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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

November 27, 2013 by MJ 8 Comments

Status Updates & Station Identification

Hello, Manga Bookshelf readers!

There’s been a lot of discussion recently regarding various comics sites and what they do, actually, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk about that, plus a bit about what’s going on right now and where the hell I’ve been lately.

I’ll begin with the latter. I’m sure you’ve all noticed that I’ve been posting very seldom over the past two months. The reason is that my work life is in the midst of a monumental upheaval, which has left me little time for writing of any kind. Fortunately, though this will certainly persist through the end of the year, come 2014, things will be different. Very different. This difference is new (and a bit scary), but it will also open up my schedule somewhat, and ultimately should put me in a better position to run this site than I’ve been in for quite some time. So while the main site may appear scant at the moment, you can expect this to change over the course of the next couple of months.

Now for a bit of station identification. Despite my recent absence, the Manga Bookshelf network has been humming merrily along, thanks to the ongoing efforts of Sean, Anna, Brigid, and our newest blogger, Ash. One of the major advantages to being not so much a group blog, but rather a group of blogs, is that while I may exercise editorial authority over what appears on the main site, our bloggers have complete autonomy over their own, and their personal approaches vary greatly. I won’t presume to define any of them, but I know what I’m looking for when I browse each of their blogs.

From Sean, I expect frequent reviews and news about current manga, in a deceptively casual style from a man who has already read more manga than I’m likely to consume in my entire lifetime (mixed in with occasional discussion of Frank Zappa and Doctor Who). Anna‘s librarian instincts are always at work in her clear, straightforward (often funny) reviews and her dabbling in things like otome games… as is her unabashed addiction to romance manga. Also a librarian, Ash puts his organized, deeply eloquent mind to work on regular reviews, weekly roundups, and “random musings” ranging from things such as Mahjong Manga to Queer Theory. And, of course, Brigid can be counted on to provide links to whatever is going on in the manga blogosphere.

As for me, I will admit to being less interested in writing straight-out reviews or news posts, and more likely to indulge myself in other types of discussion, like long-winded roundtables on favorite manga series (Basara, Tokyo Babylon, Wild Adapter, Banana Fish, and so on), essays on female-aimed fanservice, feminism, and women’s manga, personal musings of many kinds, and of course my most beloved Off the Shelf column co-written with Michelle Smith. Michelle’s blog has been quiet lately, too, but the two of us will always be back with our mix of short reviews, themed columns, and leisurely looks at longer series ranging from classic shoujo (Moon Child) to recent girls’ manhwa (Chocolat), from long-running shounen (Fullmetal Alchemist) to beloved josei (Paradise Kiss), to titles that push the boundaries of several categories at once (Loveless).

Add a group of regular columnists in North America and across the globe, and it becomes pretty difficult to define us. Sometimes we’re critics. Occasionally we’re journalists. We’re always fans. Demographically, we’re a lot like you. So, though our writing may not fit neatly into popular definitions of any of the above, we hope this means that we’re doing right by you.

Thanks to everyone who has followed Manga Bookshelf over the past six years, for your loyal readership and your thoughtful comments. I look forward to seeing more of you in 2014!

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Filed Under: UNSHELVED

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. wandering-dreamer says

    November 27, 2013 at 11:36 am

    I remember early last year two people here were starting a column where they talked about old CMX manga, forget exactly who it was but any chance of that resuming next year as well?

    Reply
    • Michelle Smith says

      November 27, 2013 at 12:53 pm

      That’s me and Karen Peck. And yes, there are definitely plans to keep going with that. Just stupid life getting in the way, as stupid life is wont to do.

      Reply
      • wandering-dreamer says

        November 27, 2013 at 3:05 pm

        Totally understandable, I shall just eagerly await it’s return!

        Reply
  2. Erica Friedman says

    November 28, 2013 at 10:58 am

    Sounds like a magazine to me. I also have been less than faithful to my publishing schedule, but…life happens.
    I cannot imagine a better team than you’ve lined up, Melinda, and I’m proud to be a part of it in my own small way.

    Hey – How about a Manga Bookshelf get-together at some future event. (Like, say…TCAF, since you *will* be coming.)

    Reply
    • Melinda Beasi says

      November 29, 2013 at 2:32 pm

      Thanks, Erica! I’m thrilled to have you on board as well.

      Also, YES. We must plot.

      Reply
  3. Phillip Anthony says

    December 4, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    I love being part of this website, Melinda, and it kills me sometimes that there aren’t enough hours in the day to read all the weekly stuff that gets posted. For me, I’m personally proud that I write with such nice and knowledgable people. Thanks for making nearly two years of my column fly by!

    Reply
    • Melinda Beasi says

      December 6, 2013 at 10:10 pm

      Well, thank you, Phillip! I’m very happy that you’re with us! :)

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. News & Things: Book sharing and book stealing - Women Write About Comics says:
    April 3, 2014 at 9:39 pm

    […] Status Updates & Station Identification […]

    Reply


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