cornerofmadness

We’re only a few days from our May Patreon panel. Relationships Beyond Romance will be at 6 p.m. Eastern time (converter) on May 24th – a 1-hour, convention-style panel held via zoom for backers who support our Patreon at the $7/month, $10/month, and $25/month levels.

Description: Romance is fun to watch and read, but while it’s far from the only relationship dynamic possible between people, all too often, romance is emphasized and placed on a pedestal compared to relationships with friends, family, peers, colleagues, and others. This panel, we take time out to place the emphasis squarely on the platonic, to examine why we value relationships that aren’t romantic and why we think they’re important to feature in books, TV, movies, and other media. Topics include: what do we mean by romance, and what do we mean by non-romantic relationships; what dynamics attract us and why; what are some of our favorite stories that focus on platonic relationships; how can we diversify our media consumption and creation; and a discussion of why we think all this matters.

Panelists: Rhosyn Goodfellow, Vee Sloane, May Barros, and E. Conway

Nina Waters will serve as moderator.

Already a Patreon backer? I hope you’ll join us! Not a backer yet? There’s no time like the present to become one!

1. What are you currently reading?

I've got about 100 pages of The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fishvol. 4 (and final vol.) left. It hasn't been as painful as expected lol (I was dreading it being as kid-focused as vol 3, but so far mostly the kids have been pushed to the side and the focus has been on more political stuff). 

2. What have you recently finished?

• Hitorijime My Hero vol. 14 by Memeco Arii: now that I've fully got a grasp on who all these characters are, I can say I've basically enjoyed this series. I kinda want to reread the beginning cause I can't really remember it anymore. Vol. 15 is out but not on any of my Libby libraries so dunno when I'll be able to read more.,
• Fire Force vol. 1 by Atsushi Ohkubo: saw the anime being advertised on Crunchyroll and got curious. It's fine I guess. Pretty standard. I'm gonna read another couple volumes and see how I feel. I tried ep 1 after I read it but I bounced off the English dub voice actor for the mc, oh well.,
• Mobsters in Love vol. 1 by Chiyoko Origami: surprisingly funny mob BL. Basically The Way of the Househusband if they were both men and both still gangsters (and, well, less stand-alone shorts, more of a continuing plot. but the vibes are very similar).,
• Kirby's Lessons for Falling (in Love) by Laura Gao: surprisingly unmemorable modern wlw. The mc and ml's reasons for caring for each other never really clicked for me, and the emphasis on Christianity made sense in context but didn't really work for me personally.,
• Haikyu!! vol. 26 by Haruichi Furudate: the last few volumes kinda dragged for me but we're getting back into competition stuff and I suspect it'll be more engaging going forward.,
• The Way of the Househusband vol. 5 by Kousuke Oono,
• Acid Town vol. 3 by Kyuugou: god someone needs to give Yukio a hug, like, a fully consensual hug he actually wants,
• Leap by Simina Popescu: contrasting with Kirby's Lessons, this was a surprisingly memorable modern wlw. I really really appreciated that (SPOILERS) the characters being in relationships wasn't the end game. The lesbian rep in a book focused on romantic relationships gone wrong and platonic friendship gone right was wonderfully refreshing.,
• A Lovestruck Cat Wants to Be Petted by Nira Kaneyuki: modern with a splash of magic yaoi. Cute, but the transitions from cuteness to explicit stuff were extremely abrupt and jarring.,
• I Ship My Rival x Me vol. 3 by PEPA: modern BL. a reread for me now that the print official English version came out. Reading vol. 3 made me want to go back and reread vol. 1 and 2 (again), lol. Wei Yanzi is such a fuckin' clown.

3. What will you read next?

Next novel is still A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine - now that I'm not sick anymore I feel mentally up for something new. :D My next Libby read is My Beautiful Man vol. 3 by Yuu Nagira, and my next physical library read are like 5 volumes of Moriarty the Patriot by Ryosuke Takeuchi.