Another edition of Yay Books!

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7.) The One I Love (Watashi no Sukinahito) (CLAMP): sasami lent this to me to read, and I found it to be very nice. It's a collection of 12 short stories told through a few pages of manga and a short essay each, all dealing with the broad spectrum of love lives of 12 different girls. Even though each story is brief, I did find I managed to get a sense of each of the girls, and was able to get into their stories a little. Individually, the stories were a little hit or miss with me. Some of the stories, like "Insecure" and "Normal" I was rather fond of, while others, like "Suddenly", I didn't care as much for. Some of them had some interesting insights, such as the concept of what is 'cute' and what is 'pretty. And of course, it's CLAMP, so the art was lovely. It's a quick read, and a nice, feel-good quick read to boot.

8.) The Getaway Special (Jerry Oltion): I picked this up from a guy I knew at anime club who had bought too many books at a library sale, and wanted to get rid of some. I'm so glad I did. This book explores the question of what would happen if the world was suddenly given a way to jump across the galaxy in an instant, and that it could be done in anything that could be modified to hold air for the trip, and the aftermath of such a huge change. I think it was thoughtfully done, with questions of human nature and the barriers we would face when making first contact examined. The story clips along at a quick pace, but still manages to get enough detail in to keep it interesting. Combined with a light, fun writing style and likeable characters, this story was just a blast to read. Come for the septic tank spaceship. Stay for the intelligent butterflies.