Welcome to Litsy!

The novel is circular by design, which I liked at first, but the text was too repetitive & there was too much filler -- overuse of phrases like "in other words" or "with that thought." And I think every character thinks or says, "Huh?" at least once. Here are a couple quotes: "Eiko had no idea what a Whiskey and Coke was." ? "Plants were amazing things. Every year, without fail, they created literal, solid produce." ? Better in Japanese, maybe?

One of my favorite things about this series other than how pretty and fun to read it is would have to be the way Natsume builds friendships everywhere he goes. It feels like there are two Book of Friends--the one from his grandma and the manga itself. #Manga #Friendship

I‘m still not quite sure what to make of this, but it was fun! The subtitle is “A Xianxia Cultivation Novel”—a genre I had zero familiarity with. I could‘ve used a little genre primer before reading; I felt like I‘d stumbled into a world in which I was out of my depth. Which, I suppose, is appropriate for the premise here: a Canadian guy finds himself in a Chinese-inspired fantasy world, in the body of a Disciple of the Cloudy Sword Sect ⤵️

Somehow the adventures in this book were much more high-stakes than usual, and the storytelling was a bit more solid. We got an excellent look into Reiko's past, Nyanko Sensei's motivations, and Natsume's relationship with his foster family. #Manga

Another delightful set of adventures. Always fun to have returning side characters. The arm reaching through the ceiling definitely made me laugh but I would probably panic if that happened to me 😆 #Manga

It took me a bit to get used to the episodic chapters from this series being serialized in a magazine first. This was another adventurous volume and I enjoyed the yokai and human friends Natsume meets along the way. It was very fun seeing him meet Hinoe. #Manga

Ch 15: #wrathsnack #roadsiderestaurant #thatscenewiththecandythough #sliceoflife #staytuned #hashtagbrigade

An old(er) man yaoi. My first reading about older couples. It was bit dark, auite realistic and all in all very lovable.

#manga

The first volume of a LGBT manga premised around traveling around the world. Laid-back (and always hungry) Mitsuki and uptight overplanner Asahi are traveling together. Asahi is figuring himself and his life out, and bits of the romance seemed juvenile.

Loved the drawings of the sites, but really wish there was a list or captions to say what some of them were (to put on the list if I visit!). Enjoyed the snacks, especially in Georgia.

Cute.

Putting all the books I want to read/finish reading by the end of the year in one place was probably a mistake. 😜 This is a lot! I do plan on listening to the audiobook for several of them (and switching to audio for a couple that I can't get motivated to finish), so that will help.