In this volume of Oishinbo the topic of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer is very prevalent throughout. Organic grown vegetables is the way to go. Which is all nice and everything, but I’m not sure if it’d change my grocery shopping habit. I find it hard to justify the double or triple price of organic food for daily consumption. Occasionally, maybe. Or if I cook only for myself, not for a bunch of family members who eat a whole lot more than me and may not appreciate the whole organic thing price-wise.

Perhaps I should read more on this topic?

2009, 268pp

This month’s task for Hello Japan is about Japanese cooking. Contrary to the lack of cooking post in Bookie Mee, I actually love to cook (who doesn’t if you love to eat?!). And Japanese is my favorite type of cooking, at home or outside. Will try to post something else before the end of the month, but if not, I have this post for submission :).

Bacon wrapped asparagus yakitori. My favorite! Yum! (photo source)

My next Oishinbo is Izakaya: Pub Food which I’m currently reading. I’ve committed to reading the whole series and only have a few more to go!

More in the series (links to my reviews):
Oishinbo a la Carte 1: Japanese Cuisine
Oishinbo a la Carte 2: Sake
Oishinbo a la Carte 3: Ramen & Gyoza
Oishinbo a la Carte 4: Fish, Sushi & Sashimi
Oishinbo a la Carte 5: Vegetables (this post)
Oishinbo a la Carte 6: The Joy of Rice
Oishinbo a la Carte 7: Izakaya: Pub Food

Oishinbo (美味しんぼ, lit. “The Gourmet”) is a long-running cooking manga published between 1983 and 2008, but only in 2009 it is published in English in thematic compilation volumes (7 volumes so far), which means they contain “best of the best” and do not follow the original manga chronological order. There are a few minor storylines that jump forward and back. But I guess in the big picture of things, it does not matter that much, because the food is really the central of excitement!

The big question throughout this volume is What constitute real Japanese cuisine? What menu is essentially Japanese? In Oishinbo: Japanese Cuisine we learn more about sashimi, rice, and green tea. (I love sashimi. I can keep eating sashimi if it’s not so expensive!) There are different cuts of sashimi, different fish (obviously), and even different way of “cooking” it, one of them with a complex method of using a special type of rice paper and pouring boiled water over the rice paper and the skin side of the fish so that only the skin is cooked, not the flesh. Definitely not something you can do at home! Then there’s one chapter about cooking rice competition. It’s later revealed that the winner hand-picks the rice so they are all the same size and cooked evenly at the same time. Talking about serious cooking!

So yes they can go a bit over the top, although are seemingly realistic at the same time. As a foodie, I just found it a joy to read a book that treats food with so much respect. The green tea ceremony at the end of this volume was a nice closure that reflects how respectful the Japanese are.

delightful sashimi (source)

2009, 272 pp

The volumes in this series (links to my review):
Oishinbo a la Carte 1: Japanese Cuisine (current post)
Oishinbo a la Carte 2: Sake
Oishinbo a la Carte 3: Ramen & Gyoza
Oishinbo a la Carte 4: Fish, Sushi & Sashimi
Oishinbo a la Carte 5: Vegetables
Oishinbo a la Carte 6: The Joy of Rice
Oishinbo a la Carte 7: Izakaya: Pub Food

A rather late shout for Bellezza’s Japanese Literature Challenge IV which runs until the end of January 2011. I’m not sure if I get a chance to read a Japanese novel before the end of January (so far I’ve read only manga), but I’ll try!

In Discworld, a Wizard is chosen to be one and he must be the eighth son of an eighth son. One day however, an old Wizard bestowed baby Esk a staff, one requirement to be a Wizard, ignorant to the fact that Esk is a girl. As Esk grows up and starts to show signs of magic power, Granny Weatherwax, the Witch of the village where Esk lives in, takes her under her wing. But Granny is a Witch, while Esk is supposed to become a Wizard. So starts their journey to the Unseen University, where wannabe Wizards study to be real Wizards. Naturally, it’s not an easy journey for Esk (and Granny) as they navigate through the misogynistic world of the Wizards and hear too many times: Girls can’t be Wizards!

Unfortunately I did not find the book as exciting as I expected. Perhaps it was my fault to start this book right after One Hundred Years of Solitude, but it just felt bland and far too light. It wasn’t as funny as I expected and the story wasn’t as deep as I wanted. It took me a while to get through the book even though it’s rather thin and light in content, because I could never really get into it. I needed to push myself to finish it so I can at least say that I’ve read Terry Pratchett.

Don’t get me wrong. Equal Rites was not bad, not at all. It was just… ordinary, when I want wow-ness from my books. Esk’s story is a typical hero’s journey and there isn’t enough twist and turn to make me excited. It was not a very satisfying read for me.

I know lots and lots of people love Pratchett, book bloggers and even several of my colleagues in real life alike (who all pushed me to try his book). But we didn’t click, Pratchett and I. I’m not sure if it was just the timing, but it might be a while before I try another of one of his books.

I’m sorry you guys. I’m just as disappointed as you!

1987, 283 pp

First Line
This is a story about magic and where it goes and perhaps more importantly where it comes from and why, although it doesn’t pretend to answer all or any of these questions.

Challenges
Terry Pratchett Challenge

Also reviewed by
another cookie crumbles

I am never a fan of war stories. I avoid them like a plague. I don’t exactly hate them, just have very little to no interest in them. Unfortunately war stories with mice made little difference to me, as Mouse Guard was far from rocking my boat.

The illustration is very beautiful and the mice super cute that I could enjoy it as a picture book. But the mice look so much alike with each other that it’s almost impossible to distinguish them if not for the fur colours, and the storyline somewhat choppy (on top of it being a traditional war story to begin with). At times I wasn’t sure who was who doing what at what time. It also bothered me that the actions were not drawn to simulate movements (no action lines or blurry ends for speed). The images are far too clean. Stillness instead of excitement, which is the complete opposite of exaggerated movements and emotions in manga. I once mentioned my observation of “static” drawing that I often found in Western graphic novels or comics, and the weakness couldn’t be more emphasized in what is supposed to be full-action comic like Mouse Guard.

Overall, I was underwhelmed. Mouse Guard is part of a series and I don’t think I’m rushing to get to the next book. Recommended if only for the illustration, but don’t expect too much for anything else.

2007, 176 pp

Challenges
Graphic Novels Challenge 2010

Also reviewed by
In Spring it is the Dawn | Sasha & the Silverfish

But there are really something about these stories that make you want to read more. (Otherwise how do I get to the third book?) They are weird and hypnotic, they pique my curiosity. What’s going to happen next? How many weird stories can Neil Gaiman pull off? How many tricks does he have up his sleeve?

Dream Country has 4 stand-alone short stories. In Calliope a writer who’s desperate for ideas makes a dirty deal to get Calliope, one of the Muses in Greek mythology. He keeps her like a pet, raping her body and mind for inspiration for his later successful novels. (Told you it was sick)

In A Dream of a Thousand Cats, one cat goes on a journey to find answers to life. There are lots of miserable cats here. Too bad I’m not a cat-person, so I don’t relate much to their misery.

Third story is A Midsummer Night’s Dream in which Shakespeare and his group of actors perform in front of The Dream King and his fantastical friends. The short won The World Fantasy award for short fiction in 1991, apparently the first time for a comic book to win this category. I know A Midsummer Night’s Dream from various sources (never read the original), but I still found the flow kinda confusing. It was hard to know which one was real and which one was not. I imagine it would be mighty difficult for someone who has not known the play to follow the story.

The last story Façade is my favorite, though it’s not less disturbing. It follows the life of a forgotten DC super hero: Element Girl, a girl whose superpower is transforming her body to any natural elements, but as a trade she looks absolutely freaky, almost like her whole body is burnt. Unwillingly retired, she is incredibly lonely and unable to end her life because of her body condition. Like a lot of other Sandman stories in the previous volumes, I needed to wiki my way to find out the background story to get the full picture.

The real highlight of Dream Country for me though is this quote I found in the book:

“Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and adventures are the shadow truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes and forgotten.”

A treasure.

1991, 112 pp

Challenges
Graphic Novels 2010 (book #8), Once Upon a Time IV (book #6)

Like all good adventure story, Bone is ended with a great battle between good and evil ala The Lord of the Rings (not that I’ve read or watched LOTR). Bone series has been such a fun journey and I’m sad that it has ended, though the ending is pretty open to possibility of a sequel. But really, Jeff Smith has spent almost 10 years to complete Bone, so let’s give the guy a break.

To recap, I wrote some sort of reviews for almost every single volume, except no 2: (Well, if not full review, it’d be an exclamation “Hey, another great volume!”)

1. Bone Vol 1: Out from Boneville
2. Bone Vol 2: The Great Cow Race
3. Bone Vol 3: Eyes of the Storm
4. Bone Vol 4: The Dragonslayer
5. Bone Vol 5: Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border
6. Bone Vol 6: Old Man’s Cave
7. Bone Vol 7: Ghost Circles
8. Bone Vol 8: Treasure Hunters
9. Bone Vol 9: Crown of Horns

If I can encourage you to read one post, it’d be the first one! I wrote a rather lengthy post when I first read Bone in late 2008, in which I compared the Bone brothers with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy (I’m so surprised nobody else has!), the comparison between graphic novels and comics, and Bone the game.

It’s hard to give rating for individual volumes at this late stage of a series, but as a whole I would give it:

Took half a star off, just because some parts of storyline left me confused near the end. But the humour and characters are great, the drawings are always amazing. It’s a fantastic series and very well worth reading!

I guess this means goodbye to Bone for now… *sob*

Challenges
Graphic Novels 2010 (book #2, 3)

Also reviewed by
Beth Fish Reads: Treasure Hunters | Crown of Horns (I’m so impressed that Beth managed to properly review each volume!)
Things Mean A Lot | nothing of importance (the entire series)

Oishinbo (美味しんぼ, lit. “The Gourmet”) is a long-running cooking manga published between 1983 and 2008, but only in 2009 it is published in English in thematic compilation volumes, which includes: Japanese Cuisine, Sake, Ramen & Gyôza, Fish, Sushi & Sashimi, Vegetables, The Joy of Rice, and Izakaya: Pub Food (7 volumes so far). Thematic compilation means it contains “best of the best” and does not follow the original manga chronological order. There are a few minor storylines that jump forward and back. But I guess in the big picture of things, it does not matter that much, because the food is really the central of excitement here!

I saw some of the volumes at Sydney Japan Foundation Library and picked the Ramen volume out of whim, since I LOVE Ramen.

If you think you don’t like ramen, well, let me tell you, you just have not eaten the good one. Believe me, I know! I used to think I only liked dry or fried noodle, not soup noodle. But then one day, I tasted the BEST RAMEN EVER (I absolutely do not exaggerate). With one sip of the soup, I could hear the birds chirping and see the sun rise in dramatic scene.

It was divine.

The broth, the noodle, the soya egg, the roast pork. Cooked to perfection.

I never look back ever since. It is my mission in life to constantly look for a perfect ramen.

In this volume of Oishinbo, you’d find many people go very serious over a bowl of ramen. Who could blame them?

Look at the soupy goodness.

(Photo from actual ramen that I ate)

Apart from ramen, there are also gyōza (dumpling) episodes. Being a huge foodie that I am, it was fascinating to learn so much from a manga. There are many comparisons to Chinese food (chūka ryori), since many Japanese food are originated from Chinese food. There are history of Japan and China relationship, making of noodles, miso, bonito, kurobuta (black pig), the sauces, and more.

The food names are all in Japanese and there are notes at the back of the book that explain everything, which is exactly the way I like it (notes at the bottom of the pages would be more convenient, but some of them are obviously too long). I hate it when they translate food items to English. Not only on food, the notes also explain cultural elements that may not be obvious to foreigners, for example sempai-kōhai (senior-junior) relationship.

One interesting note is about how the word used for the title is not “ramen” in Japanese, but rather chūka soba, or Chinese noodles. Although the term chūka soba can be used interchangeably as a name for ramen, it also refers specifically to the noodles themselves, which are Chinese in origin. Because “ramen” is the name by which almost all Westerners know the dish, that’s what they’ve decided to use in Oishinbo.

I have fallen in love with the series, so I’ll continue reading the others. Highly recommended if you’re interested to learn more about Japanese food and culture, in a fun way at that.

2009, 272 pp

Challenges
Japanese Literature 3 (book #4), Graphic Novels 2010 (book #1)

I love Japanese cooking shows. They make everything so dramatic. Have you watched Iron Chef? You should watch Iron Chef. It’s the most exciting cooking show ever. The Japanese one, not the US remake one (though the latter is not so bad). For anime, Yakitake!! Japan is very fun series about a boy whose dream is to become a bread master. I kept wanting to eat bread the whole time I watched it. When I was small, I used to watch Cooking Master Boy (or I think that’s what it was). I love to watch the reactions of the people eating the food. I think that’s how I learned to be excited about food.

This is my last book for Japanese Literature Challenge 3, which ends today. I’m going to post my wrap-up tomorrow. So see you then!

Bayou is an online comic by Jeremy Love, which first appeared at Zuda Comics, and later out in print as the first printed book format work to be released by the online website.

The story is a mixed of fantasy and reality, reality which is based on the oppressed era for Black people (1930s America). Our heroine, a little girl named Lee, has her world turned upside down when her white girl friend is missing and her father is accused of kidnapping her. Trying to find her friend to save her father, she goes on a journey, meeting many colorful characters and facing lots of dangers.

I first heard of the comic from Nymeth and had been thinking about it, since I fell in love with the art straight away. Somehow I missed her saying that you can read the comic online (doh!). Luckily she mentioned it again during the last Dewey’s read-a-thon and I quickly went to the website to read it.

I’m so happy that it’s available online so I could satisfy my curiosity for a bit. The artwork is fabulous. Great great stuff. Unfortunately with the speed of my Internet connection, I needed to wait for a few seconds to load each page. Not the best way to read a graphic novel, for sure. I forced my way through, but with some extra effort on my part. It did diminish my full enjoyment of the comic, so I’m hoping that I can get my hands on the physical copy for the next volumes.

If you have excellent Internet connection, please, go for it! Unlike normal comics, Bayou was made to fit into computer screen, so you don’t have to drag the picture up and down like if it follows the traditional vertically longer book format. Make it full screen to get the full-blown excellent artwork :)

I struggled a bit with the Southern accent at times, but that’s probably just me. All in all, Bayou is a fantastic graphic novel. It’s heart-wrenching at times because you know some bits were true in real world, yet the fantasy elements make it such a great adventure story in itself.

Before you get all disappointed because you expect giant bunnies roaming around the world (I know I did), the bunny appears only once in dream. But what a fantastic bunny :)

2009, 256 pp

Challenges: Graphic Novels (book #20)

Also reviewed by
Things Mean A Lot | Stuff As Dreams Are Made On |  A Striped Armchair | Jenny’s Books | Libri Touches

The holiday time is coming closer and I find myself just want to indulge in light reading. I came back from the library last week with heaps of graphic novels. I heard a couple of times before how people who never read comics can get confused about where to look on the pages, since there are many panels and text floating all over the place. That amused me. For me comics are my comfort reads. I often have to hold myself not to go nuts over them, otherwise I can just keep reading days after days, forgetting to do anything else.

But it’s (almost) holiday time, I finished almost all of my challenges, and I’m giving myself a break over serious reading.

I started with Bone Vol 6: Old Man’s Cave and Vol 7: Ghost Circles. Good old adventure story with light humour. I quickly reserved the next and last two volumes from the library and they’re on my bedside now. (There are 9 volumes of Bone altogether, and there are a couple of standalones based on the series.)

In Old Man’s Cave we get to know more of Lucius and Grandma Ben’s past and who the Lord of the Locust is. More of that in Ghost Circles. I still don’t quite get what Ghost Circles are. Some parts of storyline get a bit confusing.

The references to Moby Dick is endearing like always. The part where the Bone brothers turn into characters from Moby Dick is so funny!

for both
1999, 2001

Challenge: Graphic Novels 2009 (book #18, 19)

On the first night the sisters stay, Colin Piggy, the youngest of the three pigs gets killed. That’s gruesome. It is somehow disturbing to see one your fairy tale character gets killed, and for not a very good reason too in my opinion. They’re supposed to be immortal. But in Fables apparently they can die.

So Snow is forced to investigate and we are introduced to the rebellious force in the farm. Of course, at the end justice is served and the fables seem to be able to sort things out once again. Like the first volume, it’s pretty good introduction to the world of fables.

Some new fairy tale characters that make appearances are the ones from Three Little Pigs, Jungle Book, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and random giants. Does anyone know from which story Little Boy Blue comes from? (Okay I just searched Wiki and he’s apparently from some obscure nursery rhyme.)

2003, 128 pp

Also reviewed by

Sophisticated Dorkiness | avidbookreader.com | The Written World | Things Mean A Lot | Stuff as Dreams are Made on | Rhinoa’s Ramblings | A High and Hidden Place | Blue. Bold. Adventure. | The Book Zombie | Fyrefly’s Book Blog | everyday reads

My other reviews of Fables series: Fables Vol 1: Legends in Exile and Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall