This series is by no means brand new, but that doesn't make it any less worthy of being read. This series is actually on my comfort reads shelf, for when I need a bit of a thwack over the head to remember just why I'm a writer and a fledgling bibliophile.

Read or Dream volumes 1-4 are created by one of my favorite manga writers and one of my favorite manga artists, which makes for an impactful combination that I turn to in times where I need cheering up. They also have some of the best monologues of what it is to be a writer, a reader, and a bibliophile.

Such as: "Shouldn't you become an author because you have a story you want to write? If you write a story becase you want to become an author, you've got it backwards." or "I'm happy to have everyone read my stories. Strangers...people in other countries...it makes me very happy." One of my personal favorites: "It's not good for me to run away from honest opinions. I can't let that block my writing. Otherwise, I'll never learn how to write more interesting stories."

The basic premise: Michelle, Maggie, and Anita round out the Paper Sisters Detective Company: a trio of girls/women (Anita is a kid, Maggie is 19, Michelle is the only adult...age-wise anyway) who help people find rare books, translate tomes, and generally spend too much money on books and too little on food. There's also a cameo of The Paper, Miss Yomiko Readman, in one of the later volumes for those familiar with the series' predecessor Read or Die.

I keep rotating between which is my favorite character, as they all have their unique personalities, although Anita evolves the most throughout the series. Not to mention the prequel-esque chapter explaining how the Paper Sisters Detective Company was formed was full of "ack!" and "aww." moments. I don't want to ruin it for new readers, but it explains a lot of the dynamics between the three sisters and why Anita has such an aversion to reading books despite her paper master powers.

For those of you who have no troubles letting go of books once you've read them, you might have trouble understanding just how these three manage to collect so many books and get so easily distracted by more books. Now, I have my own collection of books that I'd be hard pressed to ever give up. But my collection is nothing compared to these bibliophiles. If my budget allowed for it, yeah, I'd probably be just as bad. That's what keeps me re-reading various chapters. I may not have paper powers, but I understand what it is to love books, writers, and the glorious feeling of being surrounded by books you haven't looked at before.

They've also released an OVA and a series based on both the Read or Dream and the Read or Die characters. I have yet to see them, but hear good things about the story line and animation. As for the original Read or Die manga that started it all, these books are harder to find in stores than *insert comical joke here.* Book stores, manga stores, comic book stores, even conventions tend not to have Read or Die (at least not in its entirety). Short of buying it online, you're going to have an adventure on your hands. Read or Dream is a little easier to track down, but still not as easy as more mainstream manga.

I'm also intrigued by Mr. Kurata's other series, like Train+Train, or Cloth Road, not to mention I love Ran Ayanaga's - the illustrator - style, known for her work on Love Hina and My Santa (OVA). I hope to check them out in the future, preferably in English. (My babelfish can't do printed languages.)