Booknook

Picked up 'Gangsta.' vol 6 by Kohske, years after finishing vol 5. I was planning to finish the volumes released so far and sell my collection; now I'm planning to re-read them all. A very dark manga set in an Italian style city; two 'Handymen' (hitmen) for hire, one of whom is considered subhuman by wider society for various reasons, find a sex worker who joins their little group. Meanwhile, the mafia and the cops have complex interactions and there's a ton of blood and murder, including of children. I appreciate the various types of rep - one of the main leads is d/Deaf and uses sign language to communicate, while there are various brown or Black characters who aren't drawn or portrayed as racial stereotypes.

Currently half way through 'Gangsta.' volume 7; I'll be sad when I've caught up with what there is, the series went on hiatus after volume 9 several years ago.

My pre-order of 'Somadina', the latest YA by Akwaeke Emezi, arrived yesterday and I read it to the end last night and this morning. Stunning and intense, like all Emezi's work I've read so far. It's a fantasy inspired by the author's own Igbo culture and spirituality, with a pair of twins given unusual magical powers.

And I read 'A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch' by Jill Murphy (third in the Worst Witch kidlit series about a witch at a boarding school, both older than HP and meant for a younger audience.) This was mostly for nostalgia but it was fun and sweet overall! I was kinda eh on her ending up kidnapping a girl and hiding her in her own room at the end for a short while, even if it was so she could fulfill a promise. The art by Jill Murphy is also very good.