I'm back!

My vacation was nice, and now I'm trying to get used to being in my own apartment again. I posted absolutely nothing while I was gone (I didn't even check my email!), although I read lots and lots, and even watched a few TV shows with my mom and dad. I figure I'll do something much like the posts I wrote after my last vacation - one post per manga series, rather than per volume, with no promises that I'll write about everything.

Here's what I got through, along with brief comments in case I don't get around to writing posts:

• 45 volumes of manga, including:
• Chi's Sweet Home (vols. 2-8) - Cute, sweet, and relaxing.
• Kamisama Kiss (vol. 1) by Julietta Suzuki - Meh, although I plan on reading at least another volume or two, just to see if it gets better.
• Skip Beat! (vols. 16, 19, 24-30) by Yoshiki Nakamura - I keep forgetting how wonderful and addictive this series is. I really need to start buying it.
• Black Butler (vols. 6-14) by Yana Toboso - Better than I remembered it being.
• Naruto (vols. 44-50) by Masashi Kishimoto - Worse than I remember it being, although the volumes were all quick reads. I'd be very annoyed if I were buying it, though.
• The Story of Saiunkoku (vols. 1-6) story by Sai Yukino, art by Kairi Yura - I didn't become truly hooked on this series until my vacation was pretty much over. I now want to re-watch the first season of the anime.
• Arata: The Legend (vol. 1) by Yuu Watase - Meh. All of Watase's stuff is pretty, but the story didn't immediately hook me. I'll be giving it another shot, though, because I own more volumes.
• Nabari no Ou (vols. 1-2) by Yuhki Kamatani - Meh. Although I've heard that it improves in later volumes, so I may continue with it.
• Captive Hearts (vol. 1) by Matsuri Hino - Lighter, fluffier, and sillier than I expected.
• The Seven Magi (vol. 1) story by Kaoru Kurimoto, illustrated by Kazuaki Yanagisawa - This was absolutely awful. I had a couple more volumes but opted not to continue with it.
• Shinobi Life (vol. 1) by Shoko Conami - Mediocre. I thought this was going to be my worst vacation read, but then I read volume 1 of The Seven Magi.
• 2 books (plus a couple I started but haven't yet finished)
• Mindtouch by M.C.A. Hogarth - I really, really wish the next book were out already. I enjoyed this, although I'd be cautious about recommending it. There are no villains, just a couple main characters trying to figure out what they're going to do with their lives. It felt very slice-of-life to me, which was fine, since I fell in love with those two main characters.
• The Runaway Roommate by C.S. Mae - While it was fun trying to guess which K-dramas the book referenced, the book as a whole fell flat for me.
• Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey - I only read half of this during my vacation, but it's not like I started it with the intention of finishing it. This is a comfort read for me. I fell in love with it when I was a teen and have read it, and portions of it, many times.
• The Emperor's Knife by Mazarkis Williams - I finished maybe 40% of this while on vacation. It's dark and there's a lot of twisty political intrigue. It reminds me a little of Game of Thrones, except unfortunately it's not as gripping. Despite it having fewer characters than GRRM's series, I'm having more trouble following along.
• 2 anime TV shows (plus a few live action shows I watched a little of but didn't finish)
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica (anime TV series) - I stalled on this series when Crunchyroll crapped out on me earlier in the year. I thought my dad might like it, so we watched it together. I enjoyed the fight scenes and was somewhat annoyed by the ending. Although at least it had an ending. My dad guessed most of the show's revelations within the first few episodes.
• Attack on Titan (anime TV series) - This was like some kind of horrible bag of potato chips. Seriously addictive, even though the main character was annoying and so many people kept dying. My dad and I marathoned it in a couple days. It's two seasons long so far and does not have a proper ending. Here's hoping it gets one, because the anime is so much better looking than the manga.
• Arrow (live action TV series) - My dad watched every episode available via Netflix, and I watched a few with him. I liked it well enough. I'm not familiar with the comic books/character it's based on, although it reminded me of lots of other superhero comics and characters.
• Pacific Rim (live action movie) - I got bored with this and only watched half of it. The Japanese influences were obvious. Unfortunately, kaiju and mecha stuff doesn't generally interest me.