I need a spark

As any frequent readers have probably noticed, I haven't been updating as much lately. A good part of that is a heavy workload and a new relationship, yet there is also a feeling of not having much to say.

I find myself just disinterested in the stupid moves I see DC and Marvel are doing. The two have always done what I see as fairly dumb things in the past. Yet in recent years especially, the move towards "Roman gladiator games" styled storytelling. Where each new event must be more upsetting and demented than the last to serve and ever growing blood thirsty audience. At first these moves just disgusted me, but now has just made me indifferent to the two companies to the point where they are fast becoming irrelevant to me.

Meanwhile I am LOVING the various manga series I'm reading, from the teen soap opera of HOT GIMMICK to the detective stories of KINDAICHI CASE FILES and others in other genres.

Yet I've found myself slowly falling into kind of a rut of sorts, where I find I don't have much new to say. This was especially evident after catching up with some of my favorite manga series this weekend.

Hot Gimmick volume 8 was a wonderful read again, as the teens continue to deal with emotions they either can't or decide not to deal with. The biggest problem the characters have in the series is the lack of communication, since so much could be solved if they were all honest with each other. Yet since some of the characters won't even allow themselves to be honest with their own selves, honesty with others won't happen either.

Othello volume 3 was a lot of fun as well, with a bigger look at fan devotion taken. By looking at how the split personality character Yaya/Nana deals with both a cocky rockstar who thinks she's dumb for being devoted to him enough to dress like him, and an obsessive fangirl who fears anyone getting too close to the singer she obsesses over.

Those themes along with the Nana side's move towards achieving justice going a bit overboard as she overreacts to someone getting the last muffin for lunch. Make for a fun read, but then I knew these books would be fun reads based on what I'd read in the past.

I wonder about talking about the same books over and over again, as it soon grows to the point where I feel like I'm just talking plot points rather than craft or the like.

So I'm setting myself a challenge for the next few weeks. I'm going to try and find books to read that will challenge my sensibilities a bit more than books right now that seem to only line up to my current tastes. That doesn't mean I'm going to actively seek out thing I know I'll dislike, just try some things that aren't easy choices.

Anyone have any suggestions? (old or new books, as I still haven't read a lot of stuff from the past)