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>*

Comments

[shipperslist]

I finished 2ha book 7 and

*sigh*

while I enjoy plot twists and sudden deus (or devil) ex machina, this was a bit too much. And then some. And then even more some. And then EVEN MORE SOME. Frankly, it was tiring, although Chu Wanning being revealed as a LITERAL FUCKING PINOCCHIO saved a lot--until the unnecessarily long and detailed rape scene in the end. *sigh*

Apparently, there's more of the exact same flavour to come and while I do enjoy my angst, too much is too much...

I also have Heavenly Tyrant waiting on my Kindle, and I'll probably get to it in the next couple of days, depending on how the night shifts are at work...

[geraineon]

Ahh I hope heavenly tyrant will be a more relaxing read then!

[shipperslist]

Oh, I'm sure it'll infuriate me in many ways lol.

[geraineon]

Hahaha, sometimes that can be fun!

[geraineon]

I'm still on my Easy Reading spree so I finished a very short incest danmei that's been on my list: Can't Be Left Behind: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/cant-be-left-behind/

Surprisingly, even though it's in first person pov, I finished it! It was immediately compelling because the pov character's voice is interesting. The love between the brothers is definitely not the healthiest (haha this is why I read it) but they definitely do love each other and are definitely blood brothers (yay). I got curious about this book and added to my list because a number of people on some reddit thread said this title made them rethink their position on fictional incest (used to be against it but now they can see it). And while I guess some would call it dark, it's also funny. And randomly, there was a Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying reference in the middle xD (and some other references) [Smiling Proud Wanderer]. It's set in current times, main character is in school still.

(Uh, I won't exactly rec it to everyone because of the string of content warnings associated here: rape, dubcon, domestic violence, ableism, homophobia - if you want more specifics, you can ask!)

[douqi]

a number of people on some reddit thread said this title made them rethink their position on fictional incest (used to be against it but now they can see it)

Ahaha, this is correct thinking!

I was just reading a Ning Yuan short story from 2008 that had (unconsummated, one-sided) generational incest and thinking morosely about how a lot of the fandom would just flip out about it despite incest being kind of a prevalent motif in, e.g. that era of shoujo animanga.

[geraineon]

They are all missing out on all the delicious stories~!

Their loss, I say.

[halfcactus]

added to my list because a number of people on some reddit thread said this title made them rethink their position on fictional incest (used to be against it but now they can see it)
I am intrigued!?!

[geraineon]

They only have each other and they are both kinda messed up. I think it helped that the story was in 1st person POV. I liked it!

[hazevi]

technically not c-novel but I'm reading the Chinese translated version of Roar, a collection of short stories about the struggles women face and it's been decently enjoyable so far. The stories are short and sweet and have some really interesting imaginative plots (magic realism?) while also being empowering.

Also I felt like the Eng-CN translator did a great job, example: there's a story involving the appearance of the fictional village of 'Cringeville' and the translator put '尴了个尬村' (direct translation would be like 'Awkward Moment tm village'??) but it is similar to the original in terms of tone and intent that I had a good laugh, appreciated the footnote, and also am marveling at her creativeness.

[mekare]

Ah bless the translators!

[hazevi]

The translator is truly a gem!

[geraineon]

It counts! c-novels that are en novels in translation!

That is a good translation. Thank you for sharing it!

(oh btw, someone I know started reading If I Could Mail You A Book and they are really enjoying it! Just wanted to let you know~)

[hazevi]

Ohhh that's cool, thanks for letting me know!

[douqi]

I just finished reading Ma Jia's The Message and my main though is that the drama adaptation made a lot of great choices, and in particular basically creating a really compelling character (the old, jaded Kuomintang spy) from scratch. I did enjoy the novel's Rashomon-type device (though the author insists it's New Testament, not Rashomon) and meta-fiction elements though!

[aurumcalendula]

I love the choices the 2020 drama made! (and was surprised at just how much was drawn from the novel)

[geraineon]

I am failing to follow the New Testament bit (what does it mean?).

I do like meta-fiction!

[douqi]

Oh, the author is referring to the fact that the four canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) recount largely the same set of incidents but have markedly different perspectives with irreconcilable differences in detail.

[aurumcalendula]

I just finished volume 3 of QJJ's official translation! I'm enjoying this so much! I loved seeing both all the scheming continue to unfold (things escalated in ways I hadn't expected) as well as more of Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye's romance!

Highlight for spoilers! *I was not expecting Li Jianheng to get killed off this early! (I'd seen some spoilerly art that indicated someone else would eventually be emperor, so I figured it would happen at some point)

I was worried for a moment that Ding Tao would get killed, but he's fine so far.

Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye are so in love (and so horny for each other)!

I know they's pretending to be at odds to officials, but imho Zhou Gui and Kong Ling's 'why didn't you tell me they're together' 'how would I have known?' conversation is kinda funny in contrast to how it's obvious to regular folks who spend time around them (XCY's long suffering guards, Zhou Gui's maidservant) that they're absurdly in love.

I adore Xiao Chiye declaration at the end re: Shen Zechuan.

When I started this series I wasn't expecting logistics to play as big a role as it does (quality and quantity of army provisions is a significant plot point) and imho it continues to be really interesting.

I think the Qi-Hua wedding is finally happening next book! Which means Hua Xiangyi and Qi Zhuyin will probably interact (I'm so curious how their relationship develops)!*

I can't wait for the next volume!

(as a side note this volume ends at chapter 112 - apparently volume 1 of the original ends at chapter 96. I'd been assuming 2 Seven Seas volumes ≈ 1 original volume, but apparently not)

I also read more of Wen Guan and Dragon Subjugation Incantation's fan translations (up to chapter 84 and 69, respectively) and really enjoyed both!

I'm still very fond of A Yin and A Luo's relationship and it seems like there's going to be some reveals about Song Shijiu's past soon.

Luo Qingci and Ruan Li's interactions are so fun to read and I'm looking forward to see where the rest of the current arc goes.

[geraineon]

QJJ: Highlight for spoilers!*I feel like things get so much more interesting on that side after they are out of direct successors to the throne!

Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye are so very in love, yes. XDD

I really liked all the attention to logistics tbh!

Enjoy Hua Xiangyi and Qi Zhuyin~ I really liked them too (and wish there was a little more).*

[ehyde]

I just started To Embers We Return (two chapters in) and I'm already into it. Chapter one already gave "tilting the love interest's chin upwards with a single finger" so I mean. I think the author and I are on the same page and that's before even getting into the setting/worldbuilding. But speaking of setting/worldbuilding: I discovered that calling someone "double S-tier" pings me as an anachronism even when the historic setting already includes cybernetic implants, hovercars, etc, and now I'm wondering why that is. I guess I just haven't read all that many novels where tier ranking characters even comes up, so to me it feels like it's a thing that belongs in certain specific genres when that may not actually be the case.

[geraineon]

Tilting love interest's chin upward with a single finger is always such a great vibe.

Hm, I don't know if I'll find double S-tier to be weird (in my mind cyberpunk setting is also vaguely videogame-y, maybe?)

[ehyde]

Chapter 7 lore drop makes it no longer feel out of place b>Highlight for spoilers!*given that the futuristic tech was all literally sent back in time from the future *

[forestofglory]

I started another collection of translated old stories! A Garden of Marvels: Tales of Wonder from Early Medieval China trans Robert Ford Campany. Same translator as before but this collection is aimed at undergrads and has fewer footnotes and such. (Not necessarily a good thing)

[geraineon]

Enjoy the collection! Sucks that there's less footnotes though.

[halfcactus]

Mostly still reading shoujo/josei manga and manhwa, which aren't relevant here, though one of them (Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court) is loosely inspired by ancient China and, to my pleasant surprise, quite gen. I do miss being into cnovels and, by extension, audiodramas, which help me get chores done. ;___;

[geraineon]

It's okay! There are no wrong answers XD Just the joy of reading.

I took a break from cnovels too earlier. Brain just can't. How's that manga/manhwa you mentioned? Do you like it so far? (surprising it is gen! the title doesn't sound like it'll be gen!)

[duckprintspress]

I finished 2ha vol. 7, finally, it's a slog to get through the angst.

I've started The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish vol. 3 and even though I basically knew what was coming cause I saw some spoilers, I'm still disappointed by the direction of this volume. I don't particularly enjoy mpreg, and I *really* don't like kidfic, and this vol looks like it's going to be mostly that, sigh. It's always sad when a book one has been enjoying decides to integrate tropes one doesn't like and the book becomes Not For You.

In other news, the orders I placed over Dec. have started arriving. My copy of vol. 2 of the Little Mushroom manhua arrived, and I managed to get myself through it even though I definitely understood less than I did when I read volume 1. They were talking a lot more, and about weirder stuff (like building androids that look exactly like Lu Feng lol) so it was just harder. But since I know the story, I was able to follow along mostly.

I also got book 1 and 2 of the Eng translation of Here U Are by DJun. I really, really liked it and may go track down the webtoon so I don't have to stop, lol. I've read a lot of grumpy/sunshine and a lot of cat/dog, but I don't think I've read anything where the grumpy is the dog-coded one and the sunshine is the cat-coded one. It's a nice change.

[ehyde]

I'm not sure which tropes you're referring to and I'm not sure how the volumes line up, but I got through about half of the fan translation of The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish and really enjoyed it, but then the plot switched direction and I wasn't into it anymore. So I'm not sure if we bounced off of the same thing, but I can sympathize. At least the aspects of the story that I was interested in felt reasonably concluded, though.

[duckprintspress]

ah, they were behind a white out.

it's mpreg and kidfic. I barely tolerate mpreg and I hate kidfic. I'm slogging through but it's definitely taken a lot of the joy out of it for me, sigh. and yeah that's true, the parts I was enjoying were mostly tied up? though I was hoping for more of the political stuff.

[ehyde]

Ah, missed that! It wasn't those things for me (I can be picky about fictional pregnancies and I'll avoid them if it seems like they're going to be used for angst/trauma purposes but this one wasn't that) although I'll admit I was not thrilled by the kidfic parts. Hah, I was actually hoping for *less* of the political stuff--started the novel in the mood for secret-fish-identity shenanigans, didn't really care about succession politics. When it shifted that direction (a bit later than this current volume, I guess) I ducked out.

[geraineon]

Ah, that's unfortunate, re: Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish.

Grumpy dog and sunshine cat does sound like a fun different thing!

[duckprintspress]

I read a little more this morning and while it is still a lot about the kids, it also did start poking toward the politics again, so I'm not entirely hopeless of getting some amount of story I'll enjoy out of this volume...