october 2024 reads
It's been a month, but I somehow read a lot of books. I attribute it to the fact that many were very short and intentionally easy to ready—also the very first book on the list I mostly read in September. One of these books I also started in July and only just got around to finishing in October. Anyway, I changed the format very marginally compared to last month (I edited last month's to match), but I think I still need to make some more adjustments before I'm completely happy with the format. In any case, I definitely plan on reading a lot more manga in November for my personal project of reading the manga I own and also because I'm sorry for all the people waiting for me to finish reading the copy of Witch Hat Atelier I signed out at the library. Balancing it all is hard, okay?
Novels, Collections, & Nonfiction
Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates
I listened to most of this book in September, but I finished it at the very start of October, so it makes this list. Like last month's Doppelganger, this book was pretty harrowing. The author explores what it happening in various hate-filled groups (the first chapter being about incels) that many people aren't even aware exist and/or don't take seriously. It made me reconsider how I interact with men and thing about ways to make sure I can be a welcoming person to people of all genders who're struggling.
How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
This is an absolutely fascinating speculative SFF short story collection from N.K. Jemisin. She begins by noting she originally thought she couldn't write short stories. Well, this collection proves that wrong. Some of the stories were proof of concepts that later became novels (The Broken Earth anyone?). I now have many more series on my TBR.
SNS no Tetsugaku by Hiroshi Toya
This book is part of a series that focuses on "betweens," with each book having a different theme. Because the series means to also be approachable for teens, I was able to enjoy reading about philosophy in Japanese. I'm not sure I agree with everything the author said, but the book did leave me with a lot of things to think about!
Jibun Zukare by Hiroki Kashiragi
Another book from the series about "betweens," this one focuses on body and spirit and defining exactly who? what? you are. The author approaches this topic from two main angles—literature (a movie and show or two are also mentioned) and health. The author works with books and has severe inflammatory bowel disease, so this approach makes a lot of sense. I appreciated this book enough that I wrote a standalone review for it.
Rurou no Tsuki by Yu Nagira
I've had this novel on my shelf for years. I watched the live action movie adaptation when it was in theatres and that I was both confused and intrigued. Thankfully finally reading the original story cleared up some things. This story sets itself up with the apparent kidnapping of a young girl by a pedophile (is this even acceptable to say?)—and their reunion more than a decade later. But what the public knows to be true may not be as it seems (this is revealed to the reader pretty much at the start of the novel). This book was incredibly interesting and easy to read. Very excited to read more. Content warnings for domestic violence and sexual assault though.
Conbini Ningen by Sayaka Murata
I read this in the English translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori several years ago and it rubbed me the wrong way somehow. I wanted to give it another try though—this time reading it in Japanese and English side-by-side. Suffice to say I liked it a lot this time and think it's brilliant. I love what this book is saying about interacting in a society is for so many people (including me). I went out and bought several more books from the author.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (tr. Ginny Tapley Takemori)
Same story as above but in English, so enjoyable. I got caught up occasionally on the Britishisms, but this is absolutely a non-British me problem. It was fun to read side-by-side with the Japanese to see how certain phrases could be translated or rearranged (and sometimes removed!) in the English. I wonder if the Britishisms were edited out in the US release.
Kotoba no Hakuchizu wo Aruku by Yuri Nagura
Yet another book from the nonfiction series of sorts listed above. This one is by a Russian to Japanese translator. While the book's theme is supposed to be the space between translation and magic, it turned out to be more of a casual guide on how to learn a language if that's something you want to do. Only the last chapter was on translation. Interesting book, but I was expecting more specific translation moments.
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
An absolutely phenomenal historical novel about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. The main character is the child of one of the men who worked on the dictionary and it's about living as a woman in Victorian England and afterwards and about how the voices of the marginalized were and still are systematically erased. I cannot believe I waited so many years to read this book.
The Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon (tr. Anton Hur)
A very short and fun novella translated from Korean to English by my favourite translator. The author tackles things like climate change and social power dynamics in only around 150 pages. I really appreciated the humorous way it was done and loved the magical girl angle, but I wanted a bit more I think. Would still definitely recommend.
Inheritance from Mother by Minae Mizumura (tr. Juliet Winters Carpenter)
This novel was originally serialized in a Japanese newspaper before being published as a book and then making its way into English. The protagonist is a woman who is dealing with the death of her mother, but it's not sorrow she is feeling, but rather relief. The story goes back and forth in time to teach readers what has led to the situation and how the mai character plans to move forward. I found the beginning a bit slow, but by the end I was absolutely hooked. Really love when a novel surprises me!
Manga
Witch Hat Atelier Vol. 3 by Kamome Shirahama (tr. Stephen Kohler)
Another great volume of story executed beautifully. Every single page is just so pleasant to look at and all the characters are so vibrant and full of personality. I grow increasingly curious about what's up with our mysterious teacher. Updated 9 months, 3 weeks ago