So, I want to say that I’ve been too busy to read this summer and keep y’all updated, but the reality is that I just haven’t read a lot of Asian authors and also I was lazy. I finished off all of my in-class schooling and I just didn’t want to do anything. Also I fell back into the Dungeon Crawler Carl books and that had a lot of my focus. But there have been a few Asian authors I’ve been reading since June, so lets have a look at what I recommend and what I’d warn against 👀
Manga, Manhwa, & Graphic Novels
This simple, character-driven story is just lovely. It’s the story of a friendship that develops between an apathetic, unfocused kid on the verge of dropping out of school, and the energetic but weird new kid in school. This is a fantastic tale about neurodivergent kids finding friendship and teaching each other the skills they need to get through life. The author has stated emphatically that this is not going to be a BL series, so come for the friendshp and stay for the friendship.
Tower Dungeon Vol. 1 was a disappointing manga for me. I liked the idea of the story. I’ve been reading a lot of dungeon adventure literature lately and this was the least engaging one for me. The artwork is messy and done in a way that makes it hard to focus on what’s important on the page. There is nothing eye-catching to help with the storytelling. It felt more like a sketched outline than a completed story. I won’t be reading further in the series.
To start off we have a BL manhwa called Radio Storm Vol. 1. This is a future dystopic tale about a world ravaged by plague. Some survivors have developed unique gifts that allow them to help the remaining humans in the new world. The story centres a young man who’s powerful sense of smell is not considered particularly useful. He is bullied at the training facility. He learns of the concept of a Caller, who will amplify his power, and he sets out into the wilderness to find his. I found the method of this storytelling to be unnecessarily chaotic and the romance unpleasant. The romance leans too much into violence and sexual assault. I won’t be reading future volumes.
A while back we did an entire episode on Cells at Work. If you listened to it, you’ll know that I checked out almost all of the various Cells at Work versions. Of the different ones I read, Cells at Work Baby was by far my favourite. Written in the same style as the original, this one looks at everything from the start of a new life. When an earthquake destroys the world as the cells know it, they have to learn how to do everything for themselves for the first time. It’s a fun science lesson with adorable artwork.
Novels
I really loved the English translation of this light novel. If Solo Leveling gave birth to Dungeon Crawler Carl, Omnicient Reader’s Viewpoint would be the story. The main character is Dokja, a bored office worker who’s been the lone follower of an obscure online novel. One day, on his way home from work, he gets a message from the author thanking him for following the story. The author tells Dokja that the book is about to be put behind a paywall, but as a gift for his loyalty gives Dokja a copy of the entire story. Which is great because the story is about to come true. Similar to Solo Leveling in that the main character is the only one who knows what’s going on. Similar to Dungeon Crawler Carl as our world is thrust into videogame-like violence with an average guy becoming a hero who helps others. Totally unique in the story that it tells and the characters it creates.
Continuing on with my recent dungeon stories and LitRPG focus, we have Dungeon Tour Guide by Chinese-American author Aaron Shih. This is almost a slice of life story about a guy named Lucas who was isekai’d into a world of magic and adventurers and accidentally becomes a dungeon. Lucas controls both the dungeon he’s now a part of and the body of a high-level healer. As such, he decides to style himself as a tour guide healer who helps new adventurers learn about beating dungeons and leveling up. The audiobook for this is great, but it’s narrated by a middle-aged man. This is totally fine and really fits with the way Lucas is portrayed, except he’s meant to be a teenager. The audio gets a little weird when the book starts hinting at a romance with teenaged adventurer Rose. Otherwise, 10/10 for easy, fun reading.
Kakigori Summer is the story of three sisters who’ve drifted apart over the last few years. When their youngest sister, a famous jpop singer, is caught in sex scandal her older sisters gather her up and take her off to their childhood home. The story looks at the relationships of the sisters to each other, their living grandmother, and their dead mother. There is some romance, but the main focus is the way that their mother’s mental illness left scars on the girls. The fear that their youngest sister is suffering from the same struggles as their mother did affects the sisters in different ways. This was a beautiful and satisfying read.
Special Mentions
The author of this cookbook isn’t Asian, but he definitely deserves a shout out from this podcast. For anyone familiar with our YouTube channel, you might know that we have a monthly livestream we call Roll for Drama. In our livestreams, we create the best kdramas that you’ll never see on tv. We were inspired by Roll for Sandwich, a TikTok series where the creator eats unique sandwiches based off the roll of his dice. This book has stories about the author and includes both his favourite combinations, and some of the absolute worst abominations ever created. It also includes forms and instructions for creating your own sandwich roll set up. It’s a very fun idea for a cookbook.
Well, that’s it for my summer reads. Hopefully I’ll stay more on top of these posts for the future months. Have you read any of these books? What did you think about them? What books had your attention this summer? Any recommendations? Let me know! And if you haven’t already, check out my birthday episode about the book Water Moon.
