Carmen > Recent Status Updates

Japanese book club: third chapter, short, mildly amusing, and sad. The old men's way of speaking was a bit of a doozy, but luckily the internet helped. It ended without concrete answers, but it didn't really need them. Interesting to wonder about though. あの三人の状況はなんか面白くてとても悲しいですね。鉄道会社に何があったか思っています。先の命令を忘れてしまったか、仕事がどうでもいいって気にしないで思っていましたか、それとあの三人の家族がどうになりましたか...

This first half's slice-of-life approach is interesting, I kept expecting to encounter a dramatic "and now we must save the world" situation like in most magical media. It's a bit mundane, reflecting Quentin's worldview, more so when Eliot and co. graduate (it's all in the characters). I do enjoy how the magic is complex and requires extremely intense study to reach intuitive use.

Japanese book club: finished the second chapter. Also has similarities to the current situation but with an unfortunate ending. Again, the general plot was easy to follow, nuances got muddled sometimes, and lots of politics-oriented vocabulary. 歴史、革命がちょっと面白いけど結局この国があまり好きじゃなかったです。最後の人の考え方、一人ぼっちでも死ぬでも他の方法を考えたくない考え方は本当に大変です。ヤバイ、また今の状況と同じ感じですね。

Japanese book club: finished the first chapter! We muddled over some of of the grammar points and nuances, but overall understood everything. Very eerie how similar this country's history is to our current situation. 第一話の終わりです！偶然だけど、この国の状況は今のと同じ感じだし独りぼっちの人生ですね。

Japanese book club: inching our way slowly through the first chapter. Some confusion re: time, as scenes have been bouncing back and forth, which doesn't seem necessary... I haven't consumed any of the related material in English, so everything will be a new adventure. まだ人間一人いないけど、機械がたくさんあります。どんな話でしょうか…

The pieces are still coming together, but the real picture is in sight. I do love how atmospheric everything is.

Onye encountered so much pushback even with her friends... while Mwita did his best to not let her fiery temper burn everything ablaze. They still clash but they also settle. Inching closer to Onye's frightful vision but I hope they can bring about societal change before then.

Celia's training style is so depressing. I mostly want to see her achieve greatness and overthrow her mentor and tell him to suck it, but I guess I'll see how this mysterious "wager" plays out... also I totally thought that her path crossed with Marco's earlier because of cliché coincidences, but now I'm worried about Isobel and how this wager will affect her.

Ha, time travel is a tricky thing. I love how much perception played a part, from time-travel jetlag to hearing the thoughts of a projected spirit. Then the passive-aggressive attack vs. the direct approach was like, of course. The magic is never really explained but it's presented matter-of-factly (thanks narrator). Not entirely satisfied with what happened to Aunt Maria though especially if she has deluded herself.

So much happened! Chris wolf shenanigans and the hunt, the truth of Mig's father, everyone ignoring the opinions of a child despite the still-unknown stakes at risk, Mig's mother believing otherwise and jumping straight to action all adult-like, and time-travelling cats! The pieces are slowly falling into place but I'm still not sure what the big picture is...

Oh dear, they have found themselves in the middle of some sort of magical/supernatural war-squabble with mostly unknown variables on either side. I have no idea how this will turn out. Will the orphans be involved? Will their mother? What are the stakes?? Will they recover what was lost??

Is it terrible that I can see my family members (including myself) in these characters? Hitting me hard with that relatability wrapped up in Mig's POV. "I think she could do a lot more for herself if she wanted to. I think she's just convinced herself she can't." (31) may or may not be true and yet...

Only just noticing that a lot of pioneers in this book are men... a reflection of society's bias or something else?

A lot of interesting ideas but hmm they mostly seem to originate from the Western world... nothing from other places??

For a book about design (ideas), it's not actually easy to read. It makes references to images not pictured, and does not note when it's referring to a pictured image, so the idea doesn't get the benefit of visual reference until later. Plus, a lot of these design ideas feel linked and makes me wonder if this was the best way to present them...

Oh, how I've missed these books. I have to laugh at how Jake describes everyone and then like the kids they are, they cut through the construction site. All the feels with Elfangor and the briefest glimpse of his life... so much nostalgia in this one fateful meeting. The Blade Ship has now arrived, Hork-Bajir and Taxxon Controllers and Visser Three and all, and the children can't prevent what's about to happen next.

I decided to do a re-read of these precious children this year, and to actually read the ones that I missed! And to perhaps enthuse (and cry) over this series via sketches/illustrations or something. Let's go!!!

Sooo I don't actually remember a lot of the first book but it's coming to me in bits and pieces. Plus it's doing a decent job of rehashing while also pushing forward with the new mystery that Lois has gotten her nose into. Mostly she has a lot on her plate, between school and work and friends and mysteries and SmallvilleGuy...

Wow, everything happened all at once in unexpected ways and there wasn't even time to breathe through the repercussions until the very end. I mourn for the casualties (oh what could've been) and celebrate the triumphs, especially Danny stepping forward and being true to herself against all that's happened to her. What an ending.

Graywytch is the absolute worst, and Danny's parents are a close second. This chapter was difficult to get through with how realistic it was but I made it and Danny made it. Danny also needs a hug (or twenty) but she's shown that she's strong enough to stand on her own. She can do this!!

Calamity! I got hopeful that they were making decent progress (and Sarah is so supportive of Danny, I love it) and then that happened!! There appear to be more sides to this world, if Utopia is to be believed, but there's a lot of unreliable narration and biased viewpoints going on. It's getting more intense than I thought it would.

I had to laugh when school/life got in the way of caping. At least Danny and Sarah actively find time for it. I ended up skimming Danny's coming out because it was too real and the emotions were high. Well, any of the scenes involving her family tend to be like that. It's good that Sarah kept Danny's anger in check and now they're one step closer to Utopia. I'd be interested to read more about Charlie.

Ugh, the influence that Danny's dad has over her is the worst and so is David's response to her rejection. At least she has a friend in the badass Calamity now, and Doc Impossible and Valkyrja are respectful and generous towards her. It seems like more are against her than for her though. I do love how steadfast Danny is regarding her morals although Calamity's views feel more realistic.

Cringing so much at David's entitlement. So so much. I'm sad that there doesn't seem to be anyone that Danny can turn to for support right now when it seems most vicious and it's so relatable when she shrinks herself inwards in confrontations. Still, she's resilient and strong enough (even without her superpowers) to hold her own, and only needs a few nudges of self-empowerment to remind herself of her own strength.

Off to an amazing start. I already love Danny and want all the best for her!! Doc Impossible is also great and their interaction together was a delight to read. There are thoughtful interesting concepts in this world of superheroes and I can't wait to see how everything plays out.

Wow, this was quite a poignant ending, harkening back to the sadness of the four-dimensional bubbles from what feels like forever ago. This ending almost seems trivial after the long and difficult journey but it speaks to perseverance (and perhaps luck) against all odds. Cheng Xin is very much the personification of humanity's hopes and the memories she left behind tells that tale, mistakes and all.

Yifan's words regarding Cheng Xin's decisions are reassuring. It seems like everything is changing so fast now as opposed to how it felt in the rest of the book, how humanity stumbled along its precarious path to survival. It's also like humanity has now narrowed down to this singular spaceship despite having reached farther out into the universe. What will they see/encounter when they awake?

Ahhh so that was the meaning behind Tianming's paintings!! How absolutely frightful. Also, the Black Domain project and lightspeed travel were linked! Not a fan of how Cheng Xin ends up making all of the the wrong decisions by following her idealism, but she still wins by surviving. And I do prefer her ideology over those who would plow ahead regardless of costs. It's a shame her characterization suffers.