manga you've been completely spoiled for is that you cannot summon up excitement for new plot developments because you know how horribly it turns out in the future.

54. Bleach Volume 28 by Tite Kubo -- 3 stars

Why do I have to read Bleach spoilers? DDD= See the thing is, in this volume Ulquiorra was going on about how he has Orihime trapped in a psychological cage~ and has crushed her will to resist because he is SO clever and she's just that dumb. And I was sitting there basically yelling 'OH MY GOD, ULQUIORRA SHUT YOUR STUPID SMUG FACE YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. YOU ARE SO COMPLETELY UNDERESTIMATING ORIHIME INOUE. SHE IS NO FOOL, SHE'S PLAYING ALONG ONLY BECAUSE SHE IS GOING TO DESTROY YOUR HOGYOKU AND HOPEFULLY YOU TOO BECAUSE DAMN, I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU HOW MUCH SATISFACTION IT WOULD GIVE ME TO SEE HER KILL YOU RIGHT NOW.'

And then I remember it doesn't happen anything like that and I am crushed. D=

55. Bleach Volume 29 by Tite Kubo -- 3 stars

Why does everyone who fights Ichigo end up wanting to make out with him? LEAVE YOUR CHOCOLATE SWEETNESS HERE, ICHIGO. xD I guess he has a really appealing chocolate sweetness face.

56. Crown of Love Volume 1 by Yun Kouga -- 3 stars

I am beginning to come to the sad conclusion that nothing else Yun Kouga has written quite matches up to Loveless. =( I guess that's because they're mostly releasing her earlier work now to profit off the Loveless craze so it only makes sense it's not as good. It is interesting to see how some of the same themes pop up though: you have some really screwed up characters here and the main character lives in an abusive household. I'll keep reading I think, because I am interested despite some technical issues (the POV tends to switch around very abruptly).

57. Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo Volume 6 by Matsuri Akino -- 3.5 stars
58. Tsubasa Volume 25 by CLAMP -- 4.5 stars
59. Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman -- 3 stars
60. Reborn! Volume 14 by Akira Amano -- 2.5 stars

I need to take a break from reading shonen, I keep being overcome by ennui. It's just -- it's just all they do is FIGHT all the time. And fight scenes are only interesting if they involve live action and girls kicking people in the face. :/ Also, it's so sad, there was no crossdressing in this volume. Amano has created a scenario which would justify either Mukuro in a skirt or Chrome with his shirt and epic coat thing and yet she doesn't draw it. Why Amano, WHY? Crossdressing makes everything better! Haven't you watched Mulan?

61. Nana Volume 20 by Ai Yazawa -- 4.5 stars
62. Fallen Moon by Toui Hasumi -- 2 stars

Oh Calling You. Why did you have to be such an amazing wonderful manga? Thanks to you I keep picking up one volume collections of short stories hoping to find something as perfect as you were. And they never are. =( This was an incoherent mess of boys love cliches following the theme of angels and demons. I really wouldn't bother unless you've got some diehard thing for the theme.

63. Fables: The Dark Ages by Bill Willingham -- 1.5 stars

Ugh ugh ugh, Rose Red and Sinbad what has he done to you? Congratulations Bill Willingham, you have officially eradicated any desire I had to read Fables ever again. Nice job dude!

64. High School Debut Volume 11 by Kazune Kawahara -- 3 stars

Yay, ridiculously socially inept girl is gone. She will not be missed.

65. A Curse As Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce -- 4 stars

I sort of want to grow up to be Charlotte Miller. She is my responsible, determined, knows what she cares for hero type.

66. High School Debut Volume 12 by Kazune Kawahara -- 3.5 stars

AHH skin on skin! Legs! Legs! Arms! Arms!

Haruna. =DDD I love her so much, I am sort of absolutely certain I will have this EXACT same reaction if I ever do end up with someone.

67. Hikaru no Go Volume 18 by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata -- 4 stars

The one shonen manga which does NOT fill me with devastating ennui. How so awesome, Hikaru no Go?

68. Antique Gift Shop Volume 6 by Lee Eun -- 2.5 stars
69. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 7 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 3 stars

I appear to have substantially chillaxed with regards to this series? I read this volume with a distinct feeling of -- nothing. Whatever. Just your average manga with decent art. Perhaps I have acclimated to it or something.

Things That Were Inaccurate This Volume: Melding of Christian and Muslim theology. Though you can fanwank that away as Sehara telling a Biblical story as a Muslim one to show Richard they are similar and make him inclined to like him and not kill him. I mean if my country had just been taken over by a man who explicitly called my religious book a "book of evil doctrines" I sure wouldn't rate accuracy over survival. =) And yeah, Sehara gets Watsonian explanations from me on account of I like him.

70. High School Debut Volume 13 by Kazune Kawahara -- 5 stars

I did not stop smiling once this entire volume. I love Yoh and Haruna. I'm convinced they're going to make it in the long run. =) Excellent ending.

71. Lovely Complex Volume 15 by Aya Nakahara -- 3.5 stars
72. Lovely Complex Volume 16 by Aya Nakahara -- 4 stars
73. Cynical Orange Volume 1 by Yun JiUn -- 3 stars

This here's some pretty art. =D

74. Pearl Pink Volume 4 by Meca Tanaka -- 3.5 stars
75. Every Soul A Star by Wendy Mass -- 4 stars

You'll have to excuse the pun but I finished this book starry eyed. *__* Making a personal promise to myself to catch the next solar eclipse in the US in 2017. Also visit a planetarium soon.

Books: 6
Manga/Comics: 34
50books_poc: 1


March
76. Ooku: The Inner Chambers Volume 1 by Fumi Yoshinaga -- 5 stars

Oh my God guys. This is in fact the best book I have read so far in 2010. No contest. It's set in Edo Japan after a disease called the Red Pox has killed 75% of the male population (only affects men, younger men in particular). This has caused some major shifts in society with women taking on a number of traditionally male roles. For example, women work the fields while men stay at home (out of fear that straining their constitutions will make them more susceptible to the disease). With such a low male population only rich successful women can afford to marry -- women of the samurai class, successful merchants, etc. -- since they pay a bridal price for their husbands (think gender swapped dowries). It sucks to be a boy born into a non-wealthy family since it's common practice for poorer families to rent out their sons to women hoping to conceive a child who cannot afford to be married.

Anyways! That is just a glimpse of the worldbuilding going on. The actual story is centered on life in the Inner Chambers (the Ooku) which is basically the harem of the shogunate (the military leader of Japan and for all intents and purposes the true political leader as well). The commentary on gender roles is very interesting, this isn't a book you put down and never think about again. Also it has given me one of my favourite ever political leader characters, Lord Yoshimune. She is practical and frugal, determined to reform the excesses of the shogunate in light of the fact that their treasury is nearly empty. She's also very kind without being weak. There's some interesting political power struggles with Fujinami, the head of the Ooku (which culminates in an AWESOME scene between him and Hasimachi which I will not spoil for you. Suffice to say I cheered). If you've any interest in gender roles or alternate histories I'd highly recommend this series to you. Looking forward to the second volume. =)

77. Ooku: The Inner Chambers Volume 2 by Fumi Yoshinaga -- 5 stars

I didn't think it was possible but this was even BETTER than the first volume. Bit busy now but I may put up a review later. Right now I will merely give you some key words: genderbending! epic hurt comfort! female woobie! survivors! people killing their rapists!

78. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 8 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 3 stars

Oh thatdayismine. We have such different opinions on books! ^^ See I rather like the story of Fatima and Shazaman. Actually they're a lot more sympathetic than I expected they'd be from your reaction to them. But possibly it's because I kind of see revenge as one of the primary themes of this manga. At the end of the day Shahrayar isn't a whole lot better than either of them. If it wasn't for Sehara he would've just continued the cycle.

79. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 9 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 3 stars
80. We Were There Volume 9 by Yuki Obata -- 3.5 stars
81. Sandman: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman -- 3 stars
82. Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones -- 3 stars
83. Beast Master Volume 1 by Kyousuke Motomi -- 3.5 stars
84. Beast Master Volume 2 by Kyousuke Motomi -- 3.5 stars

In this volume's bonus story the girl's love interest gets his spirit trapped inside a cactus. =D Lololol Japan ILU never change.

85. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater -- 4 stars
86. Ai wo Utau Yori Ore ni Oberero Volume 1 by Shinjo Mayu -- 2.5 stars

Oh man, I can't believe I actually read this. THE THINGS I WILL PUT UP WITH FOR GENDERBENDING LOVE. Dear Universe, I like pretending to have taste. Please give me more Mulan and less Shinjo Mayu, mmkay?

Sincerely,
My Dying Dignity

87. Ai wo Utau Yori Ore ni Oberero Volume 2 by Shinjo Mayu -- 1.5 stars

-desperately tries to ignore the rapetasticness of this volume- Where did my tolerance for bad shoujo go? DD= Back in the day I read Hot Gimmick! I managed a volume of Sensual Phrase! THIS SHOULD NOT BE BURNING MY EYEBALLS.

On non-terrible notes everytime I see Akira my brain starts playing Ashley Simpson's Lala. =DDD Suddenly everything is ten times funnier, it's great.

88. Cynical Orange Volume 2 by Yun JiUn -- 3 stars

I'm starting to really like Hyemin. =D She geeked out over The Nightmare Before Christmas, it was totally adorable.

89. kimi ni todoke Volume 3 by Karuho Shiina -- 5 stars
90. Skip Beat Volume 20 by Yoshiki Nakamura -- 5 stars
91. Love Hurts by Suzuki Tanaka -- 3 stars

A boys love collection that doesn't suck? Is it even possible? =O Okay, I'm being a jerk but I have run across alot of terrible shonen ai, so something alright is out of the norm.

92. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (50books_poc: Book 3) -- 5 stars

You know when people say they couldn't put a book down? That's exactly what happened to me with this. I meant to only read a few chapters before I went to bed, I ended up staying up to about 3 AM. Fantastic engrossing book.

93. 10 Beautiful Assassins Volume 1 by Thomas R. Hart and Elmer Damaso -- 1 star

Note to self: in future do not pick up book just because the girl on the cover looks like Winry Rockbell. Awesomeness does not leak over with character design.

94. Cynical Orange Volume 3 by Yun JiUn -- 3.5 stars

I don't even know what I want to happen in this manga really. Because I sort of ship Shin-Bi and Hye-Min alot but I also don't want Shin-Bi to dump his girlfriend because she's pretty cool. :/ Sooo let's stick with the holding pattern! Also I greatly approve of Hye-Min making friends. ♥

95. Cynical Orange Volume 4 by Yun JiUn -- 4 stars

♥♥Shin-Bi and Hye-Min♥♥ The first half of this volume was the regular story which was alright. Had some nice moments between Hye-Min and Jung-Yun (I don't know why the summary at the back of the volume is being all it could be something more~ You don't need to lie summary writers! I happen to like their friendship alot!). But the second half. THE SECOND HALF! It was this extended flashback about Shin-Bi and how everybody in his life fails at recognizing albinism and not being a jerk about it (the author has some weird thing going on where everyone is like Shin-Bi's hair is white because his mother took drugs? But the white hair and the strange eyes sound more like he's an albino to me so I think everyone around him is just super clueless and that's why they attribute it to drugs) and how he met Hye-Min and she thought he was really cool and they ended up becoming close and making their own personal refuge from the cruel cold world outside. I LOVE IT. Hye-Min can date Ma-Ha all she likes, they will always be my OTP.

96. Remember by Benjamin -- 2 stars

Remember how when I read Benjamin's Orange I said the art was gorgeous but I couldn't recommend it because the plot and characterization was so incoherent? Same with this.

97. Black Lagoon Volume 1 by Rei Hiroe -- 3 stars

Huh. Shonen that didn't completely bore or irritate me? Nice change!

98. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 21 by Hiromu Arakawa -- 3.5 stars
99. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 22 by Hiromu Arakawa -- 4.5 stars

There is a scenario I like to imagine. It goes like this. One day after receiving the eight billionth chapter of Ichigo powering up and Aizen revealing how everything the heroes have done was his plan all along or Naruto and Sasuke facing off for 50 chapters of an epic battle of ~LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP~ while Sakura stands to the side the WSJ editors will be like 'okay that's it. Call in Hiromu Arakawa'. And she will sit Kubo Tite and Masashi Kishimoto down and be like HERE IS HOW YOU WRITE BESTSELLING SHONEN MANGA. 1. A plot which is not utterly pasted on and makes sense and also is epic. 2. Giving all of your characters their chance to be awesome according to their abilities. 3. A plot that has an actual ENDPOINT in sight because you actually know where this is going.

I mean they'll probably totally ignore her but I like to think of it happening.

In conclusion: OMGWTFBBQ HOW SO AWESOME FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST? HOW SO AWESOME?

100. ArchEnemy by Frank Beddor -- 3 stars

I hope this gets optioned, it would look amazing as a movie.

101. Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer -- 3 stars

I was going to quit this series but then Joss came back. Anyways, not much to say about this. Vlad's emo is still grating and Meredith is still hugely underdeveloped. Just a really mediocre read.

102. V. B. Rose Volume 7 by Banri Hidaka -- 3.5 stars

Maybe I flailed and jumped all about my bus stop when I read Natsume's confession. Maybe. You can't prove anything.

103. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Predators and Prey by Joss Whedon et al. -- 2 stars

Umm. Why does this have to suck so much? :/

104. Twilight: The Graphic Novel Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer -- 2 stars

Wow, Twilight is just not a book that ages well huh? See when it first came out I read it and I liked it well enough. I was pretty surprised when it became so huge because I thought it was pretty average. And now I read the graphic novel and in fact it is not average. It is terrible. :/ The art is pretty good (although the artist seems to have trouble with age since her teenagers all look twenty five at best). And this escaped my attention in high school but Edward and Bella's love story is...non-existent. Seriously there is absolutely no explanation of why these kids are in love. One day Bella's like there's this freaky kid who seems repulsed by me and then next it's true love FOREVER. And Edward jumps from delicious food to PRINCESS OF MY HEART I LOVE YOU ETERNALLY. 0_o

105. Bayou Volume 1 by Jeremy Love (50books_poc: Book 4) -- 4 stars

I don't include manga in my 50books_poc count because I read manga regularly and I would have done so regardless of the challenge so including them would defeat the entire purpose of changing my reading habits to read more POC authored books. I thought over whether I should exclude American comics too but seeing as I read them rarely and I picked up this book specifically because I saw an interesting review of it on 50books_poc I figured it should count. Sorta fantasy set in the 1930s South. This volume grabbed me despite mostly being series set up, I look forward to seeing how it continues.

106. Children of the Sea Volume 1 by Daisuke Igarashi -- 3 stars

Rather slow paced but I'm intrigued. Hopefully volume 2 will provide some answers as to what's going on with the gathering sea animals.

107. Nightschool: The Weirn Books Volume 1 by Svetlana Chmakova -- 3 stars
108. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat by Joss Whedon et al. -- 2 stars

I am sure you are unsurprised to learn that this remains unremittantly terrible.

109. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl -- 3 stars
110. The Bro Code by Barney Stinson with Matt Kuhn -- 3 stars

Lollarious though wholly unoriginal.

111. Gone by Lisa McMann -- 3 stars
112. All My Darling Daughters by Fumi Yoshinaga -- 3.5 stars
113. Game x Rush Volume 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi -- 4 stars

Things which are made of hilarity: how blatantly the author ships the two characters and her stated difficulty at not writing them as a romance. Also the little side panels where she turns one of the character's into a girl to show the flirtiness that could have been. Methinks someone should introduce her to the ~radical idea~ of shonen ai.

114. Game x Rush Volume 2 by Mizuho Kusanagi -- 4 stars

A Conversation I Feel Encapsulates This Volume

Yuuki: -feels the need to hug Memori-
Kenju: So are you guys boyfriends now?
Memori: No!
Everyone who has actually read the manga: YES.

The beautiful conclusion to the love story of a pretty boy bodyguard and his issue racked assassin boyfriend. ♥♥♥

115. Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson -- 3.5 stars

-plots to steal Spencer away to be my new brother and/or BFF for life.-

116. Cynical Orange Volume 5 by Yun JiUn -- 3.5 stars

Plus: Hye-Min made some girl friends! \o/ When the volume introduced Ma-Ha's exes I was wary cause I've seen tons of manhwa/manga where exes are super bitter and cruel to the main girl but no! They were friendly and outgoing and the only warning off they gave her was to be like 'Ma-Ha is a player! You should dump him and hang out with us' ♥♥♥

Minuses: Whatever the heck is going on with the implying Shin-Bi has ~evil plans~ to isolate Hye-Min. I love their relationship, don't screw with it please.

Also I have now finally tipped over into liking Ma-Ha. Mainly because if he's friends with such amazing girls than he is clearly a pretty good dude! And yeah, I do judge people by the company they keep.

Books: 9
Manga/Comics: 32
50books_poc: 2


April
117. Cynical Orange Volume 6 by Yun JiUn -- 3 stars
118. Cynical Orange Volume 7 by Yun JiUn -- 3 stars

DDD= I find myself displeased with pretty much all of the recent plot and character developments with the exception of Jung-Yun.

119. Cynical Orange Volume 8 by Yun JiUn -- 3.5 stars
120. What is Stephen Harper Reading? by Yann Martel -- 3 stars
121. Forest Born by Shannon Hale -- 4 stars
122. Runaways: Dead Wrong by Terry Moore -- 2 stars

Hey you know what's a stupid story decision? Sending Xavin off on a bus to space. She was interesting! I still remember the chapter where she was talking about her gender identity issues with Karolina. Also, warlike alien transplanted to Earth! Seriously Moore, you couldn't come up with ANY interesting storylines off that? D=

123. Runaways: Homeschooling by Kathryn Immogen -- 2.5 stars
124. Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jacyln Moriarty -- 4 stars

This was completely fantastic. Hilarious and simultaneously touching (if you didn't cry at *spoiler* you are one ridiculously tough cookie). Elizabeth and Christina were just lovely; I was cheering for their friendship all the way through.

125. Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguie -- 3 stars
124. Aurelie by Heather Tomlinson -- 3 stars
125. Lovely Complex Volume 17 by Aya Nakahara -- 3.5 stars
126. Soul Eater Volume 1 by Atsushi Ohkubo -- 2.5 stars

Way too much fanservice. DDDDD= But according to my brother it gets toned down after the first few chapters so I guess I'll try volume 2.

127. Honey Hunt Volume 4 by Miki Aihara -- 3.5 stars

Okay I don't even ship Yura/Q-Ta (Yura/Haruka 4ever!) but I am still totally cheering for her. Because above else my OTP for this series is Yura/Agency and I am pretty much on board with anything she decides to do. I'm just worried that Aihara is considering pairing her with her agent which would be horrible step backwards in terms of the agency progress (omg paternalistic romantic relationship are not sexy why). The extra chapter of showing the story of the TV show Yura's filming was pretty horrible and squicky but oh well. I guess Aihara needs some sort of outlet for her skeevy romance impulses and as long as she doesn't inflict them on Yura I'll live with it.

128. DN Angel Volume 13 by Yukiru Sugisaki -- 3 stars

Still think the highlight of this entire arc was the jacket scene. But backstory is good too!

129. Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey -- 5 stars