Reading Recap

when the year started i intended to read at least one LN a week.
didn't make a list to keep up with it but since it's the 31st, figured i'd make a list. i know i'm missing a couple LNs but...

Light Novels:

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 1-3
Chivalry of a Failed Knight 1-4
Combatants Will Be Dispatched 1-2
Eighty-Six 1-4
Her Majesty's Swarm 1-3
I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated 1
Mapping - The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me Into a Top-Tier Party 1-2
May These Leaden Battlegrounds Leave No Trace 1
My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered 1-2
My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend 1-2
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon 1-3
The Dirty Way to Destroy the Goddess's Heroes 1-5
The Eminence in Shadow 1-2
The Invincible Shovel 1-3
The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent 1
The Sorcerer King of Destruction and the Golem of the Barbarian Queen 1-2
The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 1
The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs (MobuSeka) 1-5
Wild Times with a Fake Fake Princess 1
Why Shouldn't a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love 1

Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou 1-3 (dropped)
Redefining the META at VRMMO Academy (dropped)
The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! 1-3 (dropped)
Ultimate Antihero 1 (dropped)

Magic User - Reborn in Another World as a Max Level Wizard 2-3
No Game No Life 10
Reincarnated Slime 8-9
The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody 2-4

some of these i saw the anime first (e.g., Chivalry of Failed Knight) but liked it enough to give the LN a chance and in most cases they run ahead of the anime at this point anyway. there's also some that are way better than i expected - stepsister one is actually just a comfy rom-com with an extra element to make it awkward - and some that... well, i dropped because they just were bad or were clearly going in a direction way beyond the author's ability (looking at you Arifureta). Vending Machine is also basically dead, so if you start it do know it'll be a great 3 volumes but you ain't getting anything ever again. kinda like NGNL, only that's 10 volumes and you can understand that one - he wrote himself into a hole. of the new series read, i'd say...

Her Majesty's Swarm
Goddess's Heroes
The Eminence in Shadow
Magic User
MobuSeka

are probably my favorite 5. and of that, Goddess's Heroes is fantastic because it's only 6 volumes long period, it's actually complete in Japan! Swarm is basically Starcraft: The Isekai; third is Chuuni with max intution and luck; MobuSeka's just good fun and plays with the setting to a satisfying level; Magic User... is just honestly great all around and the only one i'd say is remotely competitive with Reincarnatd Slime as the one that drew me in the most, it's a D&D Wizard in a fantasy world where magic is a typical elemental system. 86 is great too but it kinda lost me with Vol 3. oh yeah, Bottom-Tier Tomozaki is a fucking guide to on how to improve oneself socially. it's bizarre to read considering the audience but enjoyable.

Web novels:

Redo of Healer 1-6
I'm In Love With The Villainous (chapter... 70?)
Maou Gakuin no Futekigousha (arcs 1-3, bit of 4)
The Villainess Will Crush Her Destruction End Through Modern Firepower (chapter 37, which is current)

Modern Firepower/Astrid is great.
Redo of Healer is revenge porn. and i mean that in every possible way.
probably dropping Villaianous because the LNs are coming out now.
Maou's translation hurts. but it's also not very good, was hopeful for a minute but alas.

already know a number of books are gonna be read soon and there's a ton that i need to catch up on - Goblin Slayer, Tanya, Re:Zero, Konosuba, and Mahouka are all a couple volumes behind that i'll get to. hell i'm behind on some of the ones i started this year (e.g., 86) and others are on a list (Bunny Girl, Deathbound Duke's Daughter, Bookworm).

i'm sure i'm missing a couple books here and there too but that's safely over the target, LNs alone averaged well over the yearly goal. if i can catch up to some series and get to work on some more... might get close to doubling it next year.

So I'm a Spider, So What? is my favorite LN series by a lot. First ten volumes have gotten official release so far.

i've been curious on that one for a while. i read the manga already, i think the most jarring thing would be the spider art.

kumo's so adorable in the manga.

The Spider LNs are pretty different from the manga, AFAIK. Not many pictures, so I dunno if the art's that big a deal...

i'll probably give 'em a shot sometime in the first half of 2021.
also just saw that the Eighty Six anime is coming out in April and it's Sawano composing. good pick.

And boonies vol 2 done.
2 more and caught up on it.

Then... Hm. Deathbound Duke or 86 catch-up. 4 Vols will be enough harem comedy so need something different.

and caught up to boonies, 1-4 complete. vol 5, one day.

that's my general pace when i'm at it. 400 pages a day no problem, done a Tanya volume in a day, which is basically two normal LNs (done that too - MobuSeka's half arcs are addicting and i went through 2 and a half). might start something new today or go play some video games. whichever holds my interest longer gets me for the next 2 hours. i do wonder if it's possible to outpace the calendar now (3 LNs done, roughly 200~ pages average, it's 2 days into the year) but i know i can't keep that up for long. could probably have a month where i go through one a day though, would be the fastest way to catch up or start a new series.