Books I read in December 2014: lady shoguns, Sailor V and sauna

December books are introduced to you by Bunka!

Books:

Milk Morinaga “Girl Friends: The Complete Collection 1” [Japan] 

Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb “I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban” [Pakistan, UK] 

Fumi Yoshinaga “Ōoku: The Inner Chambers” vol. 1 [Japan] 

Fumi Yoshinaga “Ōoku: The Inner Chambers” vol. 2 [Japan] 

Fumi Yoshinaga “Ōoku: The Inner Chambers” vol. 3 [Japan] 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “Purple Hibiscus” [Nigeria] 

武内 直子 「コードネームはセーラーV」 (Naoko Takeuchi “Codename Sailor V” vol. 1) [Japan] 

Short stories:

Inkeri Kontro “The Dying Embers” [Finland] (a sweet and weird fantasy short story about... sauna!)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “Tiny Wonders” [Nigeria] 

S.L. Huang “Hunting Monsters” (a dark fairy tale subversion in short form)

Girl Friends

A yuri manga that reminded me of school times... because the heroines kept talking about makeup and fashion and I was so bored. :D I thought I'd like the romance in this story but I didn't ship anyone after all. o_O

I Am Malala

“When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. 

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.” - from Goodreads

I shared quotes from this book earlier here. An inspiring story about one girl's fight for equality in Pakistan.

“The Malala Fund believes that each girl, and boy, has the power to change the world and that all she needs is a chance.”

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers (大奥)

“In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Red Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun's Inner Chamber...” - from Goodreads

A dark and romantic story with a very beautiful art. I enjoyed the first volume, but volumes 2 and 3 are even better. Perfect for the fans of alternative history, Japan and examinations of gender roles in society.

Bunka really likes all those pretty boys. Ahem.

Bishōnen overload!

(Why can't I draw like that?!)

:D

Aww!

Purple Hibiscus

“Fifteen-year-old Kambili’s world is circumscribed by the high walls and frangipani trees of her family compound. Her wealthy Catholic father, under whose shadow Kambili lives, while generous and politically active in the community, is repressive and fanatically religious at home.” - from Goodreads

This novel is set in Nigeria. Main character and narrator Kambili doesn't do much. Stuff happens around her and to her, and she just passively observes or does what other people tell her to. It's all about her abusive, controlling father who beats his kids and wife. So I wasn't surprised when SPOILER the father died, and thus the novel was over. I guess there wasn't anything else worth telling about Kambili's own life without him? Oh, and the titular hibiscus? It's her brother's plant.

Codename Sailor V

This is a Sailor Moon predecessor. Sailor Venus is a superpowered girl who fights crime! It's a cute story that later grew into Sailor Moon, one of the biggest manga/anime franchises in the world. I liked it a lot. ^^

Many funny moments in this manga, but then sudden sadness. :'-(

Huh, most of my December reading was about girls, gender roles and women's rights. That wasn't intentional, but I'm glad it happened. ^^ Also, all these writers are women. I used to read 80% men so it's really nice to do a bit of misandry for a change. :D