I've been slacking off in the blogging department but let it not be said that I remain the same when it comes to reading books! I am currently reading Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino , who may have just earned a spot in my very exclusive Favorite Author's list. :) Read my earlier review about her novel, Out by Natsuo Kirino . I haven't finished reading the entire thing yet, but my interest is very piqued! The book starts in a bizzare narrative tone: a woman looking at men and herself in terms of how their baby would look like. She dissects a man's wide nose, another's strong chin, a male neighbor's beady eyes, or her co-worker's pudgy stature and matches it with her own appearance, to create the image of how their son or daughter would look like if they would ever have one, however unlikely it might be. But she continues to narrate and introduce us to the life of a "halfsie" in contemporary Japan. Most of us have the idea that a mixed race offs...