Monthly Log: 01~03.26
Inspired by my good friend Laxy and the fact that I have a Now page but, since it's about the now, as soon as I'm done with things they're just gone. I thought I didn't care much but I quite enjoy reading other people's logs, so here's mine for the first three months of this year.
๐ Books
January
- ๐ Otherside Picnic 4 (Iori Miyazawa): Started this one in December and finished in early January. Last volume covering what I've already read in the manga, but loved it as always! When a story's all about unexplainable beings you gotta be creative to convey that in your medium of choice, and both the manga and the novel do that splendidly. I love comparing the two, and was so excited to read further than the manga at this point. Also, Sorawo's internal monologue is getting gayer and gayer.
- ๐ NeuroTribes (Steve Silberman): This took me most of the month, but it was well worth it. I've been diagnosed with autism in December and NeuroTribes gave me exactly what I was looking for: a good chunk of history behind the study of the matter, including the perspective of different people throughout the centuries. Fantastic book, and I've got a soft spot for Henry Cavendish now. I finished this one at the beginning of February, so I'm not going to repeat myself.
February
- ๐ No Longer Human (Osamu Dazai): A book I bought at the beginning of 2025 and only read because ALTER EGO reminded me of its existence. Loved it! Wow, this guy is miserable. It felt like the child of what I know of Pirandello (who I used to love as a teen) and Kafka, which reminds me I should really (re-)read some more of those two also. In any case, I will surely read more stuff from Osamu Dazai when I'm not feeling too depressed already. That ending was insane.
- ๐ The Pomodoro Technique (Francesco Cirillo): It's probably been 10 years or so since I've read this one, and I wanted to refresh my knowledge on the matter ever since I started "playing" Chill With You. What I didn't remember is that it's a very human book to have been written by an IT guy, something that's getting increasingly rarer. I quite like it.
- ๐ The Murders in the Rue Morgue (Edgar Allan Poe): Very short story I only read because of Wake Up Dead Man. It was alright, but mostly because it didn't keep me occupied for more than two evenings. Hopefully the rest of the list is more exciting.
- ๐ Otherside Picnic 5~6 (Iori Miyazawa): The mysteries of the Otherside are getting more and more exciting, Sorawo's in even deeper denial, I'm already mourning the day I'll be all caught up. My favourite chapters from these two were "Looking at the Past in the Diagonal Mirror" and, well, the entire volume 6 with "T is for Templeborn".
- ๐ Star Sword Nemesis (Christine Love): I've yet to play both Ladykiller in a Bind and Get in the Car, Loser! but I generally really like Christine Love's works, so when she published her first book I was very excited. I didn't like it much and found it kind of shallow to be honest, and not because of the porn. Which I didn't expect because I didn't even read the plot synopsis, whoops. The characters weren't convincing, the world-building felt at times preachy and as if it was supposed to go on for more but then it didn't, and these women had sex one time more than I could handle. Good for them and for Love because this is clearly what she wanted to write, but I guess this one just wasn't for me.
- ๐ Self-Reference ENGINE (Toh Enjoe): Another read thanks to ALTER EGO, I loved this one! Did I understand everything? Absolutely not, but it really was a vibe. Hard to recommend but if you like freaky sci-fi stuff please give it a shot. Finished this one in March.
March
- ๐ Roadside Picnic (Arkady & Boris Strugatsky): A friend has been recommending me this book ever since I told him I liked Otherside Picnic (we ended up recommending both to each other), so I finally gave it a shot. Man. You can really see the influence it had on Iori Miyazawa, and while I didn't enjoy the prose too much it did one hell of a job to tell this kind of story. The (most recent) Italian translation is great!
- ๐ NieR:Automata - YoRHa Boys (Jun Eishima): I'm not the biggest Automata fan, but this one made me want to watch the anime to refresh on my knowledge of its world. I didn't expect to like it this much! Watching the stage play soon with a friend. Much recommended, even more than Short Story Long (which has "A Much Too Silent Sea", my favourite side story in Automata starring my favourite character). Finished it just a couple of days ago in April.
Movies
January
- ๐ฅ The Muppet Christmas Carol: Watched this for New Year's. I needed a cozy movie. I got a cozy movie. No cheeses for us meeces has been a common vocal stim for me and my wife for the entire month of January.
- ๐ฅ Wake Up Dead Man: Loved it! More than Glass Onion, but not more than Knives Out. I took notes of all books mentioned in the movie, as I've briefly stated in the Books section, but I was incredibly excited when one of my favourite mystery novels (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) was mentioned!
- ๐ฅ Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Me and my wife have started observing a weekly-or-so movie night, and we were too beat to watch anything else. As we were about to skip that week, Monty Python appeared in front of us... stupid movie, but the good kind of stupid. We're keeping "Brian of Nazareth" in the back pocket for the next lazy movie night.
- ๐ฅ Anatomy of a Fall: We watched this one in two nights, and it was... alright? I didn't dislike it, but I'm not too enthusiastic about it either. At some point we started betting on the truth, and I won. Ha.
- ๐ฅ Temple Grandin: First of a series of movies we watched because "I saw this one on an Instagram reel". We both really liked it! It was when I was reading NeuroTribes, so it was kind of funny to first watch the movie of one of the first important names associated with autism not as a doctor but as someone on the spectrum, and then read about her. Recommended if you're not too sensitive about animals, because this is still a movie about the treatment of livestock also.
February
- ๐ฅ Ginger Snaps: My wife picked it as a "chill, stupid movie" because it's supposed to have inspired Jennifer's Body, a movie she adores. Unfortunately Jennifer's Body is a superior movie in every single way, so I didn't really care for this one.
- ๐ฅ No Other Choice: Best movie this month, hands down. My guy had several other choices and I could hardly keep myself on the seat as I watched him fumble. 110% recommended.
March
- ๐ฅ Space Jam: Guess who was too tired this week too. However, Space Jam is still a banger of a movie. It was also my first time watching it in English! I used to know the script by heart, but unfortunately I've lost this skill so I couldn't compare the scripts in my mind.
- ๐ฅ Rental Family: I liked it, but a bit too overhyped in my opinion. It was funny to hear the dialogue switch between languages. I feared it was going to be all about this one white guy but all the little stories and characters were nice and engaging, I had a good time with it.
- ๐ฅ Rent-a-Cat: Chill movie in which me and my wife ended up staring at all the cute cats for most of the time. I might've liked it more than Rental Family, but they're very different movies so I feel like comparing them is kind of silly.
Videogames
January
- ๐ฎ Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: Finished this one just the other day, at the end of March! I enjoyed it and the gameplay is fun, but I've found it generally shallow in the execution of its writing and I can't believe its characters have zero development throughout the whole game. Definitely not a GOTY, but I'll be playing some extras still and I'm looking forward to the orchestral concert I'll attend in May. I've felt pretty strongly about it, but after discussing it with some close friends I've made my peace with it. Anyway, Lune best character.
- ๐ฎ ALTER EGO: I don't know, this seems deep if you're 14 years old, I guess. The music is pretty nice (I recommend checking out its concerts), and I liked coming across books I'd never heard of. All the personality quizzes suck and nailed me down an embarrassingly low amount of times, which was quite alienating. But not as alienating as Es constantly hitting on me and getting borderline yandere when I don't reciprocate. I do not consent.
February
- ๐ฎ Alba: A Wildlife Adventure: My friend Laxy is once again responsible for reminding me I had yet to play this game on my list and she found it cute. What she didn't know, however, is that the controls on the iPhone are a NIGHTMARE. I can't even describe them. It was cute, I had fun (sort of), I'm never opening this game again.
March
- ๐ฎ and Roger: I bawled my eyes out. It made me think of a lot of things, including "wow I didn't cry this hard for Clair Obscur". Took me just one evening, please give it a try if you can.
- ๐ฎ Hello Kitty Island Adventure: This game is cute as heck, but I'm not really committed to it so I just turn it on when I feel like it. I'd been wanting to try it for a long time and I have it for free through Apple Arcade (just like Alba), so I thought "why not?". Vaguely reminded me of Lost in Blue, which I didn't expect at all!
- ๐ฎ Xenosaga II to III: A Missing Year: I actually watched the playlist, but since it's a visual novel I consider it more or less the same. Xenosaga is so fucking stupid man I love it. Some things were ridiculous (as always), others were incredibly interesting and I'm overall very glad I didn't dive into EP III before watching this one. I still dislike Jin Uzuki.
Misc
- I watched Xenosaga: The Animation with Laxy. It sucks. 10/10
- We also finished watching Mobile Fighter G Gundam this year, which is a vastly superior show and gave me so much joy and love.
- I bought a vinyl player and started expanding my collection with one (1) used vinyl (George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue/An American in Paris)
- Changed how I journal this year (more honest introspection) and so far it's doing me wonders. Might write a bit about it one of these days.