April comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers

As it happens.

YA:

Jones, Diana Wynne: Enchanted Glass
(solid work.

It's really sad to think its probably her last, but she's put out several (good) books in the last few years, so what the fuck could I have to complain about. I have had literally my whole lifetime of Diana Wynne Jones's books; I count my blessings, and find them to be numerous and lovely. This woman has brought so very much joy and wisdom into my life: I reveled in her books alongside my older and younger sisters even when I didn't get along very well with those sisters; we all still love her books today. I have gone back to her stories dozens of times and not found them wanting, not ever. I love her, I love her works, I love everything she brought to my life.

I'm really sad, but I have a lot to be thankful for).

Romance:

Brockman, Suzanne: Over the Edge
(Man, I wanted to like this; I bet I never again run across a military romance author so pleasantly enlightened about feminism and homosexuality. And hey, it didn't suck; she can write a decent sentence, at least. But the sex was never all that sexy, and I only liked the A-plot, not the B, C, or D-plots. Brockman seems like a good person; I wish she was a better writer).

Beverly, Jo: The Devil's Heiress.

Balogh, Mary: A Summer to Remember
(I liked it more as a book than a romance. There are worse complaints, I guess).


Manga:

Azuma Kiyohiko: Yotsuba& vol. 8.

CLAMP: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle vol. 26
(Well, damn).

Nakamura Yoshiki: Skip*Beat vols. 16-20
(Oh, I had so much to say about these volumes! But I didn't write it down, and I kinda forgot most of it. I think it was ranting along the lines of how amazing this manga is for allowing Kyoko to remain the focus of the manga even in a storyline where she'd normally be sidelined--I mean, in what other shoujo manga do you expect a storyline nominally dedicated to mending fences between the delectable leading man Ren and his estranged dad to end up focused on said dad's budding mentoring of/hilarious feuding with Kyoko? (God, that was cool.) I love Nakamura and her genius for writing Kyoko. I could read this for a hundred more years; given the glacially slow development of plot, it would only generate ten years or so of actual story...).

Urasawa Naoki: Pluto vol. 8

Yoshinaga Fumi: Ooku vol. 3.

I'm a great cook. Why am I eating marshmallows for lunch?

Novels/prose books:

Heyer, Georgette: Behold, Here's Poison
(I loved the twist in the last fourth or so of the book, and the gradual reversals and the increasing darkness as they investigate the victim. Good even by Heyer's consistantly high standards).


Graphic novels:

Varon, Sara: Robot Dreams
(First Second. I wish someone had warned me that rather than being the fluffy story about the power of friendship that the cover would suggest, this book is actually a tale of heartbreaking betrayal, shattered dreams, horrifying instances of suffering and dismemberment, and the alienation of modern society).


Westerlund, Christian, and Robert Nazelby Herzig: Angel Skim
(NBM ComicsLit, also responsible for the far superior Paul Auster work, City of Glass.

~edit~ Oh hell, no they weren't. Neon Lit published the graphic novel adaptation of City of Glass. My bad. But NBM ComicsLit is responsible for publishing this piece of shit. End edit.

It would be untrue to say I read this, for I gave up nine pages in on account of the writing being laughably bad. Everything smells like semen-and-rot or cigarettes-and-whisky, or is decorated with water-and-insects or rusted-shopping-carts-and-rotten-cardboard-boxes. And nothing really conveys nihilism like drinking cold coffee, huh? The credits do not make it clear who wrote and who drew, I think because the art is fine, but neither creator wants to be held accountable for the prose).


Various: Four Letter Worlds
(An Image anthology of black-and-white shorts. Contributors include Steve Lieber, Scott Morse, Mark Ricketts and Phil Hester, Andi Watson, Anthony Johnston, B. Clay Moore, Steven Griffin, Jim Mahfood, Jeff Parker, Robert Kirkman, Matthew Roberts, J. Torres, John Bernales, Eric Stephenson, Mike Norton, Jay Faerber, Steve Rolston, Matt Fraction, Kieron Dwyer, Joe Casey, Mike Huddleston, Amber Benson, and Jaime McElvie. Stories range from excellent to why-in-hell-did-the-editor-think-this-was-worth-publishing?

( Highlights. )


Manga:

Takahashi Rumiko: One Pound Gospel vols. 1-2
(older Takahashi work is better Takahashi work. This lacks the underlying romance of Maison Ikkoku, but it's worth it for the shenanigans alone, whether or not you give a damn about Kosaku's crush on Sister Angela, which I can't say I do. Yay VIZ, for republishing this! I'm grateful to see it on the market again, since I was too callow to look at it the first time).


Nakamura Yoshiki: Skip*Beat vol. 14
( Mild spoilers for ongoing developments. )


Umino Chico: Honey and Clover vol. 2.

Iwahara Yuji: King of Thorn vol. 4
(whoa, he just changed all the rules. I am intrigued!).