Weekly wrap up #1

This past week I've have read 6 books for my O.W.L.s.

I finished Convenience Store Woman  by Sayaka Murata (Charms). This is a novella translated from Japanese about a woman who works at a convenience store. She is feeling societal pressures to "get a career" and "grow up and get married" but she is content with things the way they are. She has difficulties with social interaction and relies on the store manual to guide her actions. This was interesting but I felt it didn't examine the subject enough. I gave it 3 stars.

Next I read the comic Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughn (Care of Magical Creatures). This was based on the true story of four lions escaping from the Baghdad Zoo during the Iraq war. There are some violent scenes which are hard to view/read. I gave it 3 stars.

After that I picked up Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta (Herbology). Set in Nigeria during the early 1970s during their civil war, this book focuses on a young lesbian girl who struggles as her mother and country try to squash out all homosexual thoughts and actions. It is beautifully written and I really liked it. I gave it 4 stars.

Next I picked up the manga Monster Vol. 1  by Naoki Urasawa (History of Magic). The premise is a young promising surgeon is told to operate on a politician but he instead chooses to save a little boy. That little boy grows up to be a serial killer and in his own twisted way, tries to thank the doctor by killing people that impede the doctor's success. Very gripping thriller and I can't wait to read the next volume. I gave it 4 stars.

Then I listened to The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud. This is the second book in the Bartimaeus trilogy. It is a children's fantasy story following the djinni Bartimaeus and his master Nathaniel. It was funny and enjoyable and I gave it 4 stars.

Lastly I finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Divination). I had seen the movie and enjoyed both very much. There is all sorts of wacky humor, a depressed robot, and the mice overlords! What more could you want? My eyes occasionally glazed over from all the "fake math and science" set to explain some occurrences but overall it was enjoyable and I will probably continue on in the series. I gave it 3.5 stars.

We're halfway through the month and I am now halfway through my O.W.L.s. I'm hoping to keep up good progress so I can complete them all.