Taco scored on her birthday, and now has $100 to spend on books, but after getting caught up in a few mangas, I'm not sure what I want to get! So, I'm curious if anyone has any recommendations for me on good manga series or good books? I tend to read a little bit of every genre, so suggest away, and it'd be most helpful if you told me about them so I can decide better. ^_^

English DeathNote is all translated and out now. 12 volumes, so you could just blow it all on that. Umm... I'm pretty sure you've heard of it, so I'll skip the summary.

As for others... The only ones I know of that are out already would probably be Airgear(comedy/skating) and I"s(Debated as one of the best Romance mangas ever made).

Ooh, lucky you, Taco! Spend it well!

Here's some recommendations for you.

Manga

Skip-Beat by Yoshiki Nakamura - Kyoko accompanied her childhood friend Sho to Tokyo, to support him in his dreams of becoming a music idol. She put aside everything to support him, but when she overheard him confessing that he only brought her with him as a live in servant, she was heartbroken. But instead of getting upset about it, she gets angry and swears to enter showbiz and get more famous than Sho.

This is the scene when she finds out.

Scan 1
Scan 2
Scan 3
Scan 4
Scan 5
Scan 6
Scan 7

(I love this series, it's so funny and original, and Kyoko isn't a typical shoujo heroine. My favourite character aside from Kyoko is Ren Tsuruga. I love his 'super duper gentlemanly smile' that always means he's angry with Kyoko. Here's an example. Scan 1, 2, 3 :lmao: Love for Ren.)


Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa

George, Miwako, Arashi and Isabella are fashion designers from the Yazawa School of Arts. Yukari is a high school student with an overbearing mother who wants her to be the best at everything. Arashi and Isabella see Yukari on the street and decide she'd be a perfect model for their clothes.

Nana by Ai Yazawa

Two girls, Nana Komatsu and Nana Oosaki both move to Tokyo for different reasons. Nana Komatsu moves there to be with her boyfriend, Shoji, and Nana Oosaki moves there to make it big in the music business with her band, Blast. They meet on the train and end up becoming friends.

Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) by Tohru Fujisawa

Onizuka is a 22 year old ex-biker who decides he's going to be the greatest teacher in the world. I can't do this justice with a good description, but trust me, it's hilarious.

Other good manga: The Antique Gift Shop by Eun Lee, Petshop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino, FAKE by Sanami Matoh.

Books

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - Kafka Tamura is a fifteen year old runaway. Nakata is an old man who can talk to cats. :mellow: It's brilliant, trust me.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - If you haven't read this yet, please do! Darcy is love, and Bingley is so nice and sweet. Elizabeth is one of my favourite female characters of all time, and Mr Bennet makes me giggle.

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata - It's been a while since I read this, but I do remember I really liked it. There's something really dream-like and poetic about it.

Fireworks by Angela Carter - Short story collection. Very dark, but I enjoyed most of them.

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter - Another short story collection, this one is more fairytale-ish, but still quite dark.

Sorry, I'm kind of gone concerning recent animes and mangas, I do recommend a couple of books such as...

Little Women

Awesome book, a must read. Deals with the lives of four sisters in America during the time of the Civil War.

The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson's upcoming movie version is being produced. Tells the story from the point of view of a girl murdered by a serial killer, and her observations on how her family and friends cope with the tragedy.

The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)

A literal diary kept by a Jew in hiding during WWII.

I'll be assuming your local book stores have these...

D.Grayman by Katsura Hoshino

In the late fictional 19th Century, the world was threatened by demonic weapons called 'Akuma', created by the Millenium Earl, to bring about the end of the world. Exorcists around the world are chosen by the mysterious 'Innocence', unusual substance that can change into 'Anti-Akuma Weapon'. It's distinctively different from other 'shounen' manga due to having a mild-mannered and not loud or stupid protagonist (Allen Walker <3), but also the themes it portrays.

Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda

Long time ago, the Shadow Lord tried to dominate Deltora. But was stopped when the Belt of Deltora was forged and combine the Seven Tribe's powerful Gems, dispelling the Shadow Lord. However, many years later, the Gems itself was stolen and scatter about, weakening the defence and King Endon and his family went into hiding as the Shadow Lord take over. Pretty much a group of travellers search for the Gems and liberate back their home, that's only the first saga.

Hmm...

$100 to spend on books?! :woot:
Wish that was me. I'm so broke right now, I probably couldn't afford one book if I wanted it. :(

If you like high fantasy, I recommend: Sword of Shadows series by J.V. Jones. It's one of my all-time favorites, and believe me, I've read through many in this category. It's not quite complete yet (promised her impatient fans the third one would be coming out this November), and although the books are sort of big, they're worthy of it. she's definitely an author to pick up if you like those who write at a great pace with excellent imagery and fine detail. Quoted from Amazon's review: "What lifts this tale far above routine quest fantasy is Jones's deft characterization, relentless intensity, and unsparing depiction of pain and slow-healing injury. She has a flair for memorably horrid images". Also, there's a huge cast of characters...but they're all very interesting, believable, and memorable characters. You really get attched to them, even to the evil ones (which can be sort of crazy considering what they are).

You might want to check out its rating and read its reviews at Amazon.com first or something...but basically, the story revolves around two main characters: Raif Severence and Ash March. Raif comes from the clanholds where family and clan is everything, but when some of his clansmen (including the chief and his father) are all killed while out on a hunt, it sends all the different clans in the northern territory into a huge and uncontrollable war. Raif, who was born with the cursed and unusual gift of precise heart-killing, comes to believe that there's a traitor within his own clan. The only person who escaped unharmed from that hunting trip was the chief's adopted son, Mace, who was next in line to be leader of the clan. Because Raif accuses Mace without any physical evidence, he's exiled, cut off from the rest of the clanhold. He has no choice but to forsake all those he grew up knowing as friends and family. Ash March, on the other hand, is a foundling raised in the southern fortress city of Spire Vanis by overlord Penthero Iss who happens to be something of a sorcerer. When she discovers that the father she always thought loved/cared about her raised her only for that something dark and terrible she never knew she was born with, she flees the castle out into the city, the place she had been sheltered from all her life. Her "father" sends his general protector, the dreaded and cruel Marafice Eye, and his knights after her to bring her back. Lucky for Ash, she is by chance (or maybe not) rescued by Raif who was on his way through the city. When the story begins, Raif and Ash seem to have lives as different and separate as can be, but they soon learn just how intertwined their worlds and destinies are.

For some reason, their relationship reminds me a lot of Cleris. Raif is sort of like her bodyguard seeing her through to a certain destination, and they share this deep spiritual bond that's a bit difficult to explain in words. They were even able to sense one another at various points in the book. Anyway, I digress.

JUST.READ.IT.TACO.

As for mangas...I don't own any, so I wouldn't be able to suggest what to buy and what not to buy. As pretty as they are, they're just a tad bit too expensive for me. :cry:

Well, not too sure about Manga but I did enjoy Mars. With all it's teen sappiness and angst.

As for books If you like epics about warriors/war/love in Ancient Greece. I suggest you check out Steven Pressfield 's Gates of Fire about the Spartan culture and battle of Thermopylae and Last of the Amazons about the tribe of warrior women and their clash of cultural differences with Athens.

....and even if your not into that sorta thing I suggest you check them out anyway because yeah, they're THAT good. XD

Hmmm, I ended up getting Book one of Deathnote, sadly I had trouble finding some of the others recommended, but I decided to save my money until I can, so still lots to spend! Thanks for recommendations!

Victorian Romance Emma is a good read for a manga.
Devil May Cry is also okay, but they stopped publication for volume 3.
Ragnarok is also fun to read.

For books, I'd recommend works from authors like Haruki Murakami, Koji Suzuki, Chuck Palahniuk, and Neil Gaiman. ^_^'