hoorah and not so hoorah

[bookzombie]

Good news
3 boxes of books bought (alliteratively) at/post Wiscon arrived this morning
We are now pre-booked for next year's Wiscon
I've caught up on the Fruits Basket mangas.

Bad news
P. is still not well: feel a bit sick and light-headed. She's got a doctor's appointment today so we'll see what happens.
We've nowhere to put most of the books that have just arrived(must do more reading then...!)
I've caught up on Fruits Basket. Volume 11 is out in August, then they seem to be coming out in four-monthly intervals (I think that there is supposed to be 16 altogether).

Comments

[replyhazy.livejournal.com]

1. Tell P. "get well soon." Hope nothing is seriously wrong.

2. Make books into a coffee table. Just build pillars out of them and stick a piece of thick glass on top.

3. Fruits Basket. I have heard all sorts of interesting bits and pieces about this, but nothing coherent. Can you provide a rough summary?

[bookzombie.livejournal.com]

I started to respond to this a couple of days ago and accidentally deleted my answer before I posted it!

Anyway:
1. Thanks for the concern. She's got one of those viruses that go around every so often. She's been exhausted all week but starting to be a little more herself now. She's hoping to be back at work on Monday.

2. I'll bear that in mind...

3. Okay, very quick summary. A recently-orphaned teenage girl, Tohru Honda, is living in a tent in the woods. On the way to school one day she finds the house of Yuki Sohma, a boy in her class at school. There are a group of girls at school who call him 'Prince Yuki' and, essentially, worship the ground he walks on. He does not enjoy the attention.

A rockfall buries Tohru's tent so she ends up being invited to stay at Yuki's home (well, actually the home of his cousin (I think) Shigure) - in return for housekeeping for them.

At this point another relative, Kyo, appears and gets into a fight with Yuki. In trying to separate them Tohru discovers the family curse: certain members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals that correspond to the signs of the Chinese Zodiac. When they are tired or stressed, or are hugged by someone of the opposite sex they temporarily turn into the equivalent animal. The exception is Kyo, who turns into a cat - an animal which, according to legend, did not make it into the zodiac because it was sleeping and the rat didn't wake it.

Gradually Tohru gets to meet other members of the family and acts as a catalyst - getting them to change their attitudes to each other and the world. Oh yes, and also it becomes clear that both Kyo and Yuki are falling in love with her.

I admit that it doesn't sound that exciting from the description, but actually it is both very funny and poignant (we were both reduced to tears at several points). In the last couple of episodes of the Anime it also gets pretty dark.

The only downside I would really say it has is that Tohru is made to appeal to the Japanese ideal of female behavior: always cheerful and rather more subservient than I'm entirely comfortable with.

But highly recommended anyway.

[sdn.livejournal.com]

i just wanted to wave hi to say i have an lj too. i am also prebooked for wiscon next year! i was in australia this year, so missed it.