April Catchups Are No Joke!

WaterDweller

@HarmlessDave said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:

It has a real ending around 15?

I went to check (just in case) and I believe the main story ended with volume 21.

And if I recall correctly, around the time that part of the web novel was written, the author mentioned having written an epilogue, but being unsure of whether he should publish it or continue the story. In the end, he decided he wasn't ready to let go just yet, thus the story got its continuation (and the epilogue went unpublished).

Still, epilogue or no, volume 21 marks a good stopping point if someone doesn't have time to finish everything during catch-up; and the story doesn't feel incomplete in any way at that point.

HarmlessDave

@WaterDweller - that made me check too. The point I was thinking of for the main plot ending is 19, but 21 also makes sense to wrap up loose ends.

WaterDweller

@HarmlessDave Can't miss

spoiler

😊

topgnu

It is fascinating how everyone coming to comment here reads the same things and sees them entirely differently than others.

I was surprised that I quite liked the Mapping manga and I am glad I gave it a try. It smoothens the light novel that I found impossible to digest and abandoned when it was on catchup. Still not planning to ever return and read the LN.

My temperament is in irreconcilable misalignment with both the manga and the novel incarnation of Housekeeping. I like more than a few other slow life and/or romance stories, so this one must be an unlucky mismatch.

I am still trying to be open minded about Smartphone, but it is a struggle. I loved the epilogue of Volume 1, where Yumina is revealed as decisive, calculating and responsible royalty. It is rewarding to see that such a strong character found and seized the opportunity that let her also be a girl in love. The other girls are also shown to have more depth than the usual harem casts in that epilogue of the first volume. Everywhere else? Not much. I will be pushing through for a while in the hope it will click with me.

Edited to fix an autocorrect error

HarmlessDave

@topgnu said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:

It is fascinating how everyone coming to comment here reads the same things and sees them entirely differently than others.
,,,,
My temperament is in irreconcilable misalignment with both the manga and the novel incarnation of Housekeeping. I like more than a few other slow life and/or romance stories, so this one must be an unlucky mismatch.

The same for me. I like many other slow life and romance LNs but this was just not my cup of tea.

I am still trying to be open minded about Smartphone, but it is a struggle. I loved the epilogue of Volume 1, where Yumina is revealed as decisive, calculating and responsible royalty. It is rewarding to see that such a strong character found and seized the opportunity that let her also be a girl in love. The other girls are also shown to have more depth than the usual harem casts in that epilogue of the first volume. Everywhere else? Not much. I will be pushing through for a while in the hope it will click with me.

For me the first 5 main heroines had the most depth, and the later ones were shortchanged a bit, especially the last one (details omitted as spoilers), That might have been inevitable with so many needing to be given a share of the "screen time."

I still enjoyed the story and the characters, but it's understandable if you aren't happy with the amount of development given to the harem.

Have you read Realist Hero? I thought that author did a good job with the harem there throughout the story.

topgnu

@HarmlessDave said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:

Have you read Realist Hero? I thought that author did a good job with the harem there throughout the story.

I have read Realist Hero up to Volume 8 and enjoyed it but stopped for a reason I don't recall. I remember I noticed it was well written, in contrast with the anime that felt quite simplistic. It is on my list of things to read when it is again on catchup. I am a patient person and can wait for years.

geetop

I finished the first volume of Housekeeping and though I enjoy the characters and romance elements it really is a bit too long for me. I mainly am streaming books so have quite a bit to read and it just takes a bit too long to get through a Volume so I probably will not be able to catch up the series.

In contrast I switched to Smartphone which I am enjoying, I have the same problem in a sense because I can not catchup in one month but since I know that I do not feel the "self" pressure of getting it all caught up like I do on Housekeeping.

I was wondering how many people stream books and how many series can you maintain each month comfortably (considering that you may be reading other non light novel books)?

I seem to be able to handle about 20 - 25 and am culling the series as I progress on my J Novel subscription.

kuali

@geetop Interesting question. So, lets count 2 weeks worth of my streaming calendar!

spoiler

Anyway, back on topic: Have you considered trying out the rentals? I think this is one of the situations the rental system is well suited for - get as far through either series as you can during the catchup period, and if you haven't quite caught up or lost interest, rent the remainder until you've caught up with the pre-pubs.

geetop

@kuali

Yes, I plan on using the rentals for some of the longer series.

For Example:
Infinite Dendrogram
Record of Wortenia War
Cooking with Wild Game
Der Werwolf
Ascendance of a Bookworm

I also want to read Lazy Dungeon Master but may wait for a catchup to get as many read as I can than use rentals

I have read some of Wortenia in Manga format (not sure if I should start at the beginning of the light novel or not. I read up to when:

spoiler

topgnu

I think I am done with Smartphone. Volume 2 has a trope that I find so offputting that even on its own it could disqualify a novel for me, and Smartphone was already on a shaky ground. It is the walking in by innocent mistake on the girls while they are changing, and being assaulted with deadly force no questions asked scene. Remember that the MC is superhuman in all resistances and attributes, as gifted by the god. He was still kicked unconscious. On a normal person that would mean half of his brains splurting out of the fractured skull, or perhaps being decapitated. Thankfully these are merciful deaths where one does not have the time to become scared or feel pain. Think of a motorcycle crash at 100 mph. If you find any moral justification in this, feel free to ignore the scene, but I am out for good.

admin

@topgnu No moral justification, just justification for the color insert illustration which isn't included in the prepubs...

topgnu

@kuali said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:

Anyway, back on topic: Have you considered trying out the rentals? I think this is one of the situations the rental system is well suited for - get as far through either series as you can during the catchup period, and if you haven't quite caught up or lost interest, rent the remainder until you've caught up with the pre-pubs.

Yes, I have - and I agree this is exactly the case I thought I would love to use. There have been catchups that I just could not finish within the month, or rarely volumes that I missed to finish while they were on streaming.

topgnu

@geetop said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:

I was wondering how many people stream books and how many series can you maintain each month comfortably (considering that you may be reading other non light novel books)?
I seem to be able to handle about 20 - 25 and am culling the series as I progress on my J Novel subscription.

I am rather organized with what I read and watch - including keeping track of what I read on j-novel

Right now I am reading the daily updates of 21 series - that number hovers around 20 - 25 which is the most I can keep up with comfortably
In addition, I read a few of the streaming series (Apothecary Diaries, Piggy Duke, Dahlia, Teamroom [*sorry, I misread that title once, can't unmisread it], ♀) and a few manga only after their volumes are out entirely
There are 17 series that don't stream at the moment but I'll return to when the next volume starts streaming
There are 14 series that I am patiently waiting to be made available for catchup
I'm done reading 11 so series that are apparently completed
I've listed about 65 novel and manga titles that I will not read - I have either looked at the summaries and the available first parts, or abandoned after reading partway (freshest addition is Smartphone)

geetop

How did everyone do on catchups this month? I read the first Housekeeper, and the first three volumes of Smartphone. I will probably work on Mapping until the end of the Month.

myskaros

Good time to remind everyone that catchups will be changing on Monday, May 1, in the late morning/early afternoon US time!

pcj

@geetop I've been working on Housekeeping Mage, just about done with Volume 3.

PuckGoodfellow00 0

I'm a little surprised with myself. I only managed to read through 9-16 of Smartphone, and the first 5 volumes of Housekeeping Mage. The story for smartphone was a little weak for several volumes though, and I got slowed down by offline events... I was expecting to finish both Housekeeping Mage and Smartphone. Oh well.

Geezer Weasalopes

Just finished Volume 19 of Smartphone.

gustavosousil

@geetop I finished reading all volumes of Housekeeping mage and Smartphone on April 26.

geetop

@gustavosousil said in April Catchups Are No Joke!:

@geetop I finished reading all volumes of Housekeeping mage and Smartphone on April 26.

Wow, I am impressed!