[Reading Log] Books I enjoyed reading in July 2025 | SF, Rescue, Battle of Wits

About this series

I will post books I want to talk about individually as separate "Book Review" articles, but I have decided to summarize other books I've read in this format.

📚 July Reading Record and 3 Recommendations

I love reading and read around 15-20 books every month.
I read most of them on Kindle, and the genres are mostly mystery and coming-of-age novels. Occasionally, I also read harder books related to work.
Out of the 13 books I finished (including one on Audible), I will introduce 3 that were particularly interesting!

Some are available on Kindle Unlimited, so if you're interested, please check them out!

📕 Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea (Sarah Pinsker)

・I read it on Kindle Unlimited.

Synopsis

A collection of SF short stories. The settings are all different and not interconnected, and the stories unfold mainly through the protagonist's monologue without much background explanation. For example, it seems like some kind of major disaster happened in the past, but we don't know what it was, and the protagonists are traveling through a place where there is nothing.

Impressions/Notes

The short story 'Her Low Hum' was good. It's a story about a grandmother who dies, the father buys a robot grandmother, and although the protagonist disliked it at first, they end up taking it with them when they escape from their hometown for unknown reasons, and after moving, it comes to be accepted as a new presence. This has something in common with 'Honshin' (Keiichiro Hirano). Although, since that one lands in a way that involves separating from the <mother>, it's different if you look at it that way.
Overall, it was a book with an atmosphere like reading while listening to stylish jazz, smoking a cigar, and drinking whiskey on the rocks.

📘 Southern Alps Mountain Rescue Team K9: Red Overhang (Akio Higuchi)

・I read it on Kindle Unlimited.

Synopsis

On Mt. Kita, the second-highest mountain in Japan, there is a mountain rescue team that possesses rescue dogs. Crimes and love-hate relationships of the secular world collide on that mountain ridge.
This is the 9th installment. It depicts incidents lurking in the shadows of mountain accidents and child neglect.

Impressions/Notes

I love dogs, so I love stories where dogs appear and play an active role.
I've read quite a few of the K9 series. I think I've read all the ones available on Unlimited?
There are many highlights, such as hard training scenes, thrilling rescue scenes, cute scenes of May, the Border Collie rescue dog the protagonist takes with him, and battle scenes by his colleague, the beautiful karate expert Shizuna.
However, the trends and characteristics of each work are gradually becoming scarce, and I feel like Shizuna is going on a rampage in every work.

📗 Landmine Glico (Yugo Aosaki)

・I listened to it on Audible, but since it seems to have almost half (47%) points back now, I'll post the Kindle link. It seems there is also a comic adaptation.

Well, I can really see why it would be adapted into a comic.

Synopsis

A collection of linked short stories featuring school life, beautiful girls, and battles using original games.
To decide on an exhibit for the school festival, the first-year protagonist challenges the student council to a match using a traditional game. The game proposed by the student council is 'Landmine Glico'.
In this game, which is based on the 'Glico' game where players climb school stone steps by winning rock-paper-scissors, each player places landmines on three chosen steps. If an opponent steps on a landmine, they receive a penalty of moving down 10 steps. The first one to reach the top of the stairs wins. Which steps should you place the mines on? Should you win with rock, paper, or scissors? That is the nature of the battle.

Impressions/Notes

The story features many (about six?) battles using original games like the one described in the synopsis. The characters are well-defined, including a cool student council member, a playful first-year girl, and a flustered Watson-esque protagonist. Yugo Aosaki is an author I like, but when he writes a male protagonist, he creates a cringeworthy otaku that you'd be embarrassed to show anywhere (like in 'Gymnasium Murder'. I love that story, but the protagonist's character design is too otaku-ish). When he writes a female protagonist, he creates the ultimate heroine that a cringeworthy otaku would dream up, which you'd be proud to show anywhere. No wonder it got a manga adaptation. I want to see it visually.
The protagonist of this work is essentially Tenma Urazome (the protagonist of 'Gymnasium Murder') with the cringiness removed and sexiness and flirtatiousness added. I'll include Tenma Urazome here as well.

✍️ Conclusion

So, those were three books I introduced from my July reading.
It was a month with quite a variety, consisting of two short story collections and one series entry. I plan to loosely summarize the books I enjoyed next month as well. I hope this serves as a reference if you are wondering what to read next.

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