So, Publisher’s Weekly did a list of their top ten manga titles for 2008. During my perusal of this _list_,I didn’t see VAMPIRE KNIGHT by Hino (which is loaded full of angst and has a love triangle in it) or BLOOD ALONE (bittersweet love story) by Takano. No, of course not. What tepid tastes I have. Anyway, the author of the article suggests that manga isn’t just for teens anymore. What is popular among mature adults?
Awhile ago, I read VAGABOND (vol.1) by Takehiko Inoue that tells the fictionalized story of Musashi’s life and I have really enjoyed the series (or as much of it as I can find at the moment). This author also has a series out that centers around a guy who tries _really_ hard at a sport he hates (basketball) in order to attract the attention of a certain female. OMG. Doesn’t this sound really, really good?
Anyway, SLAM DUNK by Takehiko Inoue sits at the top spot for most popular Japanese manga of last year (2008). As for the rest of the list - ah, never even heard of most of these titles. Must go see what my library has in stock. I wish SLAM DUNK was available digitally because then all I would need to do is pay for it and then go read in a corner somewhere. Looks like volume two is due out Feb 2009.
The Dreaming is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Queenie Chan, published by Tokyopop. It is a self-contained story and completed in 3 volumes.
As other readers have noted, this manga is not typical. First of all it is set in Australia and secondly, it is written by a Chinese-Australian author. The Dreaming can be best described as horror. Twin sisters, Amber and Jeannie are moving from Sydney to the Australian bushland to attend a private boarding school that might be haunted. [click to continue…]
Alas, this is a short list as I tend to stick to authors who I have been with for years. But I managed to come up with a list of books that I am buying and reading and a list of books that I am getting from the library (I heart my library). I hope my library gets these titles in as I sent in the requests for them?? Problem is I never remember to reserve my copy early and then I’m stuck with a long wait.
The Books I’m Buying
Grave Goods (Art of Death Series) is the third book in the Adelia Aguilar series set in 12th Century England. It is thus far a consistently strong series from a writer who also writes historical fiction under her real name of Diana Norman. The first two books in the series are Mistress in the Art of Death (2007) and The Serpent’s Tale (2008). Ms. Franklin also wrote a stand-alone novel, City of Shadows that was pretty good and I reviewed that one as well.
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Those readers who are interested in signing up for the TBR Challenge 2009, leave a comment below with a link to your site. You do not have to have a blog to participate. Rules are the same as before, 2007 and back, the older the title the better. No penalty for reading 2008 books if that is all you have. No 2009 reads (nope).
Books can be of any genre, fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, etc. The day to post your review will be every third Wednesday of the month with reminders from me the week before or the week of if time gets away from me. I will keep a separate page of participants like before and again, this is all voluntary. Readers can continue to join even after the challenge has started.
I decided to assign a particular challenge for each month with the default being that if you can’t do the assigned challenge, you can read whatever you like from your TBR pile and post your review as per usual. I wanted to shake things up a bit, make you all dig these books out of your stacks. No purchase is necessary to participate in this challenge (so please don’t run out and buy a book just to participate…unless you want to). [click to continue…]
The last day of the year has finally come and with that comes the contest drawing that I said would be held today for the readers who participated in the TBR Challenge 2008 and stuck with it to the end. I can only award one of you with a $100 Amazon Gift Card. This was a day that I dreaded because all of you who participated from month to month deserve mad props.
Here are the names of the contestants for the drawing. I will pick a number (your number) from random.org and that will be my winner. First, I would like to _make sure_ that I have everybody who was eligible for the drawing. If your name is not on this list, you need to email me ASAP but before you do that, make sure you read over the contest rules before sending me your email. I plan to do the drawing at 11:59 am CST, Dec 31, 2008.
Update: WINNER of the $100 Amazon Gift Card… IS JAN (#9) whose blog is Reading Etc. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Please email as soon as you read this at avidbookreader 36 [at] gmail [dot] com (without all the spaces). Thank You everybody for participating this year! [click to continue…]
Wages of Sin by Penelope Williamson (2004) is a book I’ve been wanting to read since finishing “Mortal Sins” years ago. The series mainly follows homicide detective Daman Rourke and his movie star girlfriend, Remy LeLourie.
In the first book, “Mortal Sins,” the story was about a Hollywood star, Remy Lelourie, returning home to New Orleans and facing murder charges. Her former lover, Daman Rourke, was the lead investigator on the case and the one who exonerates her to the disgust of his partner, Fio. Now, six months later, after getting his woman back, Rourke is investigating the murder of a priest that promises to reveal the dirty little secrets of some powerful people, rich and poor alike. [click to continue…]
So, Publisher’s Weekly did a list of their top ten manga titles for 2008. During my perusal of this _list_,I didn’t see VAMPIRE KNIGHT by Hino (which is loaded full of angst and has a love triangle in it) or BLOOD ALONE (bittersweet love story) by Takano. No, of course not. What tepid tastes I have. Anyway, the author of the article suggests that manga isn’t just for teens anymore. What is popular among mature adults?
