Read-in-Progress Wednesday

[geraineon]

This is your weekly read-in-progress post for you to talk about what you're currently reading and reactions and feelings (if any)!

For spoilers:

<details><summary>insert summary</summary>Your spoilers goes here</details>

<b>Highlight for spoilers!*</b><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: #FFFFFF">Your spoilers goes here.</span>*

(Replies will be slow!)

Comments

[geraineon]

Read nothing! I'm very tired xD

My plan is to continue CLX book 2 in the plane later

[larryhammer]

Hah -- not a C-novel. This seemed a good week to reread The Lord of the Rings -- "One ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them."

[geraineon]

It's definitely comfort read time these days... A confession: I've not actually finished reading the trilogy.

[anne]

Puttering happily along with Smiling Proud Wanderer! It's so much fun!

[duckprintspress]

Oh neat, where are you reading it? I've kinda wanted to watch the 2018 adaptation but there's not enough hours in the day.

[anne]

I was provided an epub.

[ehyde]

Online it's here https://wuxiarchive.wordpress.com/the-smiling-proud-wanderer/

I have an epub I made from this version which I'm happy to share!

[duckprintspress]

oh, that'd be awesome! my gmail is unforth6748

[ehyde]

Where are you in the story? I'm a few chapters into book 2, I've slowed down a bit (due to external circumstances)

[geraineon]

<3 I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[halfcactus]

Continuing 青春18×2：重返最初的悸動, a comic anthology about first loves, and am happy to see that it's not het all the way... I really enjoyed the style and vibe of the third comic, which was about a man who sees a man from his past in a woman he works with.

And since I'm in between cnovels I'm reading bits of Purely By Accident in fragments. Haven't gotten far, but Zisong calling the bodyguard Xiaohei is so ????? lol

[douqi]

Xiao Hei definitely does not get paid enough to put up with the nonsense he's surrounded by.

[geraineon]

You're always bringing such interesting comics to my attention! I like how it looks and it's nice that it's not entirely het.

[dayadhvam_triad]

I've been swamped IRL, so haven't read anything—except for a surprise new 3K Workers extra that just dropped yesterday! So happy to get new content (and from a glance at the author's weibo, there might be more coming?!), but it's bittersweet because the extra is set 30-40 years after the main story, when its POV character is in his 70s, and time (age) itself becomes the sharpest knife of all :')

[geraineon]

Surprise new content is always nice!

And oof yeah, the march of time is painful.

[duckprintspress]

I finished volume 3 of Rose and Renaissance. The rest is all extras, which have so far been fluffy and smutty, so fairly fun to read, but also not super motivating so I'm going kinda slow.

I also picked up volume 1 of the official translation of the Dinghai Fusheng Records manhua; I've already read both the novel and this part of the manhua, but nonetheless it was a pleasure to sink back into that world, I love Chen Xing so much, such a good boy *sob*. (he's 16 at the beginning or else I wouldn't be calling him "boy.")

[anne]

I was looking at that one! I should ask the library to get it. There's a related book too, isn't there?

[duckprintspress]

yep, there is, and the novel is licensed by 7S too. Vol. 1 is coming out in May, I'd guess it'll be 5 or 6 volumes based on similarly lengthened releases. https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/dinghai-fusheng-records-novel/

I really liked the book.

[anne]

Excellent, ty!

[geraineon]

Yeah, I usually find extras to be a lot less motivating to read... I've not actually read Dinghai Fusheng Records. Guess will wait for the official tl to get to it someday.

[duckprintspress]

yeaaaaah the current extra I'm reading now is "the ml made a recording of his regular day and posted it online. This is a play-by-play description of that video along with comments made by the fans viewing it." Like. I read the first 900 pages I KNOW he loves the mc what's the point of this?? And I mean, I could skip it, but eh, I'm gonna read it anyway. but it's definitely less exciting and slower going.

I feel like I don't know your taste well enough to know if you'll like Dinghai Fusheng Records. What I can say is that Fei Tian Ye Xiang has a type: naive young cinnamon roll shous and the big tough slightly older gongs who love them. Extremely sunshine/grumpy. There's also a fuckton of plot and angst and melodrama and such. If that's a combo that appeals, you'll probably like this one and Legend of Exorcism (which I've not read the book but I've read the manhua and watched s1 of the donghua), and if not... yeah. Also strong side characters with haremish vibes. I definitely support Chen Xing (the Dinghai Fusheng Records cinnamon roll sunshine shou) harem supremacy, lmao.

[aurumcalendula]

I'm getting towards the end of my reread of The Beauty's Blade.

[geraineon]

What's your next read? And did you notice anything new in your reread?

EDITED TO ADD: Oops, you already mentioned your next read in your reply in another post! Between Peerless and The Disabled Tyrant's Pet Fish, I've only read Peerless and I enjoyed it a lot. However, I did hear that Pet Fish is fluffy and warm, and is a very easy read.

[duckprintspress]

I've read half of The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish, and it's just this side of crack and as you say is fluffy and warm and easy to read.

[aurumcalendula]

Good to know!

[aurumcalendula]

iirc, the first time I read The Beauty's Blade lost the plot a bit towards the end - it seemed clearer this time around.

Fluffy and warm sounds like what I need at the moment.

[douqi]

Non-cnovels: Read Sundered Moon, basically a lesbian trans femme mecha/space opera novel clearly inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury (a good source to pull from, but needed a lot more work on the execution) and half of Colette's Claudine at School, which currently has a ton of bisexual drama going on.

Cnovels: about to start a new one! Currently hovering between Ning Yuan's sci-fi Something I Need to Tell You and In Love with a Substitute, a quick transmigration novel (I don't normally like quick transmigration, but this seems like it might be doing something to interrogate the concept).

[geraineon]

Ohh I did enjoy Witch from Mercury. Would you still recommend that given the not-so-strong execution?

And generally, I find most QT novels to be kinda like popcorn (first two worlds usually a lot more developed, after that, all cardboard). Curious how this is interrogating the concept!

[douqi]

I think I wouldn't recommend it in part because you enjoyed Witch from Mercury! It uses a similar high concept (mecha duel for the hand-in-marriage of an imperial princess) but honestly misses a lot of what I think makes Witch from Mercury engaging. It speedruns the relationship development (basically, they're in love after a single not-very-interesting conversation) and the world-building is pretty flimsy.

[geraineon]

That's unfortunate... Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the book!

[ehyde]

I am continuing along with The Smiling, Proud Wanderer and Linghu Chong has started music lessons which seem like a much healthier distraction from his relationship-induced-depression than hi BB cg bb vcs previous approach of drinking and gambling into oblivion. I'm happy for him!

Also, just gonna say it: I do not think the "granny" who's teaching him, whose face he's never seen, whose voice sounds remarkably young, is actually a granny.

[geraineon]

I do not think the "granny" who's teaching him, whose face he's never seen, whose voice sounds remarkably young, is actually a granny.

XD

... and yes, music good.

[momijizukamori]

Not a novel, but I finally started reading the copy of Sinophagia (anthology of Chinese horror fiction in translation) - only a few stories in so far because I've been busy and/or totally fried, but I've been enjoying them, and I appreciate the editor/translator's short sections that accompany each story and discuss the writer and their backgrounds, and associated cultural context.

[geraineon]

Oh, I've been meaning to check this out!

Maybe I'll put this as my next read. Not sure if I'm up to reading a long novel atm.

[duckprintspress]

Oh please do share what you think when you're done, I've been eying that anthology as well, someone I've gotten to know a little on Bluesky is... one of the translators I think? Definitely involved in the project, at least.

[forestofglory]

Taking a break for To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth because I got annoyed at flipping between where I was reading the text and the translation I'm using for reference.

I've started Gender, Power, and Talent: The Journey of Daoist Priestesses in Tang China by Jinhua Jia but I've only read a page or two so far, so I can't really say anything about it

[geraineon]

Hope it's a good book (for whatever good means here! informative, fun read, etc.)