I “go back” (I’m in an online grad program) to school on the 23rd so I’m really not planning on reading a ton of stuff when I know I’m most likely going to be stressed out of my mind. I have three reading goals for this week, one graphic, one work of fiction and one non-fiction book and let me just tell you about ’em!

GRAPHIC NOVELS

March Book Three

I have made it to the final book in John Lewis’ March trilogy! The second one left off with the Birmingham Church bombing and I believe this one is going to cover the Freedom Summer (getting blacks to vote) and the Selma march. As per usual, I’m excited to see how John Lewis chooses to depict the events and what he decides to place emphasis on.

BORROW || PURCHASE

 

 

 

 

FICTION

The Stone Sky

I absolutely love Jemisin’s approach to fantasy/science fiction. I mean, seriously LOVE it. So when I got the call from the bookstore where I pre-ordered this lovely piece of work I practically dropped everything that I was doing in order to pick it up. This is the last book in her Broken Earth trilogy and you can definitely tell that events are starting to come to an end. I’m loving that even though the series is ending Jemisin’s world building is still on point.  I’m almost finished with this novel and I honestly can’t see myself not finishing it up this week.

BORROW || PURCHASE

 

 

NONFICTION

Why Do Fools Fall in Love

 I’ve been having some major issues with love lately. I’m still dealing with the mental aftermath of having lost probably one of the most amazing partners ever and it’s really starting to wear on me. I’ve been through a complete doozy of mini-relationships and one-night stands. And I do want to say that not all my one-night stands are sexual; the majority are emotional but I’ll get into that at a later date. This book caught my eye in April – when my relationship was still “good” and now that it’s 110% over, this book sounds like something that I need to read. The why’s and how’s of love fascinate me and I just need to figure some ish out. I’m sick of love, but I miss being in love and I want to know why I’m stuck in that mindset. There are 10 chapters in this book and my goal is to read the first 5.

BORROW || PURCHASE

AND THERE WE HAVE IT

Those are my reading goals for this week. Let me know what you plan on reading this week, and what types of blog posts/videos you would like to see from me. My current  to-do list consists of how I scheudle my reading, a few book reviews, a book buying tag and a tattoo show-and-tell. I also eventually want to go into my graduate program but I think I’m going to hold off on that until I’ve completed a whole year. But yes, let me know what you would like to see from me!

Hope you have a wonderful day & read a wonderful book,
Rae

 

I’m happy that I started my reread with Angelic Layer because I had completely forgotten how adorable this series is! The main character, Misaki, is such a relatable sweetheart and I can definitely see why I loved this series when I was in middle school.

Did my memories hold up?
Kinda. I did find the panel that featured Misaki sewing her doll’s outfit, but for some reason, I remembered it being in her bedroom and not outdoors so my memory was a tad bit faulty there.

I also completely forgot about how young everyone is. The main character is 12 years old, one of the competitors in the tournament that she enters is 5, and with the exception of Misaki’s aunt and a few other adults, the oldest character is 17. I have no idea why I thought everyone was in their late teens – I guess it has to do with how mature yet childish all the characters come across.

Another thing I had forgotten about was how detailed the actual battles are and the extent that the players can modify their dolls. I remember thinking that the technology was amazing when I was a pre-teen, but I don’t think I was as amazed as I am now.

And there were two things that I didn’t catch the first time I reread this series. The first was that Misaki names her doll Hikaru, which is a character from Magic Knight Rayearth, which is another series that I want to reread! And the second is that Piffle Princess, the store that sells the dolls, is also featured in Cardcaptor Sakura.

Did I enjoy the series?
Yes. I very much enjoyed this series. I would definitely recommend this to pre-teens who are interested in reading manga. This series just seems like a good place to start if someone is unsure about what type of manga they want to read. It has action, comedy, a very, very tiny bit of romance, and it’s just overall adorable.

I do understand that this series was marketed specifically to pre-teen boys, but honestly, I think it would appeal to everyone.

 

*Video version of this post can be found here:  Rereading Childhood Favorites || Angelic Layer || Part 2
*Vlog footage of my reread can be found here: Bookish Vlog || Angelic Layer Reread

 

Borrow this series from a library near you
Volume 1 || Volume 2 || Volume 3 || Volume 4 || Volume 5