What we’re reading this week.

My husband and I have really been enjoying “Iron Wok Jan,” which manages to have plenty of laughs for kids and adults. I am hooked on “The Kindaichi Case Files,” which isn’t really a kid’s series (too gruesome) but is great reading for teens and up. My kids are running through the “Ranma 1/2” series, but I haven’t been able to read any because they are hogging the books. Thanks to The Librarian’s Guide to Anime and Manga for turning us on to all these series.
“Oh My Goddess!” is one of the first manga titles my kids read, and they loved it. I have finally gotten around to reading the first volume—the story is good, although the art is weak in spots. I’ll be posting my review later today.
I’ve been focusing on getting a variety of titles up, so parents can have a good sampler. That means I’ve done volume 1 of a lot of series but haven’t gone farther. Now I’m going to try to add depth by reviewing subsequent volumes. I’ll be starting with “Fruits Basket,” which is much beloved in my house. Volume 8 is coming out in a few weeks, so this seems like a good time to catch up on the whole series.