📚Book Review📚

🌈📖 Minato’s Laundromat, Vol. 5 by Yuzu Tsubaki and Sawa Kanzume
Shin asks Minato to accompany him to Tokyo while he tours a university and emotions spill over after they run into someone from Minato’s past. I don't think that this was quite as strong of a volume as the previous ones in the series, but I'm still invested in the slowly developing relationships between the characters. Trigger warning for a brief depiction of sexual assault of an older character by the younger character that is pursuing him (thankfully this is not treated as acceptable or romanticised within the story).

🌈📖Minato’s Laundromat, Vol. 6 by Yuzu Tsubaki and Sawa Kanzume

I was relieved that they allowed some time to pass between where the previous volume left off and where this one picks up; some things definitely need time and distance just as much as a heartfelt apology. As he approaches his 18th birthday, Shin continues to be obsessed with Minato. We also get some backstory as to why Minato is reluctant to pursue a relationship (besides the age difference).

Ugh, and now I’m all caught up on the latest English language release for this series.

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📚Book Review📚

🌈📖 The Moon on a Rainy Night, Vol. 2 by Kuzushiro

This is a good second installment in the series, with the introduction of Kanon’s protective younger sibling. Kanon and Saki continue to navigate their friendship and we see things largely from Saki’s viewpoint, including her growing awareness of the impact of ableism. Showing that sometimes even people who care about each other can be overprotective or thoughtless, while also communicating that the important thing is being able to acknowledge when you are wrong or have hurt someone is such a great message. The teacher commenting on the issue of how few cinema screenings have subtitles was on point too, and is something that I’ve become more aware of since my auditory processing disorder worsened in recent years.

🌈📖 I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 3 by Okura

I’m really loving this series, which is mostly told from the mother’s point of view. Her willingness to embrace her children as they are rather than getting hung up on some preconceived notion of who they “should be” is such a loving reflection of how I’m sure that all children wish their parents (and society as a whole) could be. I also like that it shows the ways in which people are thoughtlessly clumsy in the things that they think and say without necessarily meaning to be hateful, as I do believe that people are often just uneducated about a lot of things because they haven’t spent any time thinking about them. Kindness often involves being intentional and present in the moment, and we’ve probably all failed in that regard at least once.

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📚May 2026 recap📚

💛💛💛🖤🖤 Natsume's Book of Friends, Vol. 1 by Yuki Midorikawa
💛💛💛💛🖤 I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 2 by Okura
💛💛💛🖤🖤 Natsume's Book of Friends, Vol. 2 by Yuki Midorikawa

I also read the novelette ’Paper Airplane Poet’ by Sheri Singerling.

May was the final month of the first year of University with two final essays due and an exam. Now I’m on break for a few months!!!

I’ve spent most of the month falling asleep on the sofa (when not studying or doing housework), though I did finally get around to watching ‘KinnPorsche’ (famous Thai BL) and can also recommend the currently airing Japanese BL ‘Life in Smokey Blue’ for its portrayal of a realistic mid-life relationship in the wake of grief and burnout. Family has been watching a few anime series ‘Akane-banashi’, the classic ‘Nana’ (a re-watch for me), ‘Witch Hat Atelier’, and ‘Kill Blue’.

Songs that I’ve been obsessed with recently include ‘Bloodsport '15’ by Raleigh Ritchie, ‘Sweet but Psycho’ by Ava Max, and both ‘เพียงไว้ใจ’ and ‘Free Fall’ (versions of the main theme from KinnPorsche) by Slot Machine.

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Monday question, what is your favorite book that involves an animal?
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📚April 2026 recap📚

💛💛💛💛🖤My Love Mix-Up!, Vol. 2 by Wataru Hinekure and Aruko
💛💛💛💛🖤Semantic Error, Vol. 1 by J. Soori and Angy
💛💛💛💛🖤Countdown to Yes by Roji
💛💛💛💛💛Our Dining Table by Mita Ori
💛💛💛💛🖤Minato’s Laundromat, Vol. 2 by Yuzu Tsubaki and Sawa Kanzume
💛💛💛💛🖤SOTUS, Vol. 2 by BitterSweet and Kei Shichiri
💛💛💛💛🖤SOTUS, Vol. 3 by BitterSweet and Kei Shichiri
💛💛💛💛🖤Until I Meet My Husband by Ryousuke Nanasaki and Yoshi Tsukizuki
💛💛💛💛🖤10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall
💛💛💛💛🖤Minato’s Laundromat, Vol. 3 by Yuzu Tsubaki and Sawa Kanzume
💛💛💛💛🖤Minato’s Laundromat, Vol. 4 by Yuzu Tsubaki and Sawa Kanzume

I also read the short story 'Chip' by D.A. Xiaolin Spires.

I’ve mostly been reading manga / manhwa volumes so far this year because that’s all the energy my brain has left after university each day. However, I’m really proud of the fact that I’ve been keeping pace with the volumes that I’ve bought so far this year and also slowly chipping away at some of the piles of books from previous years. I’ve been trying to make more of an effort to read this month though, because May is going to be another insane month with my two final essays due and an exam.

I’ve still mostly been watching BL series and falling asleep on the sofa, with the Thai drama ‘Duang with You’ being the absolute stand-out for realistic portrayals of neurodivergence and trauma alongside romance and the most wholesome friendship groups. I also really enjoyed ‘Fourever You Part 2: The Sun from Another Star’.

Family finished watching the anime series ‘Gachiakuta’, and started watching ‘Akane-banashi’.

Songs I’ve been obsessed with recently include ‘Bad Shawty’ by PROXIE, ‘No Roots’ by Alice Merton, ‘I Wear The Crown’ by Liam Geddes, ‘We’re In This Together’ by Nine Inch Nails, and ‘Attention’ by Charlie Puth.

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