… I promise I will post pictures. Those two previous posts were written with a clear mind devoid of images from Danbooru or anywhere else (I had no Internet back home), so I present them to you as that – just as a body of text hopefully possessing coherence and cogency.

(written on Nov. 3)

I’ve finally done a pogrom against hackneyed literature with the reading of Steinbeck’s The Moon is Down. His literature is not as terse or brief as Hemingway’s or as serpentine or long-winded as Faulkner’s, but I would argue that he’s among the best writers (American or not) of short novels (and novels at that), even better than the names I’ve mentioned above – Lupus (I wonder where you’ve got this name – this is an autoimmune disease, right?) noted two posts ago that he was bored witless with The Old Man and the Sea – to tell the truth, although I liked that novella, I’d say Of Mice and Men was written better than that. Though The Moon is Down isn’t as good a novel as Of Mice and Men, I’d say it still ranks well among the world’s classics. One can break a man’s heart; one can destroy everything important to that said man; but one can never break another man’s spirit – a man can be imposed on, but he can never be conquered unless he chooses to be. Although The Moon is Down was originally written to be a propagandist novel, I’d say it transcended that purpose and presented something more universal which are (from what I perceive) the ideas I’ve noted above. Having said that, I’m thankful that I’ve somewhat regained the sapor in reading that I temporarily lost with A Time to Speak. (more…)

(written on Nov. 2)

I guess that despite shooting all that flak towards A Time to Speak the novel had more of an effect on me than I liked to admit. I did not feel warm or fuzzy, however; nor did I feel awed or inspired with the book despite the author’s mastery of the English language. (Can you use shibboleth in a sentence without consulting a dictionary? That word alone was enough to wow me.) On the contrary, the novel’s aftertaste seemed like a partaking of a most unguent and sialoid gumbo without water to aid one in swallowing it. Swallowing a bitter almond with water may have been an easier task. (Never mind that it may be poison ) (more…)

I’m not really on hiatus; so to confirm that I am not, here’s an update. Be warned, however, that it would be mostly about books and partly about anime – the only anime episodes I have watched since arriving here in my home city were the first two episodes of Tokimeki Memorial ~ Only Love. Since this is primarily an anime blog, let me start from there. (more…)