READING || March 2019

books read:
~ Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition, Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
~ Bloodwitch (The Witchlands #3) by Susan Dennard (review)
~ The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy #2) by S. A. Chakraborty
~ The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie (review)
~ Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art by Susan Napier
~ Deeper into the Woods (The Fae Tales Verse #1) by Pia Foxhall
~ Pagan Portals: Australian Druidry by Julie Brett
~ The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins by Clint McElroy and others
~ Fruits Basket Collector's Edition, vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya
~ Ao Haru Ride vol. 1 by Io Sakisaka
~ NE NE NE by Shizuku Totono
~ Konohana Kitan vol. 1 by Sakuya Amano
~ The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll (reread)
~ Raven Stratagem (The Machineries of Empire #2) by Yoon Ha Lee
~ Caraval (Caraval #1) by Stephanie Garber

currently reading:
~ Revenant Gun (The Machineries of Empire #3) by Yoon Ha Lee

This month was pretty manga-heavy (plus one graphic novel!), which I can attribute to my joining a manga-reading book club on bookstagram (@badgerbeebooks if you want to follow me!) and renewing my love of manga. I've put manga and graphic novels in italics so you can see what I mean! I think this was also because I was kind of slipping into a reading slump because of a few fantasy books I was reading (I have since DNF'd them and decided to move on to other things, which has helped a lot), so manga was such a great thing to get lost in, and I could finish them in one sitting which made me feel like I was flying through books - helpful and motivating!

I finally finished Bloodwitch and The Kingdom of Copper - I actually have no idea why I stalled so long on these. I think I do this thing sometimes when I get my hands on a highly anticipated read and just... seem to want to save it for a rainy day. But we haven't had a whole lot of rainy days lately in Perth, Western Australia, so that doesn't make much sense. And also... if I am excited to read it...I should just read it. Right? The brain moves in mysterious ways, I guess. But anyway. I finally finished them and I loved them both. I loved Bloodwitch a bit more than Kingdom of Copper, but that's all relative, really. I can't wait for the continuations of both of these series. tl;dr - more, please!

Ah wow, looking back over the other things I read in March is making me realise there were some real gems in there. I don't want to go on ad nauseam about them all, so I will just mention a couple quickly here: The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie (give me all the Ann Leckie!); Miyazakiworld by Susan Napier (fascinating, intriguing, and wonderful nonfiction); Deeper into the Woods by Pia Foxhall (I think I mentioned in my goodreads review that every time I read something by Pia Foxhall (who is a friend of mine, but opinions are my own!) I just feel so many things. I have trouble describing how much their writing means to me); Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee (this just keeps getting more and more amazing, I just can't even describe what the reading experience is like except in noises of joy and appreciation).

Finally, I just wanted to quickly mention Caraval by Stephanie Garber. I originally stayed away from this (and the sequel Legendary) because I'm not really into circus stuff and it seemed... not my thing, I guess? But I was feeling a little bit slumpy later in the month (due to aforementioned fantasy books) and decided to just give it a go. I ended up really loving it. I think there are a few tropey things and some problematic stuff at times, but it was so captivating and mysterious and just what I needed. I have since read Legendary as well, and loved that one possibly even more. I really wish Finale, the third book, was already out and I had it in my hands! I am thinking I may need to buy these because I see rereads in my future.

What have you been reading? I'd love to know!

Love to all who read!

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