Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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A rare find for me: a good short story collection

The Ancient Magus' Bride The Golden Yarn by Kore Yamazaki et al

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So far I’ve really been enjoying the Ancient Magus Bride in its original manga form; I’ve also liked the anime but haven’t seen the whole thing yet. The general gist is that a Japanese teen, Chise, who has no family who wants her, puts herself up for auction. She is purchased by Elias, a non-human mage who wants to train her/ learn about humans from her. Chise has some magical abilities herself, and she fits in well with the mage’s world. It’s a really sweet […]

I’m just a soul whose intentions are good…

The Delinquent Housewife! 1 by Nemu Yoko (translated by David Musto)

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Komugi and Tohru are young newlyweds (or about to get married? I’m not entirely sure) who move in with his family while they find their own place. Tohru’s family – mom, grandpa, brother Dai and sister Yukari – are warm and welcoming (except Yukari) and eager to make Komugi feel like part of the family. For her part, Komugi is sweet and helpful and just generally delighted to be part of the family. Just as everyone is starting to get comfortable with the new living […]

People who love to eat are always the best people

La cantine de minuit (Shinya Shokudō) by Yarō Abe

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Known in English as Midnight Diner (although I don’t believe the manga has been published in English, or maybe it has but it’s out of print, I wasn’t able to find any precise info), this is the manga that inspired the Netflix show Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories.   The titular diner is open from midnight to 7 am, and even though it has a very modest menu, the chef will prepare anything you want as long as he has the ingredients. The diner is located […]

In which the cute cooking manga takes a depressing turn

Kitchen Princess: Vol. 5 by Natsumi Ando (artist), Miyuki Kobayashi (writer)

Kitchen Princess: Vol. 6 by Natsumi Ando (artist), Miyuki Kobayashi (writer)

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Last year my seven year old got into a cute cooking manga called Kitchen Princess.  I read and reviewed book one for Cannonball Read 10 but then only skimmed through the second through fourth books.  After reading volumes five and six my daughter somberly told me that a character had died and requested that I read them too.  This was an unexpected turn for a shojo manga.  The first four volumes contained a beginning love triangle between female protagonist Najika Kazami and brothers Daichi and Sora […]

Cute cooking manga

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My elementary school daughters have recently discovered the manga section at the library and due to their interest in cooking shows they brought home Kitchen Princess: Volume 1.  It is a classic shoujo manga.  Shoujo stories are aimed primarily at young females and are heavily focused on personal and romantic relationships this is no exception. The heart of the story is Najika Kazami an orphan (because of course she is) with the ability to remember everything she has ever tasted and can recreate a dish perfectly […]

Charming manga for the tween set

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Cardcaptor Sakura is a Japanese comic, commonly called manga, that is created by an all female team who style themselves as CLAMP.  Fourth grader Sakura Kinomoto found an old book in her dad’s library, when she opened it a deck of cards flew out and disappeared.  The cards were created by the magician Clow Reed and are colloquially called the Clow cards.  Each card represents a different power, such as the four elements but also things like flying and illusion.  Only someone with magical ability has […]



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