saifighter's Reviews (253)

Recently bought volume 4 so I re-read the rest of the series.

"She Loves to Cook, She loves to Eat" is the most relatable queer manga I have ever read in my entire life. It is wholesome, realistic, and just about two adults woman navigating their relationship (neighbors, friends, maybe more?) Nomoto and Kasuga are such real characters and I love them so much. They (and the other cast members) go through real issues about being queer and a woman that I feel are so mundane and average, its feels more real than your usual WLW slice of life drama manga. The art is great, especially for all the food and eating scenes (so.many.teeth) This manga feels like a grown up version of Kiyo in Kyoto. This is absolutely a must read for any slice of life loving adult. 

Recently bought volume 4 so I re-read the rest of the series.

"She Loves to Cook, She loves to Eat" is the most relatable queer manga I have ever read in my entire life. It is wholesome, realistic, and just about two adults woman navigating their relationship (neighbors, friends, maybe more?) Nomoto and Kasuga are such real characters and I love them so much. They (and the other cast members) go through real issues about being queer and a woman that I feel are so mundane and average, its feels more real than your usual WLW slice of life drama manga. The art is great, especially for all the food and eating scenes (so.many.teeth) This manga feels like a grown up version of Kiyo in Kyoto. This is absolutely a must read for any slice of life loving adult. 

Suddenly political intrigue? In my yaoi manga? More likely than you think!

 A collection of short stories, none of which are very remarkable. Cute, fine, nice art. But Momoko has better manga. 

Honestly very cute, wholesome, and refreshing.

First of all, I love the use of the epistolary format. It really gives the Biologist a sense of credibility, like she is to be trusted by the reader. It also really shows off her professionalism and passion for her field. The way she writes about the environment, the pool, the lot really pulls me in and makes it seem like I am really seeing the world through her eyes. I think sometimes an epistolary that is written as scientific findings or reports can sometimes come off as too distant, like the reader is being held at arm's length. I felt that way when I tried to read “Sleeping Giants” by Sylvain Neuvel (I swear I fully intend to pick that book back up lol). But I had a really hard time connecting with the events and characters in “Sleeping Giants” because it was too professional. “Annihilation” does not have this problem. It still feels scientific and while still drawing us into the world of Area X.

Speaking of the environment, Area X is my favorite character. Area X is the embodiment of the unknown, nature, chaos, and transformation all wrapped up in its eldritch everglades. The humans and the organization Southern Reach sees Area X as dangerous and terrible because it is the unknown. There is a tangible fear of the transformation Area X might force onto you. However, once the Biologist starts drinking the Flavor-Aid (or maybe, snorting the fungal spores if I can be funny) we start to see the chaos and unknown horror as beautiful through her notes. We may even see it as desirable and that is part of the horror. The idea that we should embrace the unknown and the chaos of the changing and terrible environment.

As you read, you might be picking up on some bleak messaging about what the author thinks about climate change. Jeff says in his “Climate Fiction Won’t Save Us” article that he is sometimes asked to locate the “hope” in his novels but that he can’t because the reality is that “The search for hope is hopeless or beside the point. Fiction can’t save us in this particular way, although it can pretend to, but if in a book a heroine survives a climate crisis, this has no corresponding nexus or loci in the real world, no matter how strong the will of the reader that it be otherwise.”I think this attitude is why his fiction is marked as “horror” because the real horror of the world is that there is no hope for fixing climate change. And the thesis of “Annihilation” is that we should not look for hope in the unknown chaos of our future, but to simply embrace this transformation and to embrace human annihilation itself.

The book is bleak, but with the human connection and warmth that the Biologist brings to it and how she shows us the beauty in the transformation of our horror future, I can’t help but really enjoy this book. It is a stunning read and I encourage everyone to pick it up, even if dystopian fiction is something you usually avoid. 

Start of the famous David trilogy! Excited to see where this goes. HATE David. Also how dare they leave me on a cliff hanger.

I think this book is hard to judge, because its obviously the first part of a larger story. In this first book we get a lot of setting and world building, but not a lot of plot.

The world of Ga'Hoole is interesting: talking birds, rites of passage, coming of age, rituals, traditions. Elements of our strange little bird society are slowly slotted into place over the coarse of this book. Unfortunately at time, this kind of made the experience a slog with what little plot we had. But the world building up around us is interesting enough to hold the readers attention, especially once you realize "oh this is just WW2 but for owls."

I had a lot of fun with this parallels once I realized it. Our two little owls are basically brought to a concentration camp and they have to escape. The morals of the story are rather black and white, which I'm okay with as this is pretty early middle grade reading. Its established really quickly who is the bad guys and who are the good guys. Speaking of, I do love our two main characters. We get to watch Soren grow literally from birth, which means we get to see every single step of his character development which I really enjoyed. And then Gylfie is such a spunky, spirited young lady. The two balance each other out very nicely.

From this first book, the setting is laid out for us and its obvious that there is the true, grander story waiting for us in the pages of the other books. Its caught my attention enough that I definitely think I'll pick up the next book.

Not my favorite talking animal book, but still worth a look: 3 out of 5

I was looking for a refresher on the basics of literary analysis so decided that it was time to re-read this high school reading assignment. "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" is a great starting point for young budding readers. Its a lot of the basics although my only criticism is that its very western centrist. 

Okay so I really liked the book for what it was. Something about participating in the same story as so many people across time. It’s like i am apart of something bigger. It almost felt spiritual (?) reading it.  After reading it I honestly felt so moved and just connected with history and humanity.

Also it’s so amazing to see that this is in the format of the Hero’s Journey. Like the Hero’s Journey truly is the story of humanity, the story of all people. 

Also the themes of love and friendship here are so touching. LIke no matter how much time has passed or what language, love has always been the same for all of main kind. Love and friendship are the universal language in scripted on our very  bones, it transcends time.

The fact that Enkidu is literally sculpted from clay by the gods to be his equal and friend. And how Gilgamesh mourned so fully for Enkidu, I could tell just how much he loved him. I think we have all felt love and friendship like this.

Regarding the themes around sex. I guess in ancient Mesopotamians, sex both spiritually and physically connects you with life and god. The “sacred prostitute” is not a harlot but a person able to bestow divine understanding through sex. Which I feel like the sex with Enkidu and how it gave him his humanity is so interesting. Modern western culture has such different views on sex, it was very interesting to read.

I will say in the version I read the 11th and 12th tome were a mess. And I get why some versions don’t include them. Also it was very very repetitive. Apparently there is a reason for the repetition but I did not pick up on it.

Overall, I loved this. Can’t wait to read some other translation.