naivette entries page 5

The Apothecary Diaries Volume 14 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. Published by J-Novel Club.

We're finally back to Maomao's perspective this volume. There are a few light mysteries, but most of the intrigue of this book was the background politicking.

We get to see how the "Named Clans" meeting proceeds, as Lahan drags Maomao into the proceedings for the La Clans's benefit. Taomei also works hard to setup the match between Basen and Lishu, and we see Lahan's Brother (Kan Junjie) finally show off his husband-potential. Unfortunately, he ends up interested in the wrong person!

Spoilers

I know that En'en is basically in love with Yao, but I also think it would be really cute if she caught feelings for Junjie, since he fits En'en's criteria for an "ideal master". Yao even told her in the last book that En'en should marry that "ideal master" herself! Yao meanwhile, is making zero progress with Lahan, but honestly I'm not expecting anything there. (RIP Yao, hopefully you have better taste next time LOL)

We also get further into the mystery of the Book of Kada, and learn a bit more about Tianyu's family and Joka's role in all of this.

It seems like similar to how one of the overarching threats of the last arc was the locust plague, this time it will probably be smallpox. This has been hinted at ever since the introduction of Kokuyou, the weird doctor with the scars that Maomao helped on the way back from Western Capital (the first time). I'm curious to see how they might implement a large scale vaccination program, as that would be the only realistic solution to avoiding economic and human loss from such a disaster.

I also appreciated learning more about Suiren, and seeing Lihaku and Basen's friendship in this book. As always, this book flew by quickly, and I'll be eagerly waiting for the next one in September.

Usually, it's for emotional reasons.

I love reading light novels, to the point where I run a blog about my book impressions!

I have Ascendance of a Bookworm to thank for that. It’s the only series I own both physically, and digitally (DRM-free from J-novel). However, there are other series that I made the decision to only own either digitally or physically.

I love using my Kobo ereader. It’s light, and I can use it to read in bed in any comfy position I want, even at night. I could have chosen to transition my personal library entirely to digital, but there are series that I insist on buying physically. Usually, it’s for series that are either: emotionally important and/or nostalgic, the art is so pretty I had to have it, or it’s not available digitally.

I thought it might be fun to briefly go over some of my collection (in no particular order), and explain why I made the decision to buy either physical or digital (or both!). I also included my favorite volume cover (so far) from each series!

Ascendance of a Bookworm - Physical and Digital

I originally read this digitally at the library, and I was so addicted that I needed to read the most recent releases. I started pre-ordering the books from J-Novel club when I caught up so that I could read the pre-pubs every week. Since Bookworm was the only series that I was reading from J-Novel club, it was cheaper than subscribing. Even now, I prefer ordering books from J-Novel rather than subscribing. Also, I find You Shiina’s art absolutely stunning. I went ahead and bought this physically after the fact, and I’ve been buying the volumes as they come out.

The Apothecary Diaries - Digital

I absolutely love this series (especially since the anime convinced me to start reading while it was airing!), but I honestly think Touko Shino’s art is just OK. The illustrations sometimes don’t cover the “best” moments of the series. Either way, I’m fine with supporting this one digitally.

Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes - Physical

It’s a touching series of found family, and I appreciate the occult elements in this story. I honestly find the two main duo so adorable, and they immediately settled into a married couple routine (love that for them). The art is great too, too bad there are no inside illustrations.

The Twelve Kingdoms - Physical

It was the art OTL. Look at how pretty Youko is!! I also really liked the anime by the end, it was such a unique story. I’m excited to continue collecting and reading this series, and I intend to compare it to the fan TL by Eugene Woodbury. Having a physical copy will be helpful for that, as I’ll have the fanTL on my eReader.

Ishura - Digital

I really enjoyed the anime for this, and the art is awesome! I just don’t have enough room on the bookshelf for this, plus I actually like using my eReader to take notes and highlight information to refer back to it later.

Lout of Count’s Family - Digital

I initially started buying this digitally when I was just trying out the series. It seems like the art is really nice in the later volumes (still no inside art), and I am quite enjoying the story. Not sure if I’ll switch over to physical for this series though, maybe in the far future when I have more room LOL.

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint - Physical

I haven’t even read this series except for the preview, but I already know this is probably going to be squarely in my strike zone. Also the art is absolutely gorgeous, and the covers are quite unique in their design (they have a cut out with art underneath).

Lord of Mysteries - Physical

I only just started watching the donghua, but I am SO locked into this series right now. I haven’t even received the book, but I’ve been reading the chapters on Webnovel in the meantime. I’m already loving the story, so I had to go physical with this one. The covers are pretty cool, but I might have chosen to go digital with this one if the option was there. However, I did not want to pay Webnovel so much money for not even a damn DRM’d epub from a reputable ebook seller. If Webnovel goes down, your paid content disappears too, and I’m not about that life.

A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy - Digital

Honestly, the only reason this is digital is because I first started reading it from the library, and then I decided to buy it digitally to support the author. Cross Infinite World’s digital releases precede their physical ones by a month or two. It’s short (only two volumes which are basically the 1st and 2nd half of the story), and it’s one of my favorite otome series. I basically read the second volume AS SOON as it came out, and digital was great for that.

If you read till the end, I hope you had fun! Are you mainly into physical or digital books? If money and/or space were no issue, which series would you collect, and how? I would love to hear about it in the comments or a form reply (find links below!)

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