REVIEW: Nichijou: My Ordinary Life (manga, vol. 2) by Keiichi Arawi, translated by Jenny McKeon

Nichijou is a high school comedy series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Yuuko attempts puns and fails to make anyone laugh. There's a brief, out-of-the-blue flashback to when Nano first started going to school. (Also, the professor is apparently only 8 years old??) After some difficulties with a test, Yuuko offers to draw pictures for their teacher's next English text. She and Mio have an art battle that deeply frustrates Mio. A new animal cast member is added, in the form of Sakamoto, a little black cat that the professor adopts and gives a little bandana to that allows it to speak.

REVIEW: Nichijou: My Ordinary Life (manga, vol. 1) by Keiichi Arawi, translated by Jenny McKeon

Nichijou: My Ordinary Life is a high school comedy series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

This manga follows the "ordinary" lives of a bunch of high school weirdos, including:

Mio - a girl who secretly enjoys creating BL manga

Yuuko (or Yukko) - Mio's best friend, who often forgets to do her homework and copies Mio's

Nano - a robot who thinks she is successfully masquerading as a regular high school girl (literally everybody knows what she really is)

Professor - Nano's creator

Misato - a girl who inexplicably has lots of explosive weaponry

Sasahara - a guy who acts like the son of a wealthy family

And various other characters, including a nervous guidance counselor, a principal who makes bad jokes and fights deer, and more.

I'd seen out-of-context scenes of the anime adaptation before but didn't otherwise know much about this series. It reminds me of Azumanga Daioh, except weirder. Also, context doesn't really make those anime scenes make much more sense. I still have no idea why the principal was fighting a deer.

Extras:

A couple full-color pages.

REVIEW: Wed to the Lynx (book) by Cara Wylde

Wed to the Lynx is fantasy romance (fantasy erotic romance??). I bought my copy new.

Review:

This is part of the multi-author "Arranged Monster Mates" series, which can be read in any order. They all take place in the world of Alia Terra, which was formed when the Shift merged the human world with portions of a variety of monster worlds. In the present, poor or orphaned women submit their DNA to the Temple in order to be matched with monster mates and thereby ensure that they and/or their families live better lives. 

Marigold is a human from a wealthy, emotionally distant family. After she rejects her friend's brother, her "friend" tricks her into giving her a small sample of her blood and then submits it to the Temple without Marigold's knowledge. Marigold is shocked and horrified when she's notified that she's been matched. She and her parents try to get her out of the arranged marriage, but it isn't possible, and so she reluctantly leaves with Shadow, the Lynx she was matched with, determined to act so spoiled that he'll eventually send her home again. Shadow, meanwhile, is an introverted author who has sought out a mate in order to keep himself from growing out of control during the upcoming mating season. He's determined to do his best to make Marigold feel welcome in his home and community, even if it means going outside his comfort zone and being more social.

REVIEW: Little Book of Video Games: 70 Classics That Everyone Should Know and Play (nonfiction book) by Melissa Brinks

Little Book of Video Games is nonfiction. I think I bought my copy new.

Review:

This covers the history of video games in 70 games - that's a lot for only 153 pages, so I went into this knowing it'd feel skimpy at times. The title is also a bit misleading, since some of the games mentioned, although influential or likely the first examples of particular aspects of video game history, weren't necessarily enjoyed by audiences when they were released and didn't sound like they'd be much more enjoyable now.

REVIEW: Spring Comes Riding in a Carriage (short story) by Riichi Yokomitsu, art by Atsuki Ito, translated by Yui Kajita

Spring Comes Riding in a Carriage is a Japanese realistic fiction short story. I bought my copy new.

Review:

I'm slowly working my way through all the Maiden's Bookshelf stuff that has been translated into English. This particular story was originally published in 1926 and is focused on a married couple. Their marriage started rough, with the husband having to fight against his wife's parents' objections in order for them to get married in the first place. Then the husband had to deal with issues with his mother-in-law. Now the couple is finally left to themselves, but they still can't fully be happy - the wife is dying (tuberculosis?). Her husband acts as her caretaker, simultaneously resenting the way he feels tethered to her and dreading the day she finally leaves him. She rages at him, accusing him of wanting to be elsewhere, with someone else, only letting up as she becomes more prepared to die.

REVIEW: Butcher & Blackbird (book) by Brynne Weaver

Butcher & Blackbird is a dark romantic comedy. I bought my copy new.

Review:

When Sloane and Rowan first meet, it's three days after Sloane has killed Albert Briscoe and accidentally gotten herself locked in the cage Briscoe used to keep his victims in. Rowan reveals himself to be the serial killer known as the Boston Butcher. Sloane, in the hope that he'll help her get out of the cage, reluctantly reveals that she's the serial killer known as the Orb Weaver. Both of them exclusively target other serial killers. 

It's pretty much love at first sight for Rowan, who finds himself desperate for an excuse to keep Sloane from slipping out of his life and disappearing forever. He's the one who proposes that they play a game. Every year at around the same time, they'll both travel to a location picked by Sloane's brother Lachlan, who'll use his connections as a contract killer to find likely serial killers for them to target. The first person to find and kill the killer wins.

They both enjoy the companionship as well as the game, finally getting to meet someone else on the same wavelength. Rowan has lots of friends, but the only people who know him as he really is are his brothers. Sloane only has one close friend. As Sloane and Rowan get to know each other, they both find themselves wanting more but are reluctant to admit it. Rowan is afraid of scaring Sloane off, knowing that she's shy, skittish, and doesn't trust easily. Sloane is attracted to Rowan but has no idea how to do relationships.

REVIEW: The Guest List (book) by Lucy Foley

The Guest List is a mystery/thriller. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This book follows five POVs: Jules, the bride; Hannah, the plus-one, wife of Jules' closest male friend; Olivia, Jules' younger sister and sole bridesmaid; Aoife, the wedding planner; and Johnno, the best man. Jules is an ambitious woman who managed to turn her blog into a well-known digital magazine. Her groom, Will, is the charismatic host of a survival TV show. 

Every one of the POV characters has something they're hiding. Johnno, for example, comes across as a disaster, hardly the kind of person Will would normally hang out, but something from his and Will's boarding school days has kept them connected. Hannah is secretly jealous of her husband's relationship with Jules. Olivia is recovering from a bad breakup, and possibly more. Aoife is determined to make sure the wedding goes smoothly, even as she tries to keep the guests from invading her personal boundaries too much.

REVIEW: Dead Silence (book) by S.A. Barnes

Dead Silence is sci-fi horror. I bought my copy new.

Review:

In this sci-fi horror novel, Claire Kovalik and her beacon-repair crew are doing one last job before their work is made obsolete. With no family or life to go back to, Claire isn't looking forward to finishing things up, so when her crew picks up a strange distress signal, she welcomes the chance to spend a little more time in space.

Shockingly, the distress signal seems to have come from the Aurora, a luxury spaceship that went missing more than 20 years ago. There's almost no chance that anyone on the ship is still alive, but the salvage claim could be extremely profitable for Claire and her crew, so they decide to check things out. Unfortunately, by the time they realize that whatever it is that killed the passengers and crew of the Aurora is affecting them as well, it's too late.

In the book's present, Claire has somehow escaped the Aurora and is considered the sole survivor. She has very little memory of what happened aboard the ship past a certain point, although she now suffers from near nonstop visions of her former crew members dying and/or killing themselves. The corporation that employed and rescued her has located the Aurora again and plans to go there, with Claire as a guide, the idea of which horrifies her, even if she can't remember all the reasons why.

REVIEW: Chivalry (graphic novel) story and words by Neil Gaiman, adaptation, art, and illuminated manuscript lettering by Colleen Doran

Chivalry is a fantasy graphic novel adaptation of one of Neil Gaiman's short stories. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This work, an adaptation of one of Neil Gaiman's short stories, follows what happens when Mrs. Whitaker, an elderly English widow, finds the Holy Grail in a charity shop. She's fully aware of what she's found, but she views it as much the same as any other knickknack or other decorative item in her house - it looks nice on the mantelpiece in her parlor. Then she gets a visit from a handsome man in a suit of armor who claims to be Galaad, a knight of the Round Table on a quest to retrieve the Holy Grail.

REVIEW: Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment (nonfiction book) by Grady Hillhouse

Engineering in Plain Sight is nonfiction. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This is organized into 8 chapters: Electrical Grid; Communications; Roadways; Bridges & Tunnels; Railways; Dams, Levees, and Coastal Structures; Municipal Water and Wastewater; and Construction. The back of the book says you don't need an engineering background to enjoy this - overall, I'd agree, although there were parts where the author made an attempt to explain things that left me a bit lost. For example, although I appreciated the Electrical Grid chapter, at times the best I could do was accept that I wasn't going to be able to understand everything.

REVIEW: Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D (nonfiction graphic novel) written by David Kushner, illustrated by Koren Shadmi

Rise of the Dungeon Master is a nonfiction graphic novel about the creation of Dungeons & Dragons. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This graphic novel, based on the author's 2008 Wired profile of Gary Gygax and interviews with Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, outlines the creation, history, and influence of Dungeons & Dragons. Although the title also makes it sound like an autobiography of Gary Gygax, it felt far more focused on D&D than on Gygax himself. Plus, it had enough about Dave Arneson and his contributions and connection to the game that it seemed a little unfair that the title only mentioned Gygax.

REVIEW: Scarfolk Annual (book) by Richard Littler

Scarfolk Annual is satire. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Content warning for self-harm, cannibalism, and more. The humor here is pretty dark.

Scarfolk, a fictional English town, is trapped in the 1970s, a bleak and totalitarian place. Scarfolk Annual is presented as a facsimile copy of a children's publication with various games, activities, stories, and diagrams. There are board games such as "Race to Say Your Last Goodbye," in which players must try to get to their father before he is executed by the state (there is no way to win), stories like "The Visit from the Christmas Council Boy" (a boy who determines whether your family is demonstrating the Minimum Happiness Level), instructions for making your own branding iron out of a coat hanger so that you can "Find out what it's like to be a cow, sheep, or slave," and more. The former owner of this issue of Scarfolk Annual has written occasional comment in the margins.

REVIEW: Pursuit: A Victorian Entertainment (book) by Felice Picano

Pursuit: A Victorian Entertainment is LGBTQ+ historical fiction. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Addison Grimmins, a handsome, street-smart, omnisexual man ("omnisexual" is used on the back of the book but not in the text itself), is employed by the Earl of R. to do whatever needs to be done that he can't. Most recently, this includes tracking down Lord R.'s wife, who went missing after their son's wedding. Was she kidnapped, or did she leave of her own volition? Either way, Addison will find her and bring her back. However, as he learns more about her...kidnappers? associates?...he realizes he might have a more personal connection to what's going on than he thought.

The first half of this book is devoted to Addison's pursuit of Lord R.'s wife. The second half is a description of Addison's life up to the point when he was employed by Lord R. I found the second half much more interesting than the first. Unfortunately, the two parts didn't really come together well.

REVIEW: What Moves the Dead (novella) by T. Kingfisher

What Moves the Dead is horror. I bought my copy new.

Review:

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives a letter from their childhood friend Madeline Usher indicating that she is dying, they immediately travel to the Usher ancestral home. Although Alex has been warned, it's still a shock to see how ill the last two remaining Ushers look. Madeline's brother, Roderick, with whom Alex once served, looks like a strong breeze could blow him away. Madeline looks like she could die at any moment.

Despite being nobility, the Ushers are ruinously poor, and it's painfully evident in the condition of the house and surrounding land. Surely the mold, mushrooms, and algae-infested lake can't be good for Roderick and Madeline's fragile health, but Roderick refuses to leave without Madeline, and Madeline is too sick to go anywhere. 

REVIEW: The Wild Robot Escapes (book) by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot Escapes is a Middle Grade science fiction book, the second in Brown's Wild Robot series. I bought my copy new.

Review:

At the end of the previous book, Roz left the island on one of the RECO ships in order to get herself repaired and keep more RECOs from coming after her. At the start of this book, Roz has been purchased by a farmer named Mr. Shareef, who can no longer take care of his dairy farm by himself now that his wife has passed away and his own injuries make it difficult for him to do the farm's more physical tasks. Roz, as it turns out, is perfect for farm work. Always careful to hide her true self from humans, Roz introduces herself to the farm's cows and starts trying to find a way to escape. It won't be easy - Mr. Shareef has a way to track Roz and goes looking for her anytime she leaves the farm. Even so, Roz refuses to give up hope that she'll someday be reunited with Brightbill, her son.