Reading

The vast majority of my reading this last decade has revolved around academic and professional research. I will not be sharing any ongoing research for the time being, but I may share a bit about my past work later.

I have recently gotten back into recreational reading, and was relieved to discover I have a more-or-less normal reading pace. Excessive nonfiction research led me to become a very slow, plodding reader, and I have often found myself a far slower reader than my peers.

Danmachi (English: Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?") by Fujino Ōmori:

Hold on, hear me out for a second. It's not that bad I swear!

I will be the first to admit that the English title is mercilessly tacky. However, after getting through the 5-season anime, it had me hooked. Just beneath the seinen harem isekai cringe surface is a charming story. Characters have believable chemistry with the lead, and with each other, and the setting is compelling. Season 4, a beefy two-parter, is good stuff.

I found out that one of the femme leads' personality was absolutely butchered by the show-runners, and she and the protagonist's dynamic is radically different in the light novel. So now I am four volumes into a 20-and-counting volume series. I will share my thoughts on it later.

Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding... Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis by Sam Anderson

As a fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sam's book is a great example of both community history and sports history. I enjoyed my time with it, but dropped it about a third of the way though when life got in the way. With the Thunder competing in the Finals for the second time in the team's short history, it makes me want to reflect on the ups and downs that have come since 2008.