Tsundoku <p>wants to read</p>

Magical Boy, Volume 1 by The Kao
A breathtakingly imaginative fantasy series starring Max―a high schooler chosen to become the next "Magical Girl." There's just one catch …
Author, Voracious Reader, Crocheter of many things, Very Autistic
Languages: EN, ES (B1)
(Pronouns: they / them) Mainly reads: Young Adult (contemporary, sci-fi or fantasy), Japanese Literature, Romance, and Fantasy / Sci-fi for adults
https://lapiswrites.xyz - Official ™ Blog with pictures @lapis@booktoot.club - Book & Riverdale account @lapis@elekk.xyz - General Shitposting, sometimes game related
Avatar: BugPaws on ko-fi: ko-fi.com/bugpaws/
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A breathtakingly imaginative fantasy series starring Max―a high schooler chosen to become the next "Magical Girl." There's just one catch …
Jules is a trans man trapped in his life as a nun. The devil that the convent guards against offers …
Sawako Sadako Kuronuma is the perfect heroine for a horror movie. With her jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor, …
Sawako Sadako Kuronuma is the perfect heroine for a horror movie. With her jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor, …
Sawako “Sadako” Kuronuma is the perfect heroine…for a horror movie.
With her jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor, Sawako …
Sawako “Sadako” Kuronuma is the perfect heroine…for a horror movie.
With her jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor, Sawako …
First Nations culture is living, vibrant, and evolving...
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A deep dive into the nature of translation from one of its most acclaimed practitioners
Avoiding theoretical debates and clichéd …
Alastair Sterling was the inventor who sparked the robot revolution, and because of his sudden death he didn't see any …
Benjamin Lewis has created a life for himself as one of the most respected silversmiths and engravers in New York …
Paris, 1823. Victor Beauchêne has led a stifling existence, unrecognized for both his cleverness and his gender, except in the …
I very much enjoyed this book, despite all the dark elements that the characters face. It is indeed funny, and the narrative phrasings made me laugh out loud more than once. It's also sad, even heart-wrenching at points. I personally really enjoyed seeing someone with a bad hip/other physical ailments that genuinely seems to affect them all the time, not just when it's convenient to the narrative. And when characters get injured, those injuries matter. And of course I appreciated that there's M/M and F/F relationships in the book, and was glad that if there was more than cuddling going on, it was off-screen and undescribed. She, and all the other characters we get to know well, have moments of strength, and moments of weakness when they rely on others to be strong for them.
I loved how she completed the quest, and I loved the glimpse into her life, …
I very much enjoyed this book, despite all the dark elements that the characters face. It is indeed funny, and the narrative phrasings made me laugh out loud more than once. It's also sad, even heart-wrenching at points. I personally really enjoyed seeing someone with a bad hip/other physical ailments that genuinely seems to affect them all the time, not just when it's convenient to the narrative. And when characters get injured, those injuries matter. And of course I appreciated that there's M/M and F/F relationships in the book, and was glad that if there was more than cuddling going on, it was off-screen and undescribed. She, and all the other characters we get to know well, have moments of strength, and moments of weakness when they rely on others to be strong for them.
I loved how she completed the quest, and I loved the glimpse into her life, and the lives of her travel companions, afterwards.
The author's note, quoted below, contains some very helpful content warnings. "[T]he story involves loss, grief, and unresolved trauma for everyone involved. Some of the characters have anxiety or PTSD and suffer from panic attacks, nightmares, and flashbacks on the page. Some scenes involve physical violence, fire, injury, blood, and death. Additionally, while physical abuse does not occur on the page, it is discussed frequently throughout the story."
In addition to this list, there are a couple of things that are usually big bugaboos of mine, but which were written with such empathy that I was actually pretty okay with them. Spoilers below, so I'm giving a little space if you don't want to read them.
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1) Named character death: There's a lot of death, including the on-page death of people we've actually gotten to know a bit. (No-one whose POV we've seen dies).
2) Betrayal: One character does betray the group, but since it's known from the start that he's a plant from their enemy, it's easier for the reader to be emotionally braced by it.
In Courage to Soar, the official autobiography from US Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, Simone presents the story of how she …