october 2025 reads
Following two months of COVID and eye surgery, my full-time job contract ended in the middle of October, so I've been in a bit of a transitionary period over the past few weeks. Adjusting to working at home instead of being obligated to go to work has been a bit harder than expected, though I notice that I'm generally less tired as a result. Yet even though I'm less tired, I've been so busy that doing much reading has been impossible! Pair that with the fact that I've had an ear infection for a month (finally on the mend) and I haven't even been able to really to audiobooks—a travesty of epic proportions.
I'd like to say that this month is going better for reading, but I continue to be extremely busy, so it isn't at all. I am currently working on catching up on my magazine subscriptions though, so at least that's something!
Novels, Collections, & Nonfiction
Bind Me Tighter Still by Lara Ehrlich
I actually got a review copy for this book because the idea sounded really fascinating to me. Basically tackling misogyny with sirens (as in the mythical creature)? I didn't care for the execution at all though, so no longform review on here. Feel free to dig through my Bookwyrm account and find the review if you want see some more specific complaints about it though. It's already been wiped from my mind, so current me's got nothing.
Grey Dog by Elliott Gish
I accidentally bought a horror novel audiobook because I love books narrated by Natalie Naudus. Found out later that the author is actually located in the city I lived in before I came to Japan, which is cool, and something I found out after finishing the novel. Very creepy and deals with misogyny and homophobia at the turn of the 20th century. Great book, but bad bedtime listening. I'm reflecting on my actions. It was so creepy to listen to before bed!
Happy Bad by Delaney Nolan
Another review copy, but I quite liked this one! It's near future speculative climate fiction, and deals with people living through that and figuring out how to survive and have community. Most of the novel takes place in this institution for trouble girls and told through the perspective of someone who works there, who's pretty troubled herself. Fascinating, but a lot of mental health stuff, so be cautious when reading.
Manga & Other Comics
の、ような V8 by 麻生海 (Kai Asou)
The latest volume in my favourite found family manga. Tackled all the hard things with grace and humour as usual, and there's even a cat in this volume! It's so hard to wait for a year for each volume, but this is one of my favourite series, so very worth it. Gorgeous art, gorgeous story. Love it.
その着せ替え人形は恋をする V15 by 福田真一 (Shinichi Fukuda)
The final volume of My Dress-Up Darling, but in Japanese. I was expecting this based on how I felt about the previous volume, but I didn't care for this. The ending of the story feels so rushed and there was just so much miscellaneous information that it actually ruined the good feelings I'd built over reading the whole series. I owned this physically, but after reading this volume, I took them to my local BookOff to get Pokémon card money... I'm not surprised, but still disappointed given how much I loved most of the series and the anime.
スモークブルー雨のち晴れ V7 by 波真田かもめ (Kamome Hamada)
Latest volume of the translation BL! Why isn't this book in English!? It's so good!!! Even ignoring my translator bias, stories that focus on older people are still significantly less popular than high school/university romances. I love that this series isn't that! I love that the characters are in mid-life! This series is such a humanizing, beautiful thing. Somebody buy it! I'm begging on my arthritic hands and knees here.
Anyway, that's it. A pretty hit and miss month, but it's admittedly easier for the month to be lackluster when the book count is low. I'd like to promise more for November, but halfway through November, I can promise that it's going to be much the same. End of year is just so weird and busy. Oh well.
Updated 2 months, 2 weeks ago