Read-in-Progress (not) 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>*

(sorry this is late!)

Comments

[duckprintspress]

I'm done with the main story of Lip and Sword by Jin Shisi Chai and am now reading through the extras. As a whole, it was fine. It never got too toxic and ended up nearly fluffy. They have terrible communication but the undernegotiated kink seems to be working for them so *shrug*.

I've got a few not-C-novels up next (including my first-ever Taiwanese BL light novel...does that count as a c-novel???), and then I'll be launching into Yuwu by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat.

In non-novel Chinese stuff, I also watched the first three episodes of Lord of Mysteries. Weird show. Not sure what's going on but it looks pretty at least.

[larryhammer]

Taiwanese writing in Chinese, right? That's straight up c-novel.

[duckprintspress]

in that case, that's the next c-novel I'm reading, lol. I wasn't sure - it's like how "美剧" is "shows from the US," not "shows in English," I wasn't positive if "all books originally written in Chinese (regardless of origin)" were included in the c-novel umbrella, or if it was mainland-China specific.

[geraineon]

What is the undernegotiated kink in that novel?

and yeah, if it's originally in Chinese language, then i'd categorize as c-media, but if the context is about the country, then i'd categorize as tw-media. within the context of this community, c-novel is defined very loosely so let's just go ahead and call it c-novel.

[duckprintspress]

uh... bondage, "punishment" for "misbehavior" (like, the ml beats the mc bloody with a whip), pretty much constant rough sex despite some token resistance from the mc... like, it reminds me a bit of Wangxian's cnc kink. It's even occasionally talked about in-narrative as being kinky. They just... never really talk about how any of this is fine in the context of their relationship, nor do they establish a safeword or anything, but they're clearly both vibing with it. The mc absolutely acts like a brat on purpose at times just to get the ml riled up, and likewise the ml sometimes just lets loose and the mc is like "well I guess this is what's happening now" and goes with it.

and o7 I will treat it as c-novel then. I haven't started it yet but I need to, it's due back to the library in 11 days.

[larryhammer]

Still bounding through Gourmet of Another World, and reached the part of a xianxia where the MC is contending with godlike beings -- and I still have over a Journey to the West of text to go. This will be the longest xianxia I've completed, once I finally get there.

And in c-novel adjacent readings, started The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho -- a romcom of two Chinese-Malaysian expats in London.

[geraineon]

How are you enjoying The Friend Zone Experiment?

I've enjoyed other Zen Cho books in the past, some more than others.

[larryhammer]

Mixed - there’s a lot to like, but halfway in, I’m a little bogged down.

[aurumcalendula]

I've caught up on a bunch of fan translations I've been following!

The identity stuff and Ruan Li's evolving feelings re: Luo Qingci's two personas in Dragon Subjugation Incantation is really enjoyable (I suspect there's going to be a ton of angst if/when Ruan Li finds out the truth).

The plot looks like it's escalating in To Embers We Return and I loved seeing Bian Jin dramatically coming to Shen Ni's rescue! I also liked seeing more of the side characters (I particularly enjoyed Diwu Que and He Lanzhuo's interactions).

I'm really enjoying Jiang Changbai and Song Juguang's chemistry and am looking forward to seeing how all the politics stuff plays out in Seeking Immortality in Vain (and I think I might've guessed right about a side ship)!

[geraineon]

always nice to have a guess confirmed in the media you are reading/watching!

what in particular did you enjoy about diwu que and he lanzhou's interactions?

[aurumcalendula]

Mostly Diwu Que flirting with He Lanzhuo and her double entendres about how they spent the previous night (which go over Shen Ni's head at first).

[douqi]

Finished This Cultivator Disgusts Me and it was great fun.

Highlight for spoilers!*Possibly unusually for a transmigration novel, both the main characters end up in the 'real world' and stay there. This allows the author to give us a fantastic scene of a xianxia 'demoness' in red robes, livestreaming her consumption of Western-style pastries and desserts using chopsticks to an appreciative modern audience, occasionally reading the comments and threatening her viewers with death. Her viewers spend a lot of time shrieking, basically, 'STEP ON ME, JIEJIE'.*

[halfcactus]

Oh is this the timeloop one or is this something else? The ending reads like the premise of an entire novel haha!

[douqi]

It's the one that starts with the time loop but ends up in a potentially even weirder place? Also admired how the author was able to give us Highlight for spoilers!*fair-trade mother-daughter quasi-incest, as in, the main character from the 'real world' turns out to have created the main character in the novel...*

[geraineon]

I can imagine the livestream and the audience who would eat all of that up XD

[halfcactus]

I'm back in shoujosei webtoon hell, and the latest Chinese-language one I read (and eventually dropped) was the official English translation of 错撩 (Love by Mistake) where the names were anglicized. It was a strange experience, and I had an even harder time keeping track of the names because of it.

I guess I also technically read like maybe half of 十八岁出门远行 (On the Road at Age Eighteen), a short story by the famous novelist Yu Hua, but I forgot to finish it haha. It's a pretty easy read but I don't think I'm literary enough to appreciate it though it's interesting reading something in this style.

[geraineon]

What is On the Road at Age Eighteen about?

[ehyde]

I was on vacation for the past couple of these and didn't end up posting, so I'll report back on what I read during that time! (currently I'm reading HMS Surprise so, not a cnovel).

I had been reading Guardian for a book club but I ended up reading straight through and finishing, it was so good. As I mentioned elsewhere, if I had known that Highlight for spoilers!*modern day character finding a portrait of their past life kept by their lover in a secret room* was a canon thing that actually happened I would have read Guardian years ago, I eat that stuff up every time it happens in fics. The novel's illustration of this scene was not bad! But someone showed me pyxchta's illustration of it and I in turn will share it here: https://pyxchta.tumblr.com/post/734174938356908032/the-dark-room

I know some people have said that the later parts of the novel get a little confusing with all the mythology that's referenced, but with this translation at least I didn't have too much of an issue with it? Actually the most confusing part to me was Highlight for spoilers!*the 11 years ago time travel bit,* which didn't actually have as much to do with the mythological background as the rest of what was going on.

After that I wanted to read something lighter so I finished up Dr Jiang is Pregnant with his Nemesis's Child which I had partially read a few months ago. Ultimately I really enjoyed the rivals-to-lovers progression! There were some annoying miscommunication moments but not too many. I saw some comments on novelupdates being annoyed by over-the-top nationalism but you know what, when they are clowning on the american (sorry, "m-country") healthcare system I somehow find I'm fine with it. And the baby wasn't born until the last chapter so it didn't get into annoying kidfic territory until the extras.

[duckprintspress]

if you're reading the 7s translation of Guardian, I thought they did an *excellent* job translating the mythology parts.

People who say it's confusing may have read one of the main fantranslations, which made me so angry I stopped reading it when - after reading maybe 2/3rds of it and finding the mythology stuff insanely confusing - included a translator's note that was basically like "btw the mythology stuff is hard to translate so I just haven't been translating big chunks of it." and like. that's fine. a fantranslation is an unpaid service. but that should have been stated upfront, not as a lol most of the way through. But yeah if others read that one, the mythology was nearly incomprehensible.

[liliacs]

I wrote up my thoughts on #1 Pretty Boy of the Immortal Path which I finished a few days ago. It was overall a fun book and I enjoyed reading it, but it also reaffirmed some of my feelings about the author that I had after reading Little Mushroom.

I've picked up To Embers We Return again and I'm really enjoying it. I'm loving Shen Ni and Bian Jin's relationship. They have so much tension between them even when there's barely anything actually happening. I like Dou Xuanji and Li Si a lot too.

Highlight for spoilers!*So many comments make me go into crazy theory mode... There was a part about how Shen Ni didn't use memory modules and only trusted her own, human brain and I think that must be relevant somehow, but how? Is it possible that the future civilization which sent them all this futuristic tech ended up destroying itself with its progress, and that's related to the Black Box virus somehow (either they were destroyed by it, or they created it to destroy this past civilization)? And Shen Ni, by not using memory modules and only relying on her own brain, is maybe somehow protecting herself against it? But also, there's too many weird details about her... She was born in the year that the virus appeared, and she has special blood too? I don't know what's going on but there's definitely something.*

[geraineon]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Pretty Boy of the Immortal Path!