I continue to think about an anecdote related in Soseki's novel Mon of a geisha who read the Analects over and over and talked about Confucius's disciples like they were characters in a tv show

you should read The Carnal Prayer Mat. it might help for your VN research

note no. 4 made me smile lol. great points about how "great classics" were viewed in their time though; i wonder what books/tv shows/etc. from our time will be revered as classics later on. maybe one of those uninspired booktok romance novels bc they're indicative of this era? i mean romeo and juliet was mid too

you never know, especially in america there's a long history of writers being rediscovered and appreciated only far after their own time..."Vast populations, towering cities, erroneous and clamorous publicity, have conspired to make unknown great men one of America's traditions. Edgar Allan Poe was one of these; so was Melville."-jlb

"analyzing themes" can also be fun outside of a school context. i see it as a form of play. i despised english class but now i act like an english teacher online...

very true - i like reading classics but i find myself doubting if im 'reading it the right way'.

reading can be so performative too (either listing/reviewing what you've read publicly or holding the "aesthetically correct" book on the subway) that people approach reading joylessly... i gotta read The Classics so i can impress The Onlookers... agreed re: reading has developed this patina of ERUDITION that so need not be the case

don quixote is interesting because it really does feel like it contains every idea in any novel ever written subsequently. also a "cute girls reading" anime does exist (Bernard-jou Iwaku) and as one of the MAL reviews points out, actually faithfully replicates several aspects of 2016-era /lit/ discourse (the power of convergent evolution).

chicken thighs are so underrated

i basically self-insert as Rei from NGE... i'm never gonna make it

fwiw i didn't have self-inserters in mind when i wrote that...

kaworu lads rise up

also where's the obligatory review on gurren lagann?

what i review is entirely based on random whims... i haven't even reviewed the majority of my favorite shows yet

now that you mention it there's no review of iruma either... though I can only guess as to what your favorites are

in my drafts i have this gag review of iruma s1: ＹＥＡＨ！バビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビバビ

You read, right? Have you read Xxxholic or Land of the Lustrous? (I want to give you trauma.)

i'll look for those

"but i HAVE to get the most out of my vacations." Shocking words to hear from the lips of a man who calls himself "The Suboptimalist"

oops, was i not optimally suboptimal

"it’s about how a man went from wanting to kill himself to wanting to live forever." incredibly sinister sounding sentence

i'm your biggest fan

then good news, this is my longest blog post ever

tbh this made me want to go on a cruise ship less but i'm glad you guys had a good time

your associates are very amusing to me. how do you meet these people LOL

these escapades were rather funny + entertaining which is a good thing i guess. the writing is somehow witty all while somehow feeling like it's not making any concious attempt at being so. although tbf it's probably quite easy to have me find something "interesting" considering i spend 95% of my time in my house and the outside world comes across as some sort of "novelty expedition" to me

well, i thought i was pretty clear about that, we met playing minecraft

Curry while camping... yummy! 🤤