pickFinished my #BookSpin book today ;) It was super cute, but I don't really cook, so I don't know much about cooking. But I loved reading about these characters and their love for preparing a meal with love and attention.
@TheAromaOfBooks
so-soIncredibly fast-paced, but still very entertaining. I feel like this volume is mostly setting up the storyline, but it did jump around a lot. I'm interested in seeing where the story goes from here.
pickNice discovery while I was at the library in El Paso visiting a friend.
I really liked the world building, and I'm very curious to discover the rest of this dark series.
Step by step, pages after pages, Nagabe introduces us to this peculiar world, divided in two, the insider (normal human beings), and the outsiders, plagued by a curse. The book opens with an outsider living with a little girl. Quite an atmospheric read.
Picked this one up on a whim a while back from a savings bin (it looked cute) a then picked it up to start yesterday and —- low and behold—- it ended up being my #BookSpin pick- it‘s kismit 💛💛💛🥕🥒🥬
@TheAromaofBooks
so-soOur Dining Table, by Mita Ori (2017, transl. 2019)
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Premise: A reclusive young Japanese man learns the value of connecting with others through food.
Review: This is a cute manga, but I didn‘t buy the particular baggage of the main character and it felt overwrought. (This is part of the genre, I realize, but it just left me ambivalent.) The highlight is absolutely the younger brother character.
pick“Entertaining and quite cute,” per my Manga-loving son. When I told him how much I loved this book, he said he‘d read it, too. A few story lines were meh, but for the most part they were cute, funny, hilarious, always entertaining. There are some brilliant story lines: e.g., when the cat saves our MC from a vampire!
@LibrarianRyan introduced me to this series during an exchange last year and husband gifted it to me for Christmas. I adore it.
The final decision between The Rise of Kyoshi and The Tower of Nero was SO close. I chose TRoK because I think it's more objectively good, while my opinion on TToN is more emotional. Also, I've had a recent resurgence in my ATLA obsession, so that might have something to do with it. Happy 2026, everyone!!
