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Ascendance of a Bookworm - General Discussion
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And here are my answers, cause I can hardly post all that and not even make the effort to make my own answers!> 1. Urano's death and reincarnation is a highly ironic one. She lives for books, she dies by books, and she is reincarnated into a world full of books. If you were the protagonist of this series, what kind of world would you be reincarnated into?
I'm into a lot of stuff, but my favourite thing to do is writing stories. Therefore, I might be plummeted into a world that does not have written stories - maybe only a few fairy tales spread by spoken word. Or I would land in a world without video games...in which case I think I'd have to succumb to my fate. The most I could see myself reinventing in a fantasy world is, like, D&D or something. Which incidentally would be a hilarious arc for Ascendance of a Bookworm.
> 2. Myne spends a lot of this series creating and crafting. Have you ever felt compelled to recreate any of those handicrafts in real life? If yes, which ones?
I ask this specifically because thanks to Ascendance of a Bookworm, I now want to make my own shampoo, my own paper, and my own pound cake. Has lockdown left me with too much time on my hands?
> 3. Myne's new world is colourful and full of new materials, ingredients and traditions. Which bit of it do you find the most interesting? What would you like to see, hear or even taste the most, if you could?
I've honestly always been intrigued by those mushrooms that dance when you put them into the pan. They're only mentioned in volume 1, but they won't leave my head. Other than that, I'd love to see a parue tree.
4. How does the anime adaptation compare to the books? Is there anything you wished it did differently, or was any scene adapted particularly well?
The anime was alright, but I feel like it could have gotten more out of the source material with some snappier directing. It feels very simple to me. However, I enjoyed the soundtrack a lot. In the end, the reason I chose to read the LNs instead was because I just felt like it was more fitting, and so far, I've been liking the detail in them more - there just isn't as much space in an anime to put in descriptions of how Myne makes this or that, but in a book, there's no problem.
5. Characters using their this-world knowledge in a fantasy world for economic or other purposes isn't a new thing. Which books do you know that have a similar concept? (Don't post every isekai ever here - restrict it to specifically using this-world knowledge that's applicable in the new world, especially for economic reasons.) Between those and Bookworm, which do you think did it best, and which is your personal preference?
The other one I've read so far that felt very, very similar to me was Schooled in Magic, which I definitely enjoyed more than I expected to, but in the end, I prefer Ascendance of a Bookworm over it. That being said, Schooled in Magic has a much more interesting magic system, and is one of the only magic school books where the magic lessons were genuinely my favourite part of it. And it's interesting to see how completely different they handle some things - Myne is so concerned when she realizes people might notice her using different methods of calculating than what is standard and that it might make people suspicious, while the main character in Schooled in Magic sells the knowledge to a merchant. In the end, they had less in common than I expected.
Mod
2. I crochet all kinds of stuff IRL, so of all her crafts, the flower hairclips is the thing I'd be most likely to make. Haven't yet, but probably would.
3. I pretty much say it for all books, but I'd want to eat all of the food. I'd want to try some of the parue.
4. I haven't seen the anime, so can't comment. I'd like to see it at some point when I have time. :)
5. I haven't read too many isekai series (not sure how I've managed that lol). The two that come to mind that fit the economic gain are "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" (though he uses more general world knowledge to build society rather than just the economy) and "Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter," though I've only read the manga for both and am not nearly up-to-date on either. I think Bookworm used the isekai premise more effectively than Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter (at least as of volume 1 of both). It's hard to compare them, since Slime and Duke's Daughter's protagonists are at very different starting points from each other and Myne.
I agree so much. Whenever any fantasy food is mentioned, I'm like, "I wanna try this!"How far are you into Bookworm, by the way?
Mod
Now I know that feeling a lot. Maybe I can motivate you a little by telling you that in my opinion, the books get a lot more interesting. Myne needs to learn how to do economy and capitalism, and so more time is spent exploring the things she still needs to learn rather than what she already knows.
I finished volume 3! Very excited for part 2 now. Overall I really feel like the series got better over time. And surprisingly, I really ended up liking Benno. Hoping for more side stories from his POV for sure.
Anyone here who is reading the newest Bookworm?
Not yet, I've only finished Part 1. I have sent an email to my usual place to order all of Part 2, but they haven't responded, and once they do order it'll take another month for the books to arrive :(
Oh no :(
That's sad because Part 2 is awesome and Part 3 is even better ^^
That's sad because Part 2 is awesome and Part 3 is even better ^^
I'm really, really excited to read it. I have the feeling this series continues to be a little better each book. I mean, it probably comes in part with the slow burn, doesn't it? I feel so at home in this fantasy world by now.
Yes it becomes better with each Volume. What I like the most is that like Myne is growing also the world is growing and the reader learns with each part more about it^^
Yeah, I also enjoyed her slow and subtle development. She doesn't really have major moments, but more these little things...she learns to appreciate her family, the people around her, etc.
She will have more development in the future parts. Also sometimes the story (espacially at the beginning of part 3) feels a little bit rushed but if I look back it was okay because also for myne there were a lot of changes in a short time.
You're making me really excited for part 3 there.
It really is awesome ^^
Especially that sometimes I think back at part 1 and I'm thinking "How the hell did we get to this point" :D
Especially that sometimes I think back at part 1 and I'm thinking "How the hell did we get to this point" :D
Yeah I read the part titles and this really escalates, huh
Guess who finally got started on part 2~I'm already loving it. The stakes already seem so much higher than in part 1. Somehow it just reads more fluently too. This is really becoming one of my favourite fantasy series.
Uhh sounds good :)
I'm eagerly waiting wednesday because the new volume will be published then ^^
I'm eagerly waiting wednesday because the new volume will be published then ^^
Oh, I didn't know that! Which volume will that be?Also can I just say as a German speaker. (which you are too so you'll understand.) the names of those gods are amazing. "Ewigeliebe" I'm dying.
Mod
Does it translate to something? I know absolutely no German other than "schnitzel", so I have no idea. ^^;;;
@Jaye Volume 13 is comming out next week and therefore the next story arc is starting^^
The names of the gods are really amazing. I really like that they often make a lot of sence^^
@Selena: It means literally Eternal Love. Also a lot of other names, are well used.
Like Leidenschaft = Passion or Geduld(h) = Patience
The names of the gods are really amazing. I really like that they often make a lot of sence^^
@Selena: It means literally Eternal Love. Also a lot of other names, are well used.
Like Leidenschaft = Passion or Geduld(h) = Patience
Selena wrote: "Jaye wrote: "the names of those gods are amazing. "Ewigeliebe" I'm dying."Does it translate to something? I know absolutely no German other than "schnitzel", so I have no idea. ^^;;;"
They all are based on random German words and it sounds incredibly silly when you do speak German. This happens fairly frequently in anime. Same as NGE with their NERV and SEELE and all.
Anyway, I'm absolutely flying through part 2 book 1. It's just ever so slightly better structured than part 1. And I'm really enjoying the new characters and all the new world building.
The newest volume was again great.
But now I again have to wait 2 month to know what happens next :'(
But now I again have to wait 2 month to know what happens next :'(
Mod
Mod
So without further ado, here are some questions to inspire discussion:
1. Urano's death and reincarnation is a highly ironic one. She lives for books, she dies by books, and she is reincarnated into a world full of books. If you were the protagonist of this series, what kind of world would you be reincarnated into?
2. Myne spends a lot of this series creating and crafting. Have you ever felt compelled to recreate any of those handicrafts in real life? If yes, which ones?
3. Myne's new world is colourful and full of new materials, ingredients and traditions. Which bit of it do you find the most interesting? What would you like to see, hear or even taste the most, if you could?
4. How does the anime adaptation compare to the books? Is there anything you wished it did differently, or was any scene adapted particularly well?
5. Characters using their this-world knowledge in a fantasy world for economic or other purposes isn't a new thing. Which books do you know that have a similar concept? (Don't post every isekai ever here - restrict it to specifically using this-world knowledge that's applicable in the new world, especially for economic reasons.) Between those and Bookworm, which do you think did it best, and which is your personal preference?