Aino Minako-chan

It's that time again! I'm still alive and still reading (thanks, Kindle!). Not reading a TON, admittedly, but I'm not doing half bad.

( (13) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch ) A really great fantasy story.

( (14) Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb ) Slow and not particularly likeable, and yet for some reason, I didn't hate it. Weird.

( (15) The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie ) I seriously cannot recommend this book enough. And I can't wait for Hugh's second novel to come out soon!

( (16) Warrior's Apprentice by by Lois McMaster Bujold )Long story short, I'm somewhat undecided about my feelings for the protagonist, but in the end, the rich world Bujold created is enough to keep me interested in reading another few books in the series.

( (17) Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold! by Terry Brooks )I got it for free, and I finished it quick, so it was worth it. Not so sure I'd be so happy if I had to pay money, though.

I'd also like to point out that I've gotten several of my books this year for free from the Suvudu free library (http://www.suvudu.com/freelibrary/). This is Del Rey's rotating library of free downloadable books, available in PDF or various eBook formats. From what I can tell, they pick authors who have a series or just several books available from Del Rey, and then they offer one of the books for free in order to encourage purchase of other Del Rey books. I stop by once a month or so to see if any of the freebies interest me. For instance, right now, both Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold! and Perdido Street Station by China Mieville are available. Even if you don't end up reading the book, or even if the book kinda bites, it's free, so why not?

Wow, I haven't talked about my books in a very long time, but I swear that I'm still reading! Honest! Here's a roundup, homefully without leaving anything out...

( (7) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ) Definitely a recommended read for most everyone.

( (8) Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik ) A great addition to the Temeraire series.

( (9) Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman ) A wonderful, wonderful superhero novel.

( (10) Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves ) Calling all Neil Gaiman fans: Stay away. Stay faaaar away.

( (11) Storm Front by Jim Butcher ) To put it in mathematical form: Harry Potter + Harry Lockhart = Harry Dresden.

( (12) The Late Hector Kipling by David Thewlis ) A bit slow in parts, but over all very quirky and quite funny for a slightly surreal read.

FYI, I got a Kindle as an early birthday present, and it's actually perfect for me, because A) I honestly don't have room for any more paperbacks in my little Tokyo apartment, and B) when you take into consideration shipping costs and general markups added to English books is Japan, Kindle prices are honestly a good deal. Plus, it's much easier to cart on the train! I'm honestly not sure if I'd use it if I still lived in the States, but in Japan, it's really great.

This actually marks my third year of trying to read more on my commute, and it still seems to be working! Hurray!

( (1) Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris ) Maybe not a collection that you'd buy for yourself, but a good gift to buy someone else.

( (2) The 47th Samurai by Stephen Hunter ) A book by and for Japan fetish-ists! Otherwise, avoid it like the plague.

( (3) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman ) A kid's book written for older Gaiman fans.

( (4) How To Talk to Girls by Alec Greven ) A funny little book that makes a good gift for someone.

( (5) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz ) Good writing with some engaging sections, but overall a bit unfocused.

( (6) Confessions of a Fallen Angel by Ronan O'Brien ) A somewhat underwhelming book that I couldn't really get into.

On a side note, have other people read the short story "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury? I saw another Bradbury story mentioned somewhere, and now I have an urge to read "The Veldt" again. I actually read it for the first time when I was pretty young, like 3rd grade or so, and it's traumatized me to this day. (lol)

Merry Christmas! I'm currently at work, eating my Christmas subway sandwich and drinking my Christmas white chocolate mocha. Yeah, I kinda hate Christmas in Japan. But this will likely be my last post of 2008, so I thought I'd better post these book reviews before I completely forget! I hit a stumbling block in my reading this year. Long story short, I tried to start a couple of duds in a row, so I finally gave up and started rereading old favorites or playing games on my cell phone during my commute. Hopefully 2009 will give me better luck with reading!

( (20) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood ) A must-read book that made me want to cry, but in a good way.

( (21) China Lake by Meg Gardiner ) Not my taste, but a decent choice for people who like thrillers.

( (22) Superpowers by David J. Schwartz ) Decent writing helps save an otherwise mundane superhero tale. Good for a quick read if you're bored.

( (23) Chocolat by Joanne Harris ) A sweet, but faintly bitter and dark little treat with a touch of... I can't think of any more chocolate references. You get the idea.

( (Bonus B) The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon ) Possibly good for fans of noir detective stories. I should really stop reading books when I know that I dislike the genre. ^_^;

Although I won't review them, I've also spent time rereading Naomi Novik's Temeraire series (still fun), World War Z by Max Brooks (seriously awesome), and Good Omens (just as funny as I remembered). Hope every has good holidays, and I'll see you in 2009!

I am ridiculously sore right now. I took a martial-arts-slash-yoga class at the gym on Friday, and my legs STILL ache. It was like yoga, except the insane woman leading the class would start saying things like "kung fu pose" or "ten high kicks; double time!" and yeah. GOING TO DIE. I'm seriously considering just curling up with a book and soaking in the bath tub for an hour or so tonight. SPEAKING of books (did you see the segue!?), more book reviews!

( (14) Ai no Kusabi The Space Between Volume 1: Stranger and (15) Volume 2: Destiny by Reiko Yoshihara (translated by Kelly Quine) ) Extremely poor translation that's really only recommended for Ai no Kusabi fans or people who are really really desperate for homosexual erotica.

( (16) Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin ) In the end, not an overly spectacular mystery, but with a highly original setting that gives it a solid leg up over conventional mystery tales.

( (17) Perdido Street Station by China Mieville ) A fascinating and absorbing epic tale in a wonderful new world.

( (18) Hero by Perry Moore ) Not perfect, but a very fun, frothy read for the summer.

( (19) Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips ) A fun story about the Greek gods in modern times.

I am sadly behind on my reading this year. (I had read nearly 20 books by this time last year.) Maybe I'm reading longer things; I spent the first half of 2007 blasting through Discworld books, which I could read in about a week each. Still, I feel like I should speed up; my list of "must read" books only grows longer every day... but on the plus side, I've found a pretty good used English book store in Tokyo, so it's cheaper for me to get new reading materials (and get rid of old stuff). Hurray for economical-ness! Anyway, on with the reviews!

( (10) Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre ) Even if only half of it is true, this is one of the best spy stories, ever.

( (11) The Highly Effective Detective by Richard Yancey ) In the end, it was a decent detective novel: good enough that I was happy to read it, but not so stunning that I'd pick up the series.

( (12) American Gods by Neil Gaiman ) A highly recommended book that blends ancients gods into the modern world.

( (13) The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall ) A wonderful, quirky mystery that's right up my alley.

( (Bonus A) Adverbs by Daniel Handler ) Perhaps big Lemony Snicket fans would approve, but I felt little love.

It's time for more reading with Minako-chan! I'm starting to run out of room on my bookshelves; reading is fun, but it sure takes up space.

( (5) The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson ) An interesting enough tale to fill a novella, or short-story, even, but somewhat painful at its full length.

( (6) Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon ) Although nothing new, a well-written story about the trials of an intoxicated author.

( (7) Un Lun Dun by China Mieville ) Fun, fanciful kids lit that's recommended for everyone.

( (8) Light Before Day by Christopher Rice ) A trashy but somehow enjoyable pulp mystery.

( (9) Acceptance by Susan Coll ) A fairly funny story about the trials in a priviledged town: it's kinda like "Desperate Housewives" for the parents of college-aged kids.

Holy crap, the translation department has a business dinner with the company president tonight; we're required to think of 3 questions to bring to the round table. KILL ME NOW.

On the plus side, Tokyo is starting to have snowy winter weather, creating perfect days for reading a novel while chest-deep in a bubble bath. So to celebrate, some books! Yup, for a second year in a row, I have decided to keep reading and keep reviewing. This entry will have my last couple books of 2007, and my first books of 2008. As noted last year, I tend to read books with humor, mystery, surrealism, and fantasy, but I'm not a huge fan of serious books, romances, tear-jerkers, horror, or non-fiction.

2007

( (32) Reliquary, (33) Entanglement by Martha Wells ) Fun action novels for anyone who likes the Stargate Atlantis TV show.

2008

( (1) Microserfs by Douglas Coupland ) A lovely tale of geeks ruling the world before geeks ruled the world.

( (2) World War Z by Max Brooks ) A surprisingly serious, entertaining, and highly recommended book about zombies.

( (3) Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link ) A collection of magical short stories with its ups and downs.

( (4) The Neverending Story by Michael Ende ) A rather stereotypical fantasy novel that evolves into something much more.

I've been dreaming a lot recently, for the first time since college, probably. And I'm talking about the very Minako-esque dreams that I usually have, ones that tend not to involve surrealistic daily life, but instead feature complex plots with flashbacks and voiceovers. (Seriously, I normally dream in "movies". If I could remember every word that I ever dreamed, I could make a fortune off of novels and scripts.) Just last night, I dreamed something involving a team of people (including myself) hunting down either demons or alien lifeforms in a sort of sci-fi sewer. I died halfway through the dream (stomache ripped out; there was a lot of blood), but that's no reason to stop the story! The dream continued and it was rather exciting. (Oddly enough, this was not a horror dream, or even a remotely scary dream. It was just a summer-movie/action dream. Good times.)

It's possibly because I'm sleeping better, but my boss also suggested that it's because I've been reading so much this year, thus working the creative part of my brain into overtime. So without further ado, here are some more book reviews!

( (26) The Homeless Channel by Matt Silady ) An unfortunately boring graphic novel with an interesting concept.

( (27) Spaceman Blues: A Love Song by Brian Francis Slattery ) An utterly weird sci-fi/apocalyptic/surrealist love story.

( (28) Be Near Me by Andrew O'Hagan ) A quiet, lovely novel about a middle-aged man finally finding himself.

( (29) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon ) An awesome, truly incredible Pulitzer Price-winning novel. Read it! Now! ... Seriously, go now!

( (30) Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder ) Mystery novel + History of philosophy text = Magical, edutaining read.

( (31) Working IX to V by Vicki Leon ) An entertaining, educational book that might make your job seem not too shabby.

( (Bonus F) Keeping It Real by Justina Robson ) Possibly recommended for people who, y'know, actually like elves and cyborgs. I've got an extra copy if anyone wants one!

Since 2007 is almost over, this will probably be the next-to-last post of the year. (Not the VERY last, of course; I'm flying home for Christmas and 14 hours is a VERY long flight.) But I read 30+ books, which means more than two novels a month, so I'm not doing so bad, right? We'll see what kind of reading pops up next year. Otanoshimi!

Wow, it seems like it's been while since I read anything! I admittedly didn't read much new in early summer with all of the build-up to the HP high and subsequent slow period of coming down. But as you can tell, I've made up for things with a series of fantasy stories.

( (20) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling ) It's Harry Freaking Potter. Do you seriously need a review?

( (21) Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David ) A fantasy satire about a misanthropic, disabled anti-hero. It's a bit like "House", but with evil warlords instead of bacteria.

( (22) Stardust by Neil Gaiman ) A charming fantasy that best compares to "The Princess Bride".

( (23) Ricochet by Sandra Brown ) Presumably a good read for people who like pulp mystery-romance-thrillers that read like a summer movie. Otherwise, er... [cough]

( (24) The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman ) Amazing fantasy world-building combined with fantastic adventure for a great read.

( (25) Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik ) An awesome fourth book in one of my favorite series.

Finally, I have a little something to get off of my chest. While I honestly did enjoy all the fantasy books to different degrees, and I do recommend them, don't get me wrong... after a while, I couldn't stop thinking, "Wow. They're all really white." (lol) Like, everyone was really really white. It almost seemed like every second character was either a blond or a red-head. I think it's more noticeable when you read so many different series in a row, too. Anyway, can anyone recommend good fantasy series that are a bit more diverse?

( A manifesto about 'A Reader's Manifesto' (aka Minako-chan babbles about books). )

On a slightly unrelated note, while thinking about books, I was suddenly reminded of the good times in my junior year of honors English. We studied "Hamlet", of course, but my teacher insisted that "Hamlet" was better understood when read aloud and performed. Therefore, we spent a week or so reading "Hamlet" aloud in small groups. Everyone else seemed to think this was a new torture technique as they woodenly plodded through; I believe that some groups even ignored the idea of "roles" and simply had one person read each scene. However, I teamed up with a little group of four and we had a blast. We divided up the roles for each scene, we waved our hands about, we acted (albeit badly, but at least enough that we would back up a bit if we wanted to change the way we were saying a line), and we generally had a grand ol' time. Actually, there were many times when other groups would stop to watch us as we shouted and flailed our way through "Hamlet". This was, perhaps, even better fun than our final "Hamlet" project, which involved acting out a scene. Three of us chose the first half of the graveyard scene of Act 5, Scene 1, but due to the fact that there were only three of us, and due to the character's near lack of lines, we replaced Horatio with a sock puppet. We even made him a little hat and tie. Best Horatio, ever.

This isn't so much a review as a list of random thoughts. I've tried to organize things, but it's likely still long and windy. Still, I'm curious what other people thought, so bombs away!

( Spoilers obviously. Do I even need to mention that? Because seriously people, spoilers. )

2:10 pm Tokyo time. Harry Potter is complete.

I honestly thought that I'd be sobbing and a crying wreck or something, but I'm not, honestly.

I'm also slightly floaty and hungry from forgetting about lunch, so I'm also likely in shock but...

Wow. The Harry Potter Series is over.

....

I honestly don't know what to say. How does one treat shock, anyway? Chocolate? Sure, why not.

[ETA] That is possibly the most inappropriate "end of Harry Potter" icon in the world. Unfortunately, it was either that or Senor Draco so, yeah, Ron for the win.

For those who are curious, I'll go ahead an state my official policy: this LJ will be a Harry Potter spoiler-free zone for about a week. I'll probably make a post immediately after finishing the book, just for commemorative purposes*, and I'll probably post about the movie once I see it, but I'll hold off on any even remotely spoiler book thoughts until Wednesday-ish. Should anyone spoil me before then, I swear on Grabthar's hammer that I will hunt you down and beat you to death with a spoon. ^_^

I realize that there are people out there who enjoy getting spoilers, who watch every single behind-the-scenes video of movies before their release, who analyze the trailers for plot points, who scour the net for any slight rumor. I will fully admit that I have absolutely no idea what the hell those people are thinking. Where's the fun in spoilers? Sure, it means that you don't have to impatiently wait for those juicy details, but aren't the details meaningless when taken out of context? I'm one of those people who, when reading a mystery, actively avoids figuring who dunnit, even if it starts becoming obvious. It's so much more fun to gasp along when the hero reveals it was the butler all along.

Having said that, I was one of those kids who immediately read the last page (no more, no less) of any book before starting the whole thing. It took me a while to train myself out of the habit. Even now, I tend to flip to the very end upon opening a book, but most of the time I manage to catch myself in time that I can just note the number of pages before starting again at the beginning. [shrug]




*For further FYI, I'll probably finish the book about 3-ish Tokyo time, which translates to 7 am in London and midnight in Denver. Ha-ha, time zones rule!!

( (17) Mort by Terry Pratchett ) Yet another humorous Discworld book from Terry Pratchett that would be wonderful if only it weren't for that Mort fellow.

( (18) Winkie by Clifford Chase ) An unfunny, rather dull, hamfisted disappointment.

( (19) The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett ) More Discworld! More Rincewind! And lots of Not Australia!

( (Bonus D) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and (Bonus E) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling ) Gearing up for the home stretch and trying not to cry!

FYI, I found out that Kinokuniya will open at 8:00 am on July 21 in Japan, so I'll set my alarm to show up bright and early! Harry Potter! Harry Potter! \o/ \o/

I'm so almost updating once a month. Go me! The books this time are a bit longer, but they're all quite good. Now to make a new Amazon.com order before I end up randomly choosing books off of the shelves in Kinokuniya. Another few weeks and I may be reduced to reading undoubtably crappy novels about Atlantis.

( (13) The Book of Dave by Will Self ) A disturbing, engrossing, and epic tale of families and belief that captures a rich image of a possible future.

( (14) The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly ) I dare you to try putting down this engrossing fairy tale about growing up.

( (15) Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl ) It's the kind of book where I stayed up much too late in a rush to finish, and then lay in bed for even longer trying to come down from the high. Recommended with showers of sparkles and kittens.

( (16) A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore ) Best for fluffy reading on plane rides or long waits at the DMV.

It's time for more book reviews! See how s-m-r-t smart I'm becoming this year!? ^_^ This is a more diverse selection, thanks to an order at Amazon. My enjoyment therefore varied a lot more, which goes to show, you can't rely on other people's book reviews. Having said that, here are my reviews! *\(^_^)/*

( (10) Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett ) It made me laugh, it made me nod in agreement, and it kept me on the edge of my seat up until the very end.

( (11) Remainder by Tom McCarthy ) In conclusion, this book is for people who like open-endings and that film about the plastic bag in "American Beauty." You know who you are.

( (12) From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain by Minister Faust ) A funny, smart, excellent idea wrapped in poor execution.

( (Bonus C) Already Dead by Charlie Huston ) Even I can hardly believe that I could hate a book with such a burning passion. A "bonus" book that I couldn't even finish. (If anyone has finished the book and would like to sing it's praises, please! Pimp away! Give me a good reason to bite my tongue and continue!)

Much to my own surprise, I continue to read at a decent pace. I haven't really started on my official reading list yet, but I've finally given up on being able to find anything else at Kinokuniya, so I placed an order at Amazon Japan. I should be getting that order in this week, so, yeay! Varied reading! Anyway, here's what I've reading in the past month.

( (5) Different Seasons by Stephen King ) As far as novellas go, these were surprisingly slow paced, but the stories themselves are good enough that they all deserve at least one reading.

( (6) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card ) For all that I rant, the book was an overall interesting experience. Not a great novel persay, but not necessarily a bad one, either.

( (7) The Light Fantastic, (8) Sourcery, (9) Eric by Terry Pratchett ) In conclusion: Discworld + Rincewind = ♥♥♥!!

And on a side note, Kinokuniya cracks me up sometimes. As it turns out, they had The Boy Detective Fails in stock... And shelved under the kids section. I snickered a bit, but I still haven't decided if I should tell someone that, no, it's not a kids story. Really not a kids story, in fact. Alala.

Okay, so this weekend, after finishing the Stephen King story Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, I finally rented the movie Shawshank Redemption. To make a long story slightly shorter, friends and family have been telling me for years that I had to see Shawshank Redemption, because it's such a good movie, but I kept resisting. And now that I've read the story and seen the movie, I can finally admit this: The plot was TOTALLY different than I had imagined.

See, for years, people only told me two things about the movie in an attempt to keep from spoiling me: A) It's a really awesome movie, and B) The ending will totally make you cry.

Now, I cry at the end of half of the movies I see, but still, I heard this second part and automatically assumed that everyone was trying to warn me about the SAD ending. And so therefore, literally for years, I have assumed that the movie ended with Morgan Freeman dead in a ditch.

Why? I have no idea. Probably because when you think, hey, what would make me sad? It would have to be watching Morgan Freeman die. (I [heart] Morgan Freeman!) I honestly thought that's what the movie was about. And whenever anyone would suggest renting the movie, I would say no way, because I really didn't want to watch Morgan Freeman get shot on an escape attempt, or get sent to the electric chair, or get beat up behind the south field, or any one of a dozen ways that I imagined poor Morgan Freeman dying in prison. It was too depressing to even think about, more or less want to watch!

But then I read the Stephen King story, and I went, "OHHHHH! So THAT'S why people said they cried at the end!!" So I rented the movie, and it was good (even though, for some reason, I was imagining Edward Norton in the Tim Robbins role when I read the story, so I was slightly disappointed when the movie started up), and even though I liked the novella better, I would still recommend watching the movie.

So for all those, like me, who haven't seen Shawshank Redemption yet, I say, rent it! It's a good movie. And Morgan Freeman is not shanked at the end. If only someone had told me that years ago...

I'm sure most people have already heard, but "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is set to come out on July 21, 2007. I already have the date marked on my calendar, and will possibly see if I can preorder it at Kinokuniya this weekend. (lol) Luckily, I don't have work or anything that Saturday, so I won't have to call in dead. It also means that I'll have to start my Harry Potter info blackout. It's not that I don't want to be spoiled; it's beyond that. I don't even want to be encouraged to SPECULATE. I actually quite enjoy coming into a book with no preconcieved notions and zero thought so that every single plot twist, no matter how small, makes me jump and go, "Oh my god! I did NOT see that coming!!!"

Speaking of books, I've decided to start reading more. Last year, I spent most of my commute time doing Sudoku or Kakuro puzzles. My math and logical thinking skills improved quite a bit, but this year, I decided to simply read during my commutes instead. I thought I'd keep track of what I read in the LJ, so we can see how long I actually end up sticking to my resolution (lol).

Reading With Minako-chan
For those who are curious, I tend to read books with humor, mystery, and fantasy. (Not necessarily There Be Dragons and Wizards fantasy, but anywhere with a fantastical or surrealistic twist.) I tend not to read serious books, romances, tear-jerkers, pure horror, or non-fiction. Just so you know where I'm coming from. If you have opposite tastes, simply ignore everything I write here. ^_^

( (1) Third Class Superhero by Charles Yu ) Some stories are stronger than others, but with such a variety, you can try finding a friend with opposite tastes to help you split the difference.

( (2) The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno ) But in the end, this is a really enjoyable, trippy read. Plus, I still have to solve cypher running throughout the book. Hurray!

( (3) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett ) An absolutely hysterical, must read novel.

( (4) The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett ) Curse you, Terry Pratchett, for making your damned long series so funny.

( (Bonus A) Stick: Great Moments in Art, History, Film, and More... by Jeffrey Metzner ) Finally, art that's funny, thought-provoking, and totally possible to do at home.

( (Bonus B) Kiss/Kiss by Roald Dahl ) A highly recommended read, even if you may be unable to look at bunnies, bees, or almonds the same way again.