What have you recently finished reading?
The last thing I finished was apparently Tessa Bailey’s Merry Ever After, which is a short Christmas mystery that was too smut-focused for me. Because of the shortness, the relationship felt very sudden, and also it kinda seemed like the guy was lovebombing the female lead.
What are you currently reading?
Very, very fitfully, A Mudlarking Year, by Lara Maiklem. It’s due back at the library… several days ago, but I’m having trouble getting that into it. I liked her first book about mudlarking, but I guess the format of this isn’t working for me — or maybe one book about mudlarking was enough for me? It’s weird because in a way I’d expect to love the random nature of her finds and the bits of history she pulls out of them, but… yeah.
Maybe I’m just not in a reading mood.
What will you be reading next?
Most likely more manga, particularly A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation. I’ve not been in the mood for reading much this week, but if I want to meet my yearly reading goal, I’ve got 31 more books to go… so I might settle down and read a couple of volumes soon.
I liked the topic of mudlarking but did not like *Maiklem* in her first book, so I didn’t look into her new one…
I actually don’t really remember having an opinion about her? But I’m sure bouncing off something here.
The first book was a memoir when I wanted a history, and it was very… obliviously middle class about a hobby that grew out of survival labour, and then very uncritical about modern mudlarks’ obsessive secretiveness and exclusiveness. If I must read a memoir, I at least want to vaguely like or sympathise with the writer, but that really never happened…
Yeah, that’s a good summary of how this book is making me feel, too (though there’s been less about the secrecy stuff so far in this one).
I don’t know that manga series, but I see I can read it online through my library, so I will check it out. I just DNFed two manga series, so I’m eager to find one I like.
The last book I finished: BL Metamorphosis #2 (manga), currently reading Dance with Death, by Helen McCloy (among many), and next book: Invisible Helix, by Keigo Higashino
I’ve been having a lot of fun with it! Definitely some flaws (pretty much no female characters so far, and I think the original light novel probably does a better job of explaining character motivations), but I love Lizel and Gil a lot.