Would I read more of this? Absolutely. But I’m also glad to have exhausted the volumes available at my library, because as fun and cute as the premise is, there’s only so much I can read in a short time without getting tired of it.

Part of me feels like there’s only so long you can drag along the premise of “retired yakuza becomes stay-at-home spouse,” and a lot of the humor here builds on, rather than outright challenges, traditional gender roles. Yet, it remains a fun read!

This series is clearly formulaic and episodic, but it’s still fun (and since I struggled to follow the ongoing plot of My Hero Academia, maybe it’s an easier entry point for me).

“Cozy Yakuza comedy” was not a genre I was aware of, but it seems I like it!

Last night, I decided to return a bunch of unread volumes of My Hero Academia to the library, and I am feeling uncultured.

Je viens de passer trois jours à un colloque sur Jacques Ellul, un penseur français qui m’intéresse beaucoup en ce moment (et depuis déjà un peu de temps). J’avoue sans honte qu’une des choses qui m’a attiré chez Ellul, c’était sa francophonie, car le français m’est très cher et je suis toujours à la recherche des moyens d’entraîner mes propres capacités francophones.

C’était donc un grand plaisir de rencontre d’autres francophones à ce colloque (même si la plupart des gens qui y assistaient étaient des anglophones qui lisaient Ellul uniquement en traduction—je ne critique pas, je constate). J’ai pu bavarder avec deux Bordelais.e.s sans trop dire des bêtises, je crois que j’ai bien réussi à savoir quand je pouvais tutoyer (alors que la plupart du temps, j’ai du mal à comprendre ces nuances), et j’ai même fait la bise pour la première fois depuis bien des années (en disant au revoir à une nouvelle amie).

Kiddo brought this back from a Ren Faire for me, and it is great. You can taste cherry (a lot of it), and there are clear hints of vanilla and an aftertaste of peppercorn in the chai. It’s better sipped over the course of a morning than finished in a rush, but I’m looking forward to going through this whole bag.

Not bad, but didn’t leave much of an impression.

This tea has brought joy into a conference I’m attending two mornings in a row!

I honestly didn’t know what I would think of this book. I’d heard some complaints and caveats about it, but some folks also highly recommended it, including one of the people who made a caveat (and who is outspoken on problematic social attitudes), so I thought it was worth a try.

My verdict is that this feels like fanfiction, which isn’t supposed to be an insult but also captures some of my own caveats. Why compare it with fanfiction? Some parts feel unwieldy and overly explanatory of the worldbuilding. It does take a certain pleasure in being transgressive, and sometimes that does cross a line. Yet, I meant what I said about comparng to fiction not being an insult, because it is creative and interesting in the way that sometimes only self-published stuff can be.

I don’t mind a genuinely difficult escape room (or at-home escape room game), but one advertised as difficult that just feels arbitrary is just frustrating.

I get why this film is beloved! It also did not crack me up the way I was hoping.

J’ai commencé à écouter Stromae ce matin, sans trop me demander si ça représentait de la trahison après la défaite de mes compatriotes aux mains (aux pieds ?) des Belges hier. Mais bon, j’aime bien Stromae, je m’en fiche un peu du foot, et en tout cas, les USA méritent du châtiment en ce moment.

This storyline is a bit tough for me, but reading it in a collection reminds me of how much better Dumbing of Age is when you can read a storyline all at once. Really enjoyed the read even if it’s not my favorite arc.

I don’t regret reading this book, but it’s not as good as Hodgman’s other memoir. I don’t feel like it holds together as well, it feels anchored in 2019 in a way that doesn’t work for me, and I always get bugged when someone picks on “reckless cyclists” when so much of our world and infrastructure are stacked against cycling (though I’m confident that some cyclists are the entitled white dudes that Hodgman is taking aim at in that particular story—I just think there are better ways to skewer white dudes than targeting those who travel by bike).

The finale of this series (or at least this arc) focused more on the parts I liked less, so meh. I still enjoyed the series though and would be interested to read more Andolfo.

I was ready to rate this higher when I watched the season finale last night, but after sleeping on it, I’m actually grumpier about the series than I realized. I loved the first few episodes, but I’m not sure the twist pays off, and the final episode felt stuffed too full. There’s a bit too much going on in the series, and while I’d gladly watch the second season, I won’t mind if we don’t get to it.

Gotta say that I don’t like the fantasy elements of this story as much at the digs at totalitarian policing of gender and sexuality, but this second volume is still a good read.

This comic is very weird, but the art is good, the translation is excellent (or at least I don’t think of it being translated), and the social commentary is very well done.

I waited a couple of days before writing my review, and I had trouble remembering what I had read. I really want to like this series, and I don’t actively dislike it, but that is just not a great sign.

This is good! I thought I might have oversteeped my first cup, but it was a delicious contribution to my breakfast, and I’m looking forward to trying more of it.

I enjoyed this volume more, likely because I read it in a shorter timespan. I still feel hesitant about the series, perhaps because I have read so dang much superhero fiction that it’s hard to feel like there’s anything new here. I still have a bunch of volumes checked out, though, and I do want to keep going.

I can’t remember how long it’s been since I listened to this the first time. It is artfully done, and the Jonathan Coulton addition is tremendous. Some jokes feel like they haven’t aged well (either because they’re simply not timeless or because I don’t think Hodgman would make the same joke today), but the low-key absurdity of the project really appeals to me.

I read this in scattered chunks before and during a busy week of family camp, so this might not be the measured assessment this deserves. There are things to like here, and I want to continue trying the series, but I confess to having trouble following this particular volume. I’m still learning to tell many of the characters from each other (and a LOT get introduced here), and manga conventions remain unfamiliar to me, so I’m still trying to get used to the medium.

This series just does not work for me, I think. I passed it up countless times at various libraries before coming into PDFs of it through a Humble Bundle. That was also not a done deal until I read Remender’s Black Science, which I mostly appreciated and figured that maybe I should try this one, too.

It was shortly into the second volume that I ruled it out for good, so I guess this is a partial review of that, too. I get that the series is supposed to be an allegory or whatever, but the violence and grossness just does not work for me, whatever it is supposed to mean more broadly.