Like The Tomato
Nothing here but my musings about daily life, books, anime, and food.
I had a pretty successful reading month. It helped that I really didn’t want to do anything else. I also knew that the quantity and material that I read on a monthly basis were not up to par with other readers out there. And that was okay.
I used to be jealous of people who could sit and read all day – reading three or more books a week. It took me a while to actually accept that I probably won’t be able to do that. People are different – reading speed, jobs, free time. There were a lot of factors to consider. And it took a while for me to stop comparing myself to other readers. I even stopped making “read xx amount of books” as a yearly goal for me. I just don’t see myself reading 100+ books a year.
Anyway, I read 8 things in August – 1 manhwa, 1 memoir, and 6 novels. 81 episodes and 1749 total pages. 1 webtoon, 1 physical book, 6 eBooks. For how I am, this was a decent reading month. Trust me, it would be lucky if I finish 3 books in a month. So this much reading was good.
Secondo Piatto (manhwa, webtoon). It was decent. I had fun with this BL webtoon about a chef and a detective. The chef’s restaurant was located in an area where the mafia was very interested in. Some action ensued. The chef and the detective were both in love with their best friends who happened to get married. And they were stuck in this loneliness of losing both the love of their lives. And you guessed it, they turned to each other for comfort. It was okay. I enjoyed it for the most part so I cannot really complain. I’ve read better manhwas for sure. But for what it was, the story was cute.
Hi, Anxiety (memoir, physical book). I already have a separate post about this one. I picked it because I felt like I was drowning in depression and anxiety, so I wanted to read about how someone was able to live with something like this. Check the post here.
Adrenaline Rush, Omega’s Kiss, Father Figure, and Together Again (novels, eBooks). These are books 2 to 5 of a five-novel series called Never Too Late. It’s an omegaverse series set in Boston. The characters included detectives (the alphas) in the Cold Case division and their respective omegas. Not going to elaborate too much. I am still thinking if I want to create separate posts for this specific genre. If you enjoy the alpha-omega dynamic, this series as a whole is decent. I enjoyed the books for the most part.
Rogue Wolf, and Alpha’s Shadow (novels, eBooks). These are books 1 and 2 of a ten-novel series called Haven City. This is an urban fantasy M/M romance series involving the shadow world of Haven City. We have shifters, sorcerers, elves, seers, healers…You name it, this series would most likely have it. Books 1 and 2 mainly focused on detectives Sharp and Alwen, who incidentally are both members of the shadow world – Sharp, a wolf shifter, and Alwen, a half-elf seer. Again, I am not going to elaborate. As I said, I am not sure if I want to create a separate post for this genre. The first two books were fun. I enjoyed the action, the mystery, and the “mate” trope.
For the most part, I am reading for enjoyment. Aside from reading classics and nonfiction, a lot of the books that I chose to read are mostly for my escapism. And this month was no different. Aside from the memoir, these books were chosen for my entertainment and distraction. I am not sure what September will look like. I have plans on going back to a schedule this month so we shall see how that would affect my reading.
I didn’t wake up until 11 AM. You would think that was me sleeping in. But no. I didn’t really sleep until 5:30 AM. So, as much as I want to say I had a good night’s rest, I did not. I really need to stop taking naps in the afternoons. It messes up my “sleep schedule”. It’s practically nonexistent at this point. I don’t need to ruin it even more.
I did finish reading book 3 of the Haven City series early today. So my nonexistent sleep schedule came in clutch with my “one more chapter” mantra last night. I barely started the 4th book today. All good. All good. To help me finish my other books, I had to schedule them on my reading calendar. I mean, technically, I am not sure if penciling them in would help me go through the books. But I need to get on with them. They are just currently sitting on my bed. Staring at me accusingly.
And no big plans tonight. I really just want to read tonight. However, I need to make sure that I sleep at a decent time! I am going back to my regular schedule activities starting tomorrow after a couple of months of just being a potato. So just read a little tonight, sleep before midnight, and then wake up at a decent hour tomorrow.
- Anime Title: Toilet-bound Hanako-kun
- Episodes: Season 1 – 12 episodes
- Where to Watch: Crunchyroll and Hulu
- Publisher: TBS
My man actually found this. If I recall correctly, he watched a couple of episodes while he was at work one night and decided to suggest for us to watch. And I’m glad he did. We enjoyed this one a lot. And we actually wished there was a second season made.
This anime was set in a school, Kamome Academy, famous for its rumored Seven Wonders and supernatural events. Here we met Nene Yashiro, a first-year high school student obsessed with having a boyfriend. Because of this romance obsession, she summoned the Seventh and most famous of the wonders, Hanako, in hopes that the spirit would grant her a wish regarding her love life. And the adventure began.
There were a couple of characters that I loved of course. Hanako and Kou Minamoto. Hanako was a given. I knew I would enjoy his character off the bat. He was characterized as childish and mischievous. However, that was a mask of how serious the character was. And that was without the character’s background. His main duty was to monitor all supernatural activities in the school and ensure that there was a balance between the supernatural and humans. And he took this duty seriously. Honestly, he was just so fun to watch with his playful character and his weapon of choice – a kitchen knife. He was very secretive about his past life, with reason. And the more we got to know about him, the more I found him so endearing.
Now, Kou Minamoto has the most character development in this. He came from a clan of powerful exorcists and believed that all supernatural beings were evil. And we got introduced to him when he tried to exorcise Hanako. But as he continued to tag along with the Hanako-Nene duo, he realized that not all supernatural beings were evil. We saw him questioning his upbringing and beliefs, especially when he encountered a spirit that he genuinely cared for. He has some heartbreaking scenes that made me cry. The way his character developed through the whole first season was so beautiful to watch.
Not going to lie, I was not a fan of Nene whatsoever. Not that I hate her. I just did not like her boy-obsessed character. But then I guess, some girls do focus on romance and having a boyfriend in their high school years. I mean, I would be hypocritical to say that I did not have a crush on someone back at that age however, I did not actively search for romance either. This girl decided to summon a spirit that could grant her a wish – to have her crush return her feelings. I thought that was a pretty extreme obsession, especially after realizing the consequences of her actions. Sure, she mellowed a bit but I still did not care for her as the anime went on. However, I did enjoy her interactions with Hanako and Kou. And I think their relationship naturally progressed to an actual friendship and genuine caring for each other.
Anyway, the artwork was amazing in this anime. Honestly, when my man sent me the link to the anime, the first I thought was, is he going to make me watch a Lolita anime? What is this? And that was not the case. That was just the art style of the anime/manga. And I loved it. We loved the bold black lines for sure. This anime was just fun and I loved the story. A season two was announced and it should be out mid-2024 or end-2024. It would be a while but we would be patiently waiting.
Guess what happened? I had another restless sleep. This would not be a surprise at this point. However, I do understand why it happened. I mean, I was basically sleeping the whole day yesterday. So of course, my sleep last night would be disrupted. I just want to have a good night’s sleep. I don’t think I’ve had one in a while.
I finished the 2nd book in a 10-book urban fantasy I was reading last night. I barely started the 3rd book. I do need to continue on with Lolita and Craig & Fred. I had to put them aside for a bit since my brain wanted some fast reads. But I think I had put them off long enough and I feel like I am ready to pick them back up. We shall see though. I do take my moods on a day-to-day basis.
Today was a “watch some YT videos” kind of day. I found myself finally catching up on some of the booktubers that I follow. Apparently, I missed a lot since I got so into S.W.A.T. lately. I finally took a break yesterday and today to catch up on some other mediums. And that was so worth it. As I said before, I get consumed by that show and I tend to not do anything else while it plays.
No big plans tonight. Right now, I am currently watching a 6-hour-long video of him reading every horror story by Junji Ito. I mean, I only watch this kind of video (with spoilers) because of the fact that I probably won’t read his entire bibliography. I read Tomie last year which I enjoyed but I never really thought of consuming more of his manga. We’ll see. Right now, this video will have to do.