Recent Manga Reads (May – July 2023)

やさしいしろくま / Yasashii Shirokuma (translated as "Kind Polar Bear") by Shirosame This is a one-volume collection of short comics originally posted on the artist's twitter. It hasn't been localized to English yet but I dearly hope so because that art is so soft and healing, and the story flows like poetry. It's a relaxing read,…

Recent Manga/Manhwa Reads (Jan-April 2023)

Nina the Starry Bride (Vol. 1 - 8) written and illustrated by Rikachi It took me a while to get to this series, since it's been in Kodansha's Digital Exclusive publishing purgatory for so long — but it won the 46th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shoujo (comics aimed at young girls) category and a…

Crying in a local cafe, 15 minutes walk away from my house.

I finally finished reading Crying in H Mart this month. It took me a while to finish it; and a long time to even start it. This memoir is written by Michelle Zauner, the singer, guitarist, and front woman of one of my favorite bands: Japanese Breakfast — the book released in 2021 alongside the…

Original Works: 2023 Valentine’s Special [Justin & Ysha]

This month, some of us members paired off to collab on a blind date fic using OCs and/or characters from pre existing media, so we basically just ended up making a Genshin Impact x Fire Emblem: Three Houses crossover fanfic. Don’t let the brainworms get the best of you, folks. Xiao, Childe, and Zhongli are…

Poems turned to Song

Clarisse and I put together some songs based on poems that we really like and hope that you can enjoy them as well! I felt a Funeral in my Brain by Emily Dickinson Andrew Bird - I felt a Funeral, in my Brain ft. Phoebe Bridgers (Official Audio)Poem Ysha: Last month, I was surprised to…

Manga Recommendation: Witches (a Halloween horror special ★. *･｡ﾟ✧⁺ )

With Halloween season upon us, I would like to take a moment to shill for one of my favorite horror fantasy manga: Witches by Daisuke Igarashi. "On a visit to the capital of a small country in the far west of Asia, a British girl named Nicola falls in love. The object of her affections…

5 Books the Describe my Taste – Ysha

1.) Gilead by Marilynne Robinson A mostly plotless series of unsent letters from an aging father to his 7-year-old son, there’s a quiet reverence for existence — and a contemplation for goodness — hanging over the pages of this novel as death looms, ever present, on the horizon of the narrator’s life. It has stuck…

Love in Space #9

Eliza: Hello, hello, hello!! Clarisse: Can’t believe this is the actual last one! I know The Little Prince is a lot shorter than all 7 Narnia books (which was our last long discussion) but it’s still surprising to me that we’ve reached the end of it. Eliza: Same! Even if it's a lot shorter than…

Love in Space #6

Clarisse: Hello and welcome back to our discussion of The Little Prince!  Eliza: Hello everyone!!! Good morning!! I'm glad we're back! Titus: Hello again! Clarisse: This week we’re discussing Chapters 17-20. Eliza: Relatively short chapters too, haha. But still good ones! Clarisse: yes! I find it interesting that the first location on earth the prince…

Manga Recommendation: A Sign of Affection

Yuki is a typical college student, whose world revolves around her friends, social media, and the latest sales. But when a chance encounter on a train leads to her meeting friend-of-a-friend and fellow student Itsuomi-san, her world starts to widen. But even though Itsuomi-kun can speak three languages, sign language isn't one of them. Can…