Weekly Wednesday-ish Reading Meme - September 11, 2013

[chomiji]

It's been three weeks since I did this. I'm not going to list everything I've read since then!

What have you just finished reading?

Nail Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I enjoyed it; it was a comfortable fit for me. Even the scary parts were comfortable somehow: Gaiman has a real feel for what actually scares kids. The reviewers have been mostly talking this up like it's the second coming of goodness-knows-what. I think it's an effective piece of writing and in some places, very beautiful, but it isn't wrapping around my brain like, say, American Gods. On the other hand, I liked it better than Coraline or The Graveyard Book. It also reminded me in some ways of Jo Walton's Among Others, in that it's a tribute to the place that books create for introverted children.

I also read volume 1 of The House of Five Leaves, a manga that had been recommended by smillaraaq and that had caught my eye on the Viz site a while back. I liked it and wanted more.

I'm re-reading the first several volumes of the manga Bunny Drop (note: spoilers in the post at the link), probably because last week I read the final volume. All my series seem to have run out. *is sad* Anyway, I've finished re-reading volumes 1 through 3.

I also just finished Jim Hines' Codex Born, which was a total page-turner for me. I also really liked the way Lena's character developed. I think this is the book where I can officially say that I am a Hines fan. I was very underwhelmed by The Stepsister Scheme, and although Libriomancer was fun, it didn't grab me the way this most recent book did.

What are you currently reading?

Limping through The Wouldbegoods by E. Nesbit, which I don't dislike enough to quit entirely. Also re-reading volume 4 of Bunny Drop and C.J. Cherryh's Russalka, which I first read years ago, and which I have downloaded to my new tablet from the author's Closed Circle site.

What do you think you'll read next?

Hmmm, I really don't know! Someone on the f-list was reviewing some private investigator mysteries with gay protagonists (this author and this one); maybe I'll try one of those.

 

Comments

[jedishampoo]

I need to pick up Ocean at the End of the Lane -- I enjoyed his last book, though it used to be that I liked Gaiman's comics better than his straight-up prose. He's such an interesting man to read, non-fictionwise, too.

Yeah, I heard about that Bunny Drop. ???!? Heh.

[chomiji]

The hot mess in Bunny Drop was neither as hot nor as messy as I'd feared: volumes 5 through 7 were OK and even enjoyable as the teenaged Rin tries to find out more about her past. But the ending was somewhat squirm-inducing ... although again, not as bad as I'd feared.

[jedishampoo]

I still think I might not want to read it... but then I have some pretty bulletproof squicks. :)

Also, I notice you mentioned House of Five Leaves ... I've just since yesterday watched five of the episodes on youtube. I'm enjoying the characters a lot, even if it is very confusing sometimes. Have you seen the anime at all? I think it's only 12 episodes.