Hey all, Dani here.
My workplace is still up and running, but they have taken a number of precautions, such as shutting down our water fountains and ice machines, and restricting the available options in the cafeteria. They are also promoting hand-washing and keeping a safe distance while on breaks and such. But for now we seem to be operating relatively normally. I’m glad to still be working and still bringing in a regular income, because unfortunately as a factory employee there is no chance for a work from home option. We can’t build the appliances from our homes.
I hope the rest of you are doing well, taking care of yourself and your loved ones, and let’s try to help and support each other as much as we can. I managed to pick up a couple fairly recent releases at the store today while picking up bottled water to bring to work, so I’m excited to read these books soon and get some signal boosting reviews out into the world. (If my work space had a nice place for me to do a photo shoot, I would totally put some pictures on Instagram right now, but I do not have a good back drop anywhere for photos. I don’t know; I still might try to take some pictures in a bit).
Anyway, let’s jump into the review.
Book Details
Art by: Mitsu Izumi
Translated by: Hiroto Hamada
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
ISBN: 1632368455 (ISBN13: 9781632368454)
Summary
Ambition Tested
Theo has set out from his hometown on a journey to the great city of Aftzaak with three goals: to see the city he’s longed for his whole life, to take the test to become a Kafna, and to return the book lent to him by Sedona seven years earlier–the book that changed his life. The journey is difficult and the road long, but the world is filled with things for a young scholar like Theo to learn. Yet no matter how prepared he feels, the test that awaits Theo in Aftzaak is unlike anything he’s faced before…
My Thoughts
Rating: 5 stars
I read this during Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon in October 2019.
I think I read seven or eight volumes of manga during that last Dewey readathon, and that’s because it was held on a day when I knew I was busy for a good portion of the day, but I still wanted to get a lot of reading done. And since most volumes of manga take me 30 minutes to read, I knew it would mean a high number of completed books and pages read. This particular manga, Magus of the Library, is a unique one for me in that it takes a bit longer to read each volume. There is just a lot of information to absorb, and the art is so technical and rich and detailed. I can’t help but take my time with it. So I want to say that these volumes take closer to 45 minutes to an hour to finish for me.
If you are a lover of books and/or libraries, this is definitely a manga I have to recommend. Theo just cares about reading and books so so much. I am loving following his journey.
Yes, he has a lot to deal with, from the trials of travel, to taking the entrance exam for the library in Aftzaak, to encountering and dealing with peers who are just as talented, if not more so, than he is. Oh, and there’s the fact that Theo is a half-breed, so there’s some prejudice to deal with as well. But Theo is determined and hopeful and optimistic, and I can’t help but fall in love with this story and this world.
Actually, I think these are so wonderfully detailed and richly developed that I’m probably going to re-read the first two volumes before I really focus my attention of the third one. Oh, and I checked future release dates and Volume 4 will be released in July 2020, so that’s pretty exciting.
Where to Get a Copy
You can grab your own copy of this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore through IndieBound.
You can also check with your local library.
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