flemmings | (no subject)

sho_sunaga, your 100 Demons book and the shitajiki arrived! Thank you so much- I'm so happy with it. The book was something I'd seen at bk1 and said No can't have, too expensive and you don't need pretty pictures you already own. Henh. I do *not* have those pretty pictures because they were Nemuki and bunko covers, so nnah. And am pleased that I needn't buy the later bunko vols to get the covers of, say, Uncle Kai and his bald horned youkai.

The obi bears the legend "beautiful to the point of sadness, gentle to the point of pain" which describes the illustrations well enough but not the series itself. Truly, where *does* this soft-faced bishi Ritsu come from? This is watercolour Ritsu, yes, as opposed to b&w pen Ritsu? How odd and intriguing that a character's character should change from medium to medium. But equally that Ritsu is impossible to write. Give him words and he becomes b&w Ritsu, not nearly as appealing a type as watercolour Ritsu. I suppose Ima-sensei may miss the softer gentler Ritsu, is why she draws him so much.

There's lots and lots of dragon Aoarashi in this book but only one youkai Aoarashi. My trouble is still that I don't find youkai of any sort beautiful or gentle, but if we go on looks alone, youkai Aoarashi has it all over dragon Aoarashi and certainly Anything With Horns.

Also finished rereading Hexwood last night. Diane Wynne Jones has this black hole aspect to her books, or some of them: I don't quite get them when I read them and I can't remember afterwards what happened in them. Granted, Hexwood is deliberately structured as a 'go back and reread' book, or reread while reading book, and I did both the first time. This time... things make a bit more sense, I suppose. I'm still not sure what happens in it. Next up in the 'I don't remember a thing' queue is Conrad's Fate, which is not supposed to be a problem book, and about whose action I remember literally not a thing.