#Hiromi Goto

[wedarkacademia]

She did not care for the company of humans, because they were small and bothersome. She just watched the birds in the trees and picked mushrooms in the forest. Her life with herself was complete and she felt little need to ever change it.

Hiromi Goto, Chorus of Mushrooms

[gennsoup]

She did not care for the company of humans, because they were small and bothersome. She just watched the birds in the trees and picked mushrooms in the forest. Her life with herself was complete and she felt little need to ever change it.

Hiromi Goto, Chorus of Mushrooms

[haveyoureadthiscomic-poll]

[raphies-art-blog]

2/3

Slight blood warning below

[nevinslibrary]

Comic Book Saturday

This was such a cute book. I know, I know, it’s about Kumiko as she’s trying to avoid Death, oh, and also sorta avoiding her adult daughters because she’s recently broken out of the assisted living place she’d been living in. (It’s early in the book, but, my favorite pages were when she finds some pretty darn good looking wood that someone got rid of and needs to get it home so she can make some shelves).

The story was great, and hilarious (a vacuum cleaner. Heh…) but, it was the art that really caught my attention. The characters were so, real. Not in a photo sort of way, instead when reading it, they just sort of seemed real. I’m not describing it exactly right, so… just go read this fun graphic novel, you won’t regret it.

You may like this book If you Liked: Talk To My Back by Murasaki Yamada, Ish by Adam De Souza, or Wrinkles by Paco Roca

Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto

[houxlislitspace]

I can’t draw, I don’t want to write fanfiction, and almost none of the characters are shippable. And yet, I am going to create The Kappa Child by Hiromi Goto fandom. Not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one of these days.

[highsummonertemptress]

More mainstream pop artists took a switch to R&B during this time including the now retired singer and dancer, Namie Amuro. After much criticism for dabbling in R&B in the 90s, songs from her Style, Queen to Hip-Pop and PLAY albums started gaining interest; notably Put ‘Em Up, So Crazy, Girl Talk, HELLO and Pink Key. Along with Amuro, ero-kawaii artist Koda Kumi became a trendsetter after her Best~First Things~ got popular. She had R&B tracks that heightened like 秘密 (Secret), this is not a love song and No Way from some of her best albums, Kingdom, TRICK and UNIVERSE. The versatility in J-R&B songs showcased to many in the industry that it was impactful  and interest from artists such as Ishida Yuko’s Missin’ U,  SATOMI’s Baby Doll, MISIA’s ANY LOVE, YA-KYIM’s someday, Leah Dizon’s Softly, May J.’s Why Why Why and Yuna Ito’s Losin in the mid  2000’s to early 2010s. Even R&B was pouring into idol songs like Morning Musume’s Do It Now and Goto Maki’s Tear Drops. Along with these tracks, there were many other standout albums that were heavily influenced such as Hiromi’s Rainbow, Kato Miliyah’s Heaven, AI’s The Last Ai, Jasmine’s Gold, LISA’s Gratitude, BENI’s Jewel and Thelma Aoyama’s Diary.

Japanese R&B – The State of It All

[librarycards]

hello all, and welcome to your favorite book rec series! :) here are my favorites of the first quarter of 2024. it was, as always, a tough choice, and several 5-star books had to be left out. to see all of my book reviews/follow my reading life, add or follow me on goodreads (and check out my forthcoming novel on goodreads and storygraph while you're at it). I also recommend all kinds of media on my newsletter, which a couple hundred people seem to like!)

with that, here are my top 9 books (in no particular order) of jan-march 2024!

Raja Shehadeh, Palestinian Walks

Dorothy Allison, Bastard Out of Carolina

Megan Milks, Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body

Hiromi Goto, Chorus of Mushrooms

Carla Sofia Ferreira, A Geography That Does Not Hurt Us

Sam Sax, A Guide to Undressing Your Monsters

C Pam Zhang, Land of Milk and Honey

Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

Ulrich Jesse K Baer, Deer Black Out [I was lucky to get an ARC of this one; it drops in April!]

tagging people who are or might be interested below - but feel free to do this for yourself and tag me, i read every single one i'm tagged in and update my tbr accordingly! thanks for reading & loving this series as much as i do :3

@heavenlyyshecomes @communicationissues @fluoresensitive @gwenderqueer @capricornpropaganda @discworldwitches @stephen-deadalus @materialisnt @boykeats @growtiredofpublicvulnerability @flameswallower @closet-keys @fatehbaz @trans-axolotl @bioethicists @aldieb @petesdragon @passerea @lesbianlizzybennet @slowtides @felgueirosa @sadhoc @sawasawako @candiedsmokedsalmon @tirragen @punkkwix @feypact @abstractlesbian @crippleprophet and anyone who wants to!

[imaginariumgeographica]

book ask 3 and 18

3 I already answered but I am gonna cheat and talk about five other books I loved

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon - this book is a fucking experience. Books to stare out the window of the subway at nothing to.

System Collapse by Martha Wells - I could not fail to love another Murderbot book.

The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan - ditto another Percy Jackson book with the original three getting up to adventures and being best friends.

Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden - what a weird good little robot book! Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto - this was a random graphic novel I borrowed from overdrive in the time the library has been down and I really enjoyed it! Knew nothing going in and had a very good time 18 - How many books did you buy?

I always think 'I didn't buy that many books' and then I think for like 5 seconds longer and realise I in fact did. I bought at least 8. Possibly more. Likely more.

(The ones I can remember are Translation State, Under the Whispering Door (in Boulder!), Learned by Heart (in London), A Desolation Called Peace and Rivers of London (in Toulouse), Wintersmith, two Victoria Goddard books, and the 10th anniversary Ancillary Justice)

[vrysrsimportanttokushipbracket]

Total Vote Count!

Some final data for a true Eurovision style ending; counting up the votes themselves to see what the final placement is!

So, Who has the most dedicated fanbase?

Junichi Chouno/Tsubaki Shuuichi - 6 Kazuki Komon/Jun Himeya, Matoi Tatsumi/Yuji Kudo, Kouta Fukuda/Makoto Shidou - 14 Kiriya Kujou/Graphite - 19 Daimon Tatsumi/Eiji Nagase - 20 Shinji Kido/Shiro Kanzaki, Hayato Ichimonji/Amazon - 21 Parad/Kuroto Dan, Sougo Tokiwa/Woz - 22 Chihiro/Hiroki Nagase, Yuka Osada/Keitaro Kikuchi, Kuroto Dan/Emu Hojo - 25 Hikari Nonomura/Haru Tokashiki - 26 Right Suzuki/Z, Jun Maehara/Ryuusuke Ootaki - 27 Long/Rio - 29 Sosuke Esumi/Renn Kousaka, Kaoru Kino/Koji Majima - 34 Mirai Hibino/Ryu Aihara - 37 Belial/Kei Fukuide, Miyuki Tezuka/Jun Shibaura - 39 Tatsuya Asami/Ayase - 43 Lucky/Stinger - 49 Shou Tatsumi/Big Douser - 50 Kiriya Kujou/Emu Hojo - 55 Gunpei Ishihara/Hant Jou - 56 Matsuri Tatsumi/Denus, Basco ta Jolokia/Captain Marvelous - 57 Miyuki Tezuka/Ren Akiyama - 59 Haruka Mizusawa/Mamoru - 61 Homare Soya/Hiroyuki Kudo - 62 Sou Yaguruma/Shun Kageyama - 63 Urataros/Kintaros - 64 Sougo Tokiwa/Heure, Domon/Honami Moriyama - 65 Alain/Makoto Fukami - 72 Jin Takayama/Izumi Nanaha - 78 Kagura Izumi/Mio Natsumi - 81 Hayato Ichimonji/Kazuya Taki - 84 Hideyuki Kagawa/Satoru Tojo - 91 Sid Bamick/Joe Gibken - 93 Ryouga Hakua/Mikoto Nakadai - 96 Asahi Minato/Saki Mitsurugi - 97 Enter/Hiromu Sakurada - 106 Momotaros/Ryoutarou Nogami - 110 Joji Yuki/Shiro Kazami - 137 Balance/Naga Ray - 145 Ikkou Kasumi/Yousuke Shiina - 152 Yuji Kiba/Takumi Inui - 156 Ren Akiyama/Shinji Kido - 170 Miu Sutou/Saki Rouyama - 183 Shoutarou Hidari/Philip - 187 Hanaya Taiga/Hiiro Kagami - 192 Ruriko Midorikawa/Hiromi - 197 King OOO/Ankh - 202 Tsukasa Kadoya/Daiki Kaito - 203 Teddy/Kotaro Nogami - 232 Takeshi Kuroki/Masato Jin - 256 Jugglus Juggler/Gai Kurenai - 273 Shuichi Kitaoka/Goro Yura - 369 Akira Date/Shintaro Goto - 469 Yusuke Godai/Kaoru Ichijou - 485 Momoi Tarou/Sonoi - 534

Congratulations to winner of most dedicated fanbase; Momoi Tarou/Sonoi!

[gennsoup]

The words of one woman would not have turned the marching boots of men, but the pain of not having spoken, of not bothering to ask questions, still aches inside me now.

Hiromi Goto, Chorus of Mushrooms

[funguswench]

books i read 2023

- The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams

- The Magnolia Palace - Fiona Davis

- Everything that Rises Must Converge - Flannery O’Connor

- The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee - David Treuer

- The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah

- Happy Hour - Marlowe Granados

- Gone Tomorrow - Heather Rogers

- A History of the World in 6 Glasses - Tom Standage

- The Professor of Desire - Philip Roth

- I Used to Live Here Once - Miranda Seymour

- The Secret Life of Groceries - Benjamin Lorr

- Chorus of Mushrooms - Hiromi Goto

- It Can’t Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis

- The Secret Wisdom of Nature - Peter Wohlleben

- My Heart is a Chainsaw - Stephen Graham Jones

- Upgrade - Blake Crouch

- On Corruption in America and What is at Stake - Sarah Chayes

- Red Famine - Anne Applebaum

- Dune - Frank Herbert

- The Uninhabitable Earth - Davis Wallace-Wells

- Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

- White Fragility - Robin Diangelo

- Nice Racism - Robin Diangelo

- Japanese Ghost Stories - Lafcadio Hearn

- All That She Carried - Tiya Miles

- Entangled Life - Merlin Sheldrake

- Erosion - Terry Tempest Willisms

- Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

- A Room with a View - E.M. Forester

- Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver

- Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler

- Barkskins - Annie Proulx

- All About Love - bell hooks

- Communion: the Female Search for Love - bell hooks

- The Night Watchman - Louise Erdich

- The Well Gardened Mind - Sue Stuart-Smith

- The Gold Bug Variations - Richard Powers

[koholint]

today's playlist:

Chiaki Takahashi - Suteki na Holiday

Saori Goto - Omoide Christmas

Erena Kaibara - Egao ni Merry Christmas

Hiromi Tsuru, Miyuki Muroi, Run Sasaki - Jingle Bells ga Nakunatta

Susumu Hirasawa with Wakako Shimazaki - Africa no Christmas

Tomoko Tane - X'mas

MAHO-Dou - White Christmas

Midori Karashima - Hoshizora no Christmas Party

The Whispers - It's Christmas

Caoli Cano - Last Christmas

Lord Nelson - Party for Santa Claus

Klezmonauts - Oy to the World

The Free Design - Christmas is the Day

Megumi Nakajima - Ranka no "Kutsushita no Uta"

thanks for listening!

[emeraldreverie]

Loz Reads 2024 Roundup pt 2

(cont'd from pt 1)

I am an avid reader. Here's Storygraph links and my reviews to some of my faves that I read this year.

Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto

Riveting and charming. I loved the art - such a way with fluid space. A great story!

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

I loved this. Fucking politically convoluted and consonant packed names, but wow, so deeply emotional and desperately fascinating. Definitely recommend!

Pageboy by Elliot Page

Really open and moving, sometimes horrifying and too often relatable. I now aspire to their grace when reflecting on my own past selves.

Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story by Sarah Myer

Viscerally powerful. A deeply painful story told with clarity and hope, drawn vibrantly. I ached reading this, as another person who turned their (in my case mostly queer stuff) confusion on themself. I truly appreciate this story being shared.

In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee

Really good. Great art, with layers and density of story-telling. I am going to be chewing on this one for a bit.

In Transit: Being Non-Binary in a World of Dichotomies by Dianna E. Anderson

Truly excellent. A clear and well laid out exploration of where we are as nonbinary in our very specific snapshot of the world right now. A very good resource for any western wasp open to not being a bigot.

Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto

An interwoven masterpiece. I couldn't stop thinking about this book when I wasn't reading and I know I'll be turning it over and over again finding new facets and puzzles for a long time. Hard recommend.

I Want to be a Wall, vol 1 by Honami Shirono

I absolutely thoroughly enjoyed this. Immediately went to procure the second. Thrilled to have read this!

Blue Giant Omnibus vols 5-6 (and 7-8 and 9-10 all in one sitting fucking amazing series tbh) by Shinichi Ishizuka

Reading this manga makes me so happy.

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat vol 1 by Sakaomi Yuzaki

Really really cute and sweet. A warm blanket.