Books I read this week (2025.11.30–2025.12.6)
I read 6 books this week.
"Genroku Hyakuyobako" by Keibun Tanaka
The incident where Asano Naganori slashes Kira Yoshinaka was secretly orchestrated by the existence of Yoshitsuna and Keishoin, who were supernatural beings. This is an irregular Chushingura by Keibun Tanaka. It was interesting how he wove in conspiracies involving beasts, precognition, human-faced sores, and tsukumogami, making it a wild yet entertaining take on the Chushingura story.
"Nazoya Coffee Shop: The 21st Challenge" by Kyosuke Minezuki
The concept cafe "Nazoya Coffee Shop" in Kanazawa continues to welcome people today while struggling with human relationships and troubles. This is a series of short stories set in a real-life shop. I thought it was a puzzle-solving book, but it was a proper mystery. It was quite a dark story. It also discusses various aspects of running a business; it sounds tough.
"First, Reboot. IT Support: Rina Mitsuishi's Mystery Solving File" by Masamune Masaki
Rina Mitsuishi, who works in IT support, is always receiving help requests, from equipment issues to human relationship problems—a workplace novel about solving them. First of all, is it okay for an IT department to be that busy? I was particularly bothered by the employees who come to ask things they could easily find out by searching, like how to fix Word when it switches to vertical writing, or how to change it back when text switches from insert to overwrite mode...
"The Entangled Star Dreams of the Farthest End" by Yuto Ichikawa
Reiji lands on an unexplored planet for a space development competition, but discovers the corpse of a competitor who should have been in a different sector. It is a sci-fi mystery that handles its setting well. The mechanics and the story meshed together nicely, and it was interesting. However, I felt the intermissions were a bit unnecessary.
"JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Crimson Testament" by Keiji Ando / Keito Obita / Ballad Kitaguni / Kira Tsukinami / Denki Eido / Ayato Toritani
A collection of spin-off short stories about the assassination team and the guard squad from JoJo Part 5. Except for Risotto, the enemy team stories were all duos. They range from trivial daily life to ongoing assassinations. Some characters are surprisingly softer than in the main story, and there are also stories about Sorbet and Gelato that were never depicted. I was caught off guard, and the stories about Ghiaccio and Melone made me laugh.
"Is Exorcism a Housekeeper's Job? Kasumi Shobo's Ghost Case Files" by Mikage Sawamura
Akio, a part-time housekeeper, is assigned to a new client, Toru, a shy secondhand bookstore owner. Toru also happens to be an exorcist. It's a buddy story about a housekeeper and an exorcist. I felt the underlying setting and the interaction between the two were quite similar to other series, giving it a strong impression of being a rehash. It is light and easy to read, so we'll see how it goes if it continues.
Bonus
I bought 4 books this week. I bought books from authors I follow and some that caught my eye on the web. I hope to read a few of them before the year ends.
Thank you for reading this far.
#Reading #ReadingRecord #BookReview #BooksRead #BookImpressions #KeibunTanaka #KyosukeMinezuki #MasamuneMasaki #YutoIchikawa #KeijiAndo #KeitoObita #BalladKitaguni #KiraTsukinami #DenkiEido #AyatoToritani #MikageSawamura