insaneneko

1. Christopher Walken "performs" Lady Gaga's Poker Face, so much better than the original video. The song is kinda catchy, but that video is stupid.

2. NightS is an amusing one-shot by Yoneda Kou, available for online reading (in English, I couldn't find it in Japanese) at mangafox. A transaction between a yakuza and a transporter becomes more. I like the end! I'm not sure if she was actually trying to be hard-boiled, but if she was she failed. But it didn't need to be gritty, it was just fun to read.

3. I am in love with Koibito koibito henjin by Torimaru Chiiko and illustrated by Nara Chiharu. It's first person, in Kansai-ben, switching POVs between the two main characters (mostly, there's one or two others as well). The characters are teen-aged delinquents going to a school famous for their delinquents. They like to brawl. A lot. One likes to brawl everyone and everything, too dumb to pick up the subtleties of alliances and allegiances. The other is the top of his school and always has to clean up after the dumb one and scold him (which always includes some hitting). In one of his scolding moments the not-dumb one, Kyousuke, decides the dumb one, Natsu, needs to be taught a lesson. Which of course means sex. They have the oddest relationship, in that it's rather non-con and they fight every time Kyousuke wants to have sex. And the sex mostly means Kyousuke getting his way and dominating Natsu. Yet it seemed like an extension of their non-sexual relationship (the fighting and the jockeying for position that is their way of life) that it didn't seem so off-putting. It is also very obvious that they are very fond of each other, even if the way they actually showed their affections was sadly lacking. I also think the Kansai-ben helped a lot. The two were cute, despite the violence and the non-con because they contrasted so well with the pure love they had for each other (no joke). XD; I think it may be tough to read for someone who is very unfamiliar with Kansai-ben. It's full-on dialect, not just dialogue but narrative since it's first-person POV.

I like the way the book starts out, Kyousuke's POV:

「友達以上、恋人未満」...とか。
そんな陳腐な言葉で要約される。おれら。

友達以上やけど、恋人とは言えへん。
でも好きやねんけど。
それがオレとナツの関係。
...っていうのは、ナツがそれ（恋人っちゅーの）を頑に拒否しよるからや。
オレはええねんけどな、全然。コイビトでも。

ナツはオレのこと、「好き」とも言いよらん。
だから、いつか言わしたろうと思ってる。

I love how Kyousuke basically states that someday he'll *make* Natsu say he loves him. So frank, so full of confidence that he will.

4. English books I want to read:

On Food and Cooking, a book that combines science, food, history, and a whole lot more. Sounds great!

The Year of Living Biblically, a book I'd heard about before but hadn't wanted to read until I read rachelmanija's review.

I didn't know Doushitemo furetakunai by Yoneda Kou had been made into a drama CD! I have listened to it twice and have fallen in love with the story all over again. They did a *great* job with this one. It helped that it was a two disc set, so they could develop the story properly. The voice actors were wonderful. Shima was done by Nojima Kenji, Togawa by Ishikawa Hideo. I don't know the latter, but the former I'm quite familiar with through the Kusareen no housoku drama CDs. He plays Ryuuhei, a very happy-go-lucky character, in that one. What a difference! In any case, love love love this drama CD. Not too much sex, not *too* much angst (the weakest part of the story had been when there was too much full-blown angst, IMO), and I love hearing the line about Shima being so expressionless he's like an ornament so he should be called "Shima-chan" to at least make his name cute. XDXD;

Download here.

Doushitemo furetakunai by Yoneda Kou is a completely different kind of manga from Otona Keikenchi but just as shiny. This one's angsty and tense. Shima falls for his new boss Togawa, but can't express his feelings because of a past trauma. Togawa is outwardly very tactless and forward, but is in fact very considerate. Though he also has a traumatic past, he's able to express his feelings for Shima straightforwardly. Can Shima overcome his trauma and let himself love?

Like I said, angsty (and conventional). Sometimes I want to smack the characters for being stupid and messing up their chances for happiness in this kind of story, but in this case I can totally forgive Shima because the situation is so deja vu for him. He's mostly repressed rather than emo, which is a state I prefer for my angsty characters. It also helps that Togawa is almost always outwardly light-hearted. XD

( total and utter spoilage via pics )

Looks like it hasn't been picked up by a scanlation group? Hope it does get picked up...