So, I read quite a bit. I’m not saying I’m the massive reader I was back in high school, when my time was free (because I never did homework) and my book purchases were fully parent-subsidized, but I’ll admit to being the type to read the cereal box at breakfast (or the shampoo bottle in the bathroom) if there’s nothing else around me. My eyes just constantly look for letters to stare at.
I also read romance novels. I don’t have a lot of them (unless you want to take the Poison Study approach to what you consider romance novels…) mainly because I don’t need a lot of them. The mood that strikes me to want to read an actual romance novel (as opposed to a novel that happens to have romance in it) doesn’t strike often, and I do a lot of re-reading in general anyway. (And it’s more cost-effective to spend more money on book cravings which strike more often.) However, I have no problem going into the Romance section of the local bookstore and snagging something from there. I don’t feel I need to hide it under a “real” book, or excuse it by saying it’s “for a friend.” I read for pleasure, and a book is a book, after all…
No, my guilty secret is online crack, manga specifically. When you see large time gaps between books showing up on my Goodreads list? It’s because I’ve gotten lost over at Onemanga.com. Goodreads doesn’t have sections for Fanfic, webcomics, or fan-made scans/translations of Japanese comics, after all.
On the one hand, that sucks. The fact that I’m reading anything (regardless of if it’s hours spent staring at my monitor or curled up on the sofa with a book) is good for mah brains, after all. It may not be giving me the mental workout I would get if I were reading James Joyce, but that’s not what I’m doing it for. (And besides… ew, Joyce.) But there’s always that little bit of shame that I should be doing something more useful with my time when I start reading Harry Potter slash fanfic, or re-read the archives of a webcomic, or spend a couple days going through 110 issues of Death Note scans.
So, yeah, that’s my guilty secret. Sorry if y’all thought it was going to reference skeletons in the closet, or a secret love of paisley prints. But when you start to wonder why my Goodreads isn’t updating, now you know why.
Marianne's Musings 
Dangabbit, woman!
…I didn’t even know Death Note was available, and now I know how I’M spending the rest of my day.
I wish I could afford manga books. I truly do. When I was in Japan, they were incredibly cheap, like two bucks apiece. I would love to collect Fruits Basket, for example, or find out what was REALLY supposed to happen in Berserk.
And my supply of anime trickled off in the middle of Death Note, which I adore. “I’ll give you this strawberry if you promise not to tell anyone.” and the totally epically casual chip-eating scene. Awesome.
Right, I’m rambling. Woo manga. Woo romances. Woo not being ashamed of romances, woo reading, and woo someone ELSE who read like a fiend in high school and no longer does due to time and monetary constraints.
whoops! The problem with guilty secrets is you always think you’re alone.
But yeah, Onemanga has the complete Death Note, including the “about the storyline” errata. I’m not certain about Fruits Basket… hrm… Oh! Yep they do! http://www.onemanga.com/Fruits_Basket/ Looks like Dark Horse gave ’em a cease and desist for Berzerk, unfortunately. (Judy’s reading that. It takes up two shelves so far.)
The Death Note anime was apparently on adult swim. With digging, you can find it on http://www.veoh.com/ (I use Wikipedia to find the episode names for the anime, then look for Death Note {episode name} and have pretty good luck. Of course, I found a high quality version in the original Japanese (english sub) of episode one, so only being able to find dubs past that makes me a sad panda. Speaking of expensive, buying anime? Hello pricetag!
I’ll also admit my giddy love for the silly/bawdy stuff. Yuki Kaori is one of my favorites, particularly Ludwig Kakumei which is fractured fairy tales (which I love) coupled with long, drawn-out dirty jokes (which I also love) plus is pretty to boot.
Oh oh oh! Have you seen Dragon Half?
*cackles madly* Talk about silly stuff! I love that thing, including the closing song.
My friend and I still randomly look at each other and burst into song. “Oh, what a lovely, empty shiny head!”
TOMATO WATAME
WATASHE NOMONO
*cough*
It was the first anime DVD I bought. When frustrated with my mother (back when I lived at home) I would turn my speakers up all the way and blast the song on repeat.
Passive-aggressive, but amusing.
Not the tomatoes, the tomatoes they are mine!
*glee*
You can have the octopus. I hate the way it looks.
zomg I am so in ❤ with you right now *laughing*
*cackles* Same here. I have never in my life met anyone else who enjoys Dragon Half at all, let alone delights in it the way I do.
Also, that means you might be one of the only people on the planet who might understand why I named my raptor pet on my hunter “Roshii”. And why if I had a raptor wearing armor, he’d have been “Mecha-Roshii”.
Every time I summoned him, my brain went “ROSHIII! *SCREE*”
The Mighty Domaramu is confused!
hahahaha! See, I’d be more likely to do that with a plainstrider. Because their “charge” sound sounds even more like Roshii than the raptors does.
I’m lucky, the friends who really introduced me to anime had Dragon Half in their collection, so I got suckered in early. David also likes it. Judy always gives us the “wtf” though. Silly Judy.
To be fair to poor Judy, it’s not exactly introductory anime.
Not that I care. It’s hilarious. And now I’m going to watch it again tonight. I haven’t infected a friend with it in ages.
*tee hee*
Preach it, sistah!
And before I forget! Also appearing on One Manga…. I’ts
http://www.onemanga.com/Dragon_Half/ The complete series
(still on my to-read list, unfortunately. I keep getting sidetracked)