These manga volumes are inflating my numbers... Perhaps a little unfairly but it really doesn't matter.

It was a rough week at work and all I wanted to do was lose myself into something escapist. These two series fit the bill nicely.

Happy Marriage?! is a romantic comedy that was so much fun. It starts with an arranged marriage. Hokotu Mamiya is successful financially but struggles against the political machinations of his wealthy family. He is illegitimate, and his cousins and other relatives are always trying to oust him from the family business. The only one who is kind to him is his grandfather, and when he wants him to marry the granddaughter of a woman he once adored, Hokotu agrees, thinking it will further his position. That granddaughter is Chiwa, a young woman with limited prospects because of her father's shiftless life. Hokotu agrees to pay off her father's debts in exchange for the marriage. Neither is one the other expected, and gradually, they come to appreciate and even love one another. What makes the series is how damn funny the two of them are together. Chiwa is lovely and sincere but in many ways a crazy mess. Hokuto thinks he's a bit of an ice prince, but it's obvious how quickly Chiwa can get under his skin. The two of them together is a fantastic pairing. The series is elevated by the rather evil plans of Hokuto's family, and the eventual revelations about his mother's mysterious death when he was a child. The best moment in the series is the hilarious fight the two of them have at their wedding (long story) at the end.

I didn't like Black Bird when I read the first volume. But all the reviews said to stick with it, and I'm so glad I did. I hope they make this series into anime because it's just fantastic. The main character is Misao, who has just turned 16. On her birthday, she begins seeing disturbing things - monsters and ghosts are climbing all over her, following her around. No one believes her, and she's about to go over the edge, when her childhood friend Kyo, now grown into a handsome young man, appears. He tells her he is a demon, and she is the Senka Maiden. This means that demons will compete to possess her. A demon who drinks her blood will heal, one who eats her flesh will live forever, and one who marries her will ensure the prosperity of his clan. He says he has come at last to claim her - he is the head of a clan of bird demons and she is to be his bride. Of course, this does not go over well, but Kyo is powerful enough to fend off the minor demons that have been attacking her, so she must tolerate his attentions for now. As Misao comes to understand the demon world, she learns not only how brutal it can be but also how beautiful. Some demons see humans as food, but others strive to follow Kyo's example and live in harmony. Kyo turns out to be a visionary leader who inspires much devotion, and slowly Misao comes to love him and agrees to become his bride. However, because Kyo refuses to devour her, and share her as a prize with his clan, this sparks a war among the demon clans and even rebellion within his own. This story arc is brutally emotional and fascinating. As if things couldn't get any harder, lurking in the background is the story of what happened with the last Senka Maiden. They don't appear very often, and usually don't marry demons. The last one who did, died upon giving birth to a hugely powerful demon child - this seems to be the purpose of a Senka Maiden in the first place. There is some worry that Misao will eventually die herself, but this doesn't become an issue until, against all odds, she becomes pregnant too. The search for a way to save Misao is just heartbreaking, and the ending... well, I won't spoil that, but I had to finish the series right away because I was so emotionally caught up.

It took me a while to get through the two sequels to The Steel Remains. Each is exponentially longer and more complex. But The Cold Commands and The Dark Defiles are dense, demanding, and extraordinary.

It turns out that the events of the first book were just the tip of the iceberg. Richard K. Morgan's scope for the world and his characters is impressive, and he is clearly expecting an audience to be smart enough to keep up with him. I did a lot of re-reading, because in spite of the length of each book, every single detail matters. I love books like this that are so tightly woven and yet maintain a huge sense of scope.

I can't even really give plot details, because it gives a lot away. Let's just say it still follows the three main characters - Ringil, Archeth, and Egar - and all three are strong and interesting enough to carry a series of this weight, especially Archeth. She was my favorite in the first book and I felt as if she somehow had a bigger role to play because of her background, and boy was I right. Ringil may be the central character, but Archeth is the mover and shaker of the whole series. The tone remains somewhat gritty - there is much gore and fighting - but the language is carefully chosen and evocative and there is nothing gratuitous.

I'm impressed also that Richard K. Morgan can manage to write a fantasy epic that has so many difficult, disturbing moments, and yet is funny as hell consistently. The humor is character based, and it's a testament to how well he writes people. I've seen this series characterized as "grimdark" because of how much the characters go through, but I don't think it quite is. The ultimate message in this series is understanding when to have hope, and when to fight for what really matters - and of course, you have to know what that is in the first place. No small task, and yet it's handled with glorious skill.

(flexagon, perhaps something you would enjoy?)

I enjoyed Spell of Desire enough that I picked up Tomu Ohmi's other major manga series, Midnight Secretary. It just wasn't as good or as smart. It picked up near the end and got more complicated, which I enjoyed, but just when things really ramped up they ended, and with a sort of implied "happily ever after" that wasn't satisfying. The art, though, is lovely.

The main character, Kaya, is a secretary at a major corporation. She discovers that her boss, Kyohei, is a vampire, but rather than that terrifying her, she decides to protect his secret and even helps him feed on other humans. It turns out that vampires don't kill humans, only trick and seduce them so they can feed on them. They are also born from the union of a vampire and a human - Kyohei's father is human, his mother is a vampire, and his brother is human. There is also a vampire clan that Kyohei continues to run afoul of. They have far-reaching financial and political power and use humans as necessary tools. This vampire lore is the most interesting part of the story.

Obviously, Kaya falls for Kyohei, in spite of his arrogance and contempt for humans. By the end of the series, he is in love with her as well, and is willing to throw off all his vampire advantages to be with her. I understood what he saw in her - her bravery and dedication are winsome. But I couldn't figure out what she saw in him, at least at first, especially when she has other, kinder options available. She says it's because he trusts her and she's never had that, but I'm sure the bad boy thing is part of it, though it's never stated. That just didn't appeal to me. As he changes and evolves, he becomes more agreeable, and of course he isn't human so he shouldn't act entirely like one. But still, the match up just wasn't as charming as in Spell of Desire. I also didn't like the whole Japanese corporate culture work dedication thing. I just don't understand it and it's a big motivating factor for all the characters and it really took me out of the story. I imagine a Japanese audience wouldn't have this problem.

Recent events, both national/global and personal, remind me of something one of my favorite professors said - Let death be your adviser. He meant that when we are cognizant of the temporariness of life, and all its aspects both harsh and joyous, we make choices that are better in the long run.

As much as I strive for control, and then as much as I try to let go of that striving because I know it will make me anxious and resentful, the reality is that all of us have very little control. We have choices, but they are mostly situation or even luck dependent. This doesn't mean that we have an excuse to abdicate - quite the opposite. The choices we do have matter because of how precious they are.

I am grateful for what I have, because I am terrifyingly cognizant of how quickly I could lose it.

I read these manga as a breather from the huge, epic fantasy novel I'm plowing through right now. They are fluff, bordering on trashy, but they were fun and pretty and fit the bill nicely.

The premise borders on stupid, but the main character develops just enough to let me forgive it and go along for the ride. Kaoruko is a young woman running her deceased grandmother's herb shop in Hokkaido. Her grandmother raised her since her mother abandoned them when she was young. One day, a man named Kamame shows up and tells her that her mother abandoned her because she is the Witch Queen, ruler of the coven of Black Witches, and he is the Witch Queen's knight sent to protect her on her mother's behalf. Her mother has sealed herself away for unknown reasons and hidden her power inside her daughter's body, and that power is starting to emerge. Kaoruko can't control the power, but Kamame can help her hold it in, and she must, or else it draws in every living thing around her. Black magic is about desire and manipulation, so the way Kaname helps her hold the power in is by... sigh... kissing her. But even though this manga is sexually explicit, the sex does have a purpose. It is interesting the difference between black and white magic. And of course, Kaname ends up falling for Kaoruko (no surprise there) and their relationship is central to the story. He is beautifully drawn but not all that multi-dimensional as a character. He is more of a fantasy, Mary Sue wish fulfillment man. But Kaoruko, in spite of her naivete at the beginning of the story, develops in interesting ways. Also, the artwork is superb, and my favorite manga style - sweeping lines, detailed costuming, expressive faces.

I listened to this as an audiobook and it was glorious. A full cast recording beautifully done, the tone and spirit of the book captured perfectly. The paragon Derek Jacobi is the narrator and how can you do any better? The voices were all done well, even the minor characters. Silas is especially smooth and perfect. And just when things couldn't get better, they did - Neil Gaiman himself did a little guest spot as the voice of the over-the-top poet, Nehemiah Trott.

The Meaning of Maggie is a young adult novel that I read for work. A student asked me to read it so that always means it's a must read. I had already bought it for my library based on the reviews. It was good, but not spectacular. I see the appeal to students, though, especially girls, and I'm glad to say that the main girl character is worthy and not a flat, stereotyped girl, so that counts for something. Unfortunately, the other characters are more interesting and appealing than Maggie herself. The way she is written is over the top enough to make her less real and even a little off-putting. Maggie, of course, is the narrator. She has just turned eleven. She is very bright and revels in her academic success. She is determined to be "presidential" - she plans to be president one day, among other things. Her two older sisters are teenagers and therefore entirely alien beings. Her parents are interesting people - her dad has MS but hasn't lost his hippie spirit, and her mom is a powerhouse. Their love for one another is real and wonderful. The chapter when her rather awful grandmother comes to visit is especially interesting as an adult reader, but I wonder if kids won't quite get it. The extreme honesty her parents have with Maggie is a bit of a stretch, but since the story based on the author's real life and family it is perhaps less implausible than I think. The changes that the family goes through as the father's MS worsens are central to the plot, and there is no real resolution, but that's okay. Real life doesn't work that way and Maggie does make some major advances, but there is no total epiphany - and that, too, is okay.

I was in a graphic novel mood.

Saga Vol. 5 came out a little while ago and I've had it sitting on my shelf, burning a hole in my brain. I'm surprised I resisted this long. It's so rare to find a series of books that not only consistently delivers on this level but manages to up the ante like this does. I can't give a plot summary - too much has gone on to give adequate context, and of course there's the spoiler problem - but let's just say it's abundantly clear that Brian K. Vaughn has an ambitious vision that he is well able to actualize, and I'm loving every page.

I heard about Bitch Planet Vol. 1 on NPR when the author, Kelly Sue DeConnick, was being interviewed. I only heard part of it, but I immediately thought, "Feminist hero!" and I was right. This graphic novel is a glorious start to a new series. DeConnick is funny, brilliant, and bitingly clever. The series takes place in a world in which the patriarchy reigns supreme and all of our latent sexist patterns are brutally and almost (but heartbreakingly, not quite) burlesque-ly visible. Women who don't "fit" - are too fat, too aggressive, too thin, too whatever - are deemed "non-compliant" and shipped off to a prison planet, AKA Bitch Planet. Interestingly, this series has spawned a viral trend in which women share "non-compliant" tattoos and other art. This first volume mostly takes place on Bitch Planet. A group of women prisoners are leveraged by the government into participating in a strange exhibition-game style sport, but there are hints that they can be subversive from the inside in spite of this. So far, the characters are hints and sketches, but this is just setting the stage. It even includes fake ads in between episodes that parody old-style comic book advertisements for mail orders, and they are hilarious. Everybody needs to read this and everybody needs to buy it - Kelly Sue DeConnick has a vision that deserves to be supported.

The Emperor Far Away was an engrossing look at China's minorities. The author, David Eimer, is an English journalist who lived in China for many years. This book is both a narrative of his travels around China's borders as well as historical exposition about China's treatment of its minorities and the current state of their lives. I learned a lot. I had a general sense of the Chinese goverment's poor record of treatment of non-Han citizens, but this book was disturbingly enlightening as to how poor that treatment has really been. Also, I did not realize how many ethnic groups are swallowed up by China because of the unusual nature of its borders. I did know about the Uighurs and Tibetans, but there are many more groups with diverse histories and cultures who live under the thumb of the Chinese government. The most interesting were the groups in the tropical southeast. Eimer had to work hard and be rather sneaky to travel around and across a huge variety of areas, many of which are officially barred to Westerners. I appreciated his bravado and determination. He makes for a thoughtful narrator.

Girl Waits With Gun is my book club book for November. It's a charming, original novel, and I'm looking forward to discussing it next week. It's the story of the Kopp sisters - in particular, the eldest, Constance. It's historical fiction and apparently almost entirely what really happened. Constance Kopp because the first female deputy sheriff in the United States. What sparked her foray into law enforcement was becoming a victim herself. In the first chapter, it is the summer of 1914, and Constance and her sisters are driving into town in Paterson, New Jersey in their buggy when they are hit by an automobile. The man driving, Henry Kaufman, is a powerful owner of a local silk factory and has ties to the mob. He refuses to pay for the damages. Constance, however, is a force to be reckoned with. Her life has been a very circumscribed one (I won't reveal how or why) but this is her chance to finally refuse to be put upon by the world. She confronts Kaufman, and this sets a series of events in motion that play out over the next year. Kaufman and his gang harass and threaten the Kopp sisters, and eventually they have to reach out to local law enforcement. Fortunately the local sheriff, Bob Heath, is both a reasonable and enlightened man, and he does everything in his power to help them.

The Kopp sisters live in a difficult world in which to be female and unmarried. Their staunch determination to preserve their independence is delightful. I was cheering them all on the whole way. Each sister has an interesting personality and all are well written, but it is Constance, the narrator, who by far steals the show. At one point in the novel, Kaufman himself resentfully says, "She isn't a regular lady." She isn't, indeed.

I listened to this as an audio book. I'm enjoying going slowly through the Dresden Files again. James Marsters does a fantastic job and he's really hit his stride. He is Harry. His inflection and tone are just perfect. The end of this book is when the scope of the series really starts to take off and I'm looking forward to continuing.