Reading Right Now! (123)

What I'm Reading Right Now! is...

--Bakuman, Volume 1 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata-- I just started this one, and am so far intrigued. This is a manga unlike any I've read before. It's about these two boys who team together to create their own manga, become manga artists! It just seems like a very interesting premise, kind of going behind the curtain of what it takes to make the manga I'm now holding in my hand. This manga is from the guys who created Death Note, which is another manga I enjoy.

The most interesting thing about this so far is experiencing another culture. I already knew some stuff about Japan. The importance of education and school especially. This manga has further cemented the amount of pressure Japanese kids face with their education and their future. I don't know if I could handle it. Deciding what you want to do with you life at 14 years old, I'm a whole lot older than that, and still have no idea what my future holds. The amount of pressure to succeed, get good grades, get into a good school, the idea of failure is terrifying. 

It's also really interesting because a manga artist career is considered a gamble with your future, something not worth the risk. I mean, I guess it is kind of a gamble, but why give up on something you are passionate about and good at? It's just interesting thinking about what would have happened if I had been born someplace else, what would my future have been?

Anyway, I think I'll have no problem finishing this this weekend, and then hopefully I can get to something else. Maybe a review book. Maybe another manga. Who Knows?

This book is definitely in the running for possible read next though:

--House of Ash by Hope Cook-- I need to get better with reviewing the books I request off of Netgalley, especially if I want to become a serious reviewer and get approved for more Netgalley e-arcs. It's just hard for me to pick up an e-book when the feel of a physical copy is just so right. You know what I mean? Anyway, this book doesn't come out until September 26, 2017, but I shouldn't procrastinate. 

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! and my plans for what to read next. What are you reading?