![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Reading and Stuff
Feb. 10th, 2021 12:26 pm As I believe I've mentioned previously, most of what I've been reading this month has been manuscripts.
The Loft offers a service to novice writers where they can get their manuscript critiqued by a professional. The service is really expensive, honestly. I suspect that's one of the reasons I normally only get two or three of these in any given year--that, plus the fact that a LOT of science fiction and fantasy writers know that they can get this service for free, by looking for beta readers. Obviously, I offer something of a much higher quality and in greater depth than presumably your friends would give you, but... combine that with the cost and you can sort of see why I'm not regularly completely inundated with these requests.
Except, currently, I am.
I have four clients at the moment. That's four, full manuscripts that I'm critiquing both for overarching issues like character, plot, theme, etc,, but also at a very line-by-line level. I don't do copy-editing (you read my blog, you KNOW I would be terrible at that,) but I do react to various happenings on the page, both as I'm going along and, then again, in a second read through.
So, that's what I've been reading lately. I'd like to say I'm enjoying it? But, you know, it's work.
However, I've still found time to consume a couple of anime. I ended up watching a heart-warming slice-of-life called A Place Further than the Universe / Uchuu yori mo Tōi Basho. The story follows a girl who, in her second year of high school, comes across her half-started middle school diary in which she made a list of things she wanted to do to "make the most of her youth." Feeling like she might never get a chance once high school is over, she is determined to try to check a few things off on her bucket list. One of them is: go on a spontaneous trip to somewhere you've never been before.
In the way of anime, it turns out that that place is Antarctica.
It's actually a really lovely story. I was surprised to see that the Wikipedia article talking so much about the humor of this anime. I didn't find it particularly funny, beyond the inherent absurdity that a group of high school girls would be able to actually find their way onto a civilian research vessel headed to Antarctica. But, honestly, the story works hard to make that seem at least plausible?
I found this story to be the 'good tears' kind of heartwarming. But, no lie, GROSS SOBBING. The ending is does NOT pull any punches and I sobbed into my kitchen sink (I watch most of my anime while doing the dishes) for a solid half hour.
The other show I just finished was actually similarly slice-of-life as A Place Further From the Universe, but lightly science fiction/fantasy. It was called: Erased: A Town Without Me / Boku dake ga Inai Machi. This one follows a glum mangaka who has hit a wall in his career and has taken a part-time job as a pizza deliverer. Everything about this guy is super gloomy, he's 29 and has no friends and I started this thinking, "Oh, boy, well, we'll see how long I last," and then he's zipping about on his moped with his deliveries and there's this like pulse or shock that goes through the universe and suddenly the scene is starting over. The sad sack guy is all, "Where is it? What's different this time?" and we find out that ALL ALONG he's had a super power he calls "Revival," where he is pushed back in time (often only a few minutes or so) in order to avert some misfortune. Like this time (and I feel okay telling you this, because it's in the first ten minutes,) he is able to stop a runaway truck from killing a kid who is a school crossing guard.
Then, before the first episode even ends they introduce a murder mystery, and , as I told a friend, at that point I was ALL IN.
Having literally just finished the last episode this morning, I can highly recommend this one, as well. I figured out the murder mystery before the hero did by quite a few episodes. However, that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story at all. I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing. I may have lost some sleep last night staying up late to watch it, in fact.
So that's me. What are you all reading or consuming on this fine Wednesday?
The Loft offers a service to novice writers where they can get their manuscript critiqued by a professional. The service is really expensive, honestly. I suspect that's one of the reasons I normally only get two or three of these in any given year--that, plus the fact that a LOT of science fiction and fantasy writers know that they can get this service for free, by looking for beta readers. Obviously, I offer something of a much higher quality and in greater depth than presumably your friends would give you, but... combine that with the cost and you can sort of see why I'm not regularly completely inundated with these requests.
Except, currently, I am.
I have four clients at the moment. That's four, full manuscripts that I'm critiquing both for overarching issues like character, plot, theme, etc,, but also at a very line-by-line level. I don't do copy-editing (you read my blog, you KNOW I would be terrible at that,) but I do react to various happenings on the page, both as I'm going along and, then again, in a second read through.
So, that's what I've been reading lately. I'd like to say I'm enjoying it? But, you know, it's work.
However, I've still found time to consume a couple of anime. I ended up watching a heart-warming slice-of-life called A Place Further than the Universe / Uchuu yori mo Tōi Basho. The story follows a girl who, in her second year of high school, comes across her half-started middle school diary in which she made a list of things she wanted to do to "make the most of her youth." Feeling like she might never get a chance once high school is over, she is determined to try to check a few things off on her bucket list. One of them is: go on a spontaneous trip to somewhere you've never been before.
In the way of anime, it turns out that that place is Antarctica.
It's actually a really lovely story. I was surprised to see that the Wikipedia article talking so much about the humor of this anime. I didn't find it particularly funny, beyond the inherent absurdity that a group of high school girls would be able to actually find their way onto a civilian research vessel headed to Antarctica. But, honestly, the story works hard to make that seem at least plausible?
I found this story to be the 'good tears' kind of heartwarming. But, no lie, GROSS SOBBING. The ending is does NOT pull any punches and I sobbed into my kitchen sink (I watch most of my anime while doing the dishes) for a solid half hour.
The other show I just finished was actually similarly slice-of-life as A Place Further From the Universe, but lightly science fiction/fantasy. It was called: Erased: A Town Without Me / Boku dake ga Inai Machi. This one follows a glum mangaka who has hit a wall in his career and has taken a part-time job as a pizza deliverer. Everything about this guy is super gloomy, he's 29 and has no friends and I started this thinking, "Oh, boy, well, we'll see how long I last," and then he's zipping about on his moped with his deliveries and there's this like pulse or shock that goes through the universe and suddenly the scene is starting over. The sad sack guy is all, "Where is it? What's different this time?" and we find out that ALL ALONG he's had a super power he calls "Revival," where he is pushed back in time (often only a few minutes or so) in order to avert some misfortune. Like this time (and I feel okay telling you this, because it's in the first ten minutes,) he is able to stop a runaway truck from killing a kid who is a school crossing guard.
Then, before the first episode even ends they introduce a murder mystery, and , as I told a friend, at that point I was ALL IN.
Having literally just finished the last episode this morning, I can highly recommend this one, as well. I figured out the murder mystery before the hero did by quite a few episodes. However, that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story at all. I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing. I may have lost some sleep last night staying up late to watch it, in fact.
So that's me. What are you all reading or consuming on this fine Wednesday?