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Ascendance of a Bookworm. Manga where a bookworm is reborn as a commoner in a fantasy land where only aristocrats and merchants and such are literate. Light novel original version in comments.
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u/alliteratorsalmanac:
http://blastron01.tumblr.com/post/136172483490/ascendance-of-a-bookworm-001 Here's the light novel. I really like Dr. Stone, and this is reminiscent in premise. A pleasant read.-
u/tonytwostep:
Just finished the LN (at least, what's been translated so far). **(possible very minor spoilers for both Bookworm and Dr. Stone below)** ----- Conceptually it's similar to Dr. Stone (modern day protagonist attempting to recreate technology in a relatively primitive world), but as a story, I like Dr. Stone _way_ more. The protagonist of Bookworm only cares about technology as a way of acquiring books (and keeping herself alive until then), which is pretty simple-minded and one-dimensional. She's *extremely* childish and emotional, to the point where I can't actually believe that she's suppose to be a woman in her mid-20s (albeit in a child's body). And her "rational" intelligent application of knowledge/resources isn't actually that impressive - she has problems thinking of modern technologies to attempt to recreate, outside of a few cosmetic/food items, and most of her ideas come to her on a whim instead of through actual planning. It's a fairly enjoyable read, but IMO not nearly on the same level as Dr. Stone (or other "modern day protagonist in primitive fantasy world" LNs/mangas). It's just OK fiction, and not particularly impressive rational fiction.-
u/kaukamieli:
She is not a scientist. People can be childish. Though it is a bit extreme, but it's of course possible the transition to a new body, and a child one too, could have had an effect too. In my opinion dr stone is a bit too amazing adventure thing. The guy is way too smart. Bookworm feels way more realistic.-
u/tonytwostep:
She's not a scientist, but she is a university librarian, who apparently loved reading encyclopedias (as well as other books on psychology, religion, history, geography, education, folklore, mathematics, physics, geology, chemistry, biology, art, fitness, and language), per the prologue. She should certainly be making more technological leaps than introducing paper and shampoo, and she should be showing WAY more initiative with learning about her world. In the LN she's been there for almost two years, and still knows almost NOTHING about the world (she *just* learned the days of the week!). She breaks into tears at slight provocations. Small children cause her mild inconveniences, and she starts planning elaborate revenges on them. She has awkward crushes on and gets embarrassed around other small children. Obviously it's a fantasy situation, but I can only think that if I were reincarnated as a kid while keeping my adult mind, I certainly wouldn't think of other _5-year-old children_ as equals, or naturally act even less mature than they do. We can theorize that the transition to a child's body affected her psychologically, but there's nothing to actually suggest that in the text (it's not like we get to see her acting non-childish in her adult life prior to her reincarnation). I do agree that Dr Stone goes far into the other direction, but I think it embraces how over the top it is - it isn't shooting for gritty realism. Bookworm _does_ seem to shoot for "realism", which I think makes its flaws all the more jarring, and the dullness of the protagonist that much less impressive. -
u/IgonnaBe3:
Hmm i think her childishness is way overplayed but i agree. Not everyone is a freaking scientist and becasuse of that its way more realistic than Dr. Stone because it doesnt have crazy highschool geniuses or overly capable strongmen.
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u/alliteratorsalmanac:
Yeah, I agree. The light novel isn't on the same level as Dr. Stone, on a rationalist level or otherwise. I think the manga for Bookworm is better than the light novel, although it's kind of hard to tell. I don't hold light novels to a very high standard, but I haven't read that many.-
u/tonytwostep:
I did enjoy the Bookworm manga (or at least what’s been released so far) a lot more, especially in terms of pacing, dialogue, and characterization. It’s just a much more polished experience overall. But unfortunately, it’s the same story and protagonist, which are not particular rational or impressive (as it sounds like you agree). Still, thanks for posting! If nothing else, was a decently entertaining way to spend an evening :) -
u/kaukamieli:
I think Stone just poses as rationalist. He is this ubergenius who just knows everything they need and can macgyver things out by banging two rocks together. He even dispels what seems to be a magical spell... Hero's war is where it is at.
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u/kaukamieli:
Thanks a ton for the novel. Read the manga before, but it has just a few chapters.
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u/Gigapode:
Just spent an hour reading all the currently uploaded chapters of the manga. Thanks for the rec. I'd have thought papyrus would be easier than clay tablets but without Google to tell her the steps I guess she can only go with what she can guess will work.-
u/IgonnaBe3:
i read it a long time ago but i was kinda frustrated at the time that she didnt try clay tablets again. I know her previous ones blew up but she could just try again this time drying them first or smth...- u/kaukamieli:
She doesn't know why it exploded. For all she knows it could be magical... She is not an engineer or anything. Just likes books and wants to read. And the mother didn't want the tablets in the home anyway.
- u/kaukamieli:
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u/None:
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u/alliteratorsalmanac:
People killed changelings up until the 19th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changeling#Changelings_in_the_historical_record- u/kaukamieli:
This. You don't go into possibly very superstitious place and start talking magic without doing any information.
- u/kaukamieli:
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u/ben_oni:
A quote from the light novel: > In all of the light novels out there about reincarnation, the vast majority of them dropped the protagonist amongst the rich and noble, and very few of the remainder place her in abject poverty. This LN is about the life of the poor. This isn't about Maïne attempting to perform uplift; it's about a precocious five year old living in poverty in a previous (and often romanticized) era, and trying to make the best of her situation. -
u/AurelianoTampa:
I enjoyed the manga; haven't tried the LN yet. But the main character annoys me to some extent. * As other comments mentioned, she's supposedly a graduate student in a 5-year old's body. She's incredibly immature and short-sighted. * A bunch of things that are immediately curious to me don't interest her in the slightest. What is this "baptism?" What is religion like here? What is the *world* like? It's pretty clearly not Earth because of all the weird green and blue hair colors. Isn't she interested at all in how or why she was reincarnated? I realize none of those are her priority, but... it's like Middle Ages time and she's young and sick. It's not like she's kept busy and can't ask questions. I would think boredom, if nothing else, would eventually cause her to seek out answers. * Her dad is a soldier (and seemingly a guard leader of some sort). What is war like in this world? Besides unsavory looking people and nobles, who do they guard the gate against? * I think the depictions of how her family is basically working poor in a Middle Ages setting is probably the strongest feature of this work. It's a neat look into how tough life could be. But it still feels romanticized to an extent, mostly because the other characters feel so one-dimensional. Overprotective but kind-hearted dad, patient and caring mom, big sister... all tropes. I imagine their development is second to "look how neat this process of doing something we take for granted is!" Anyway, thank you for the recommendation. I liked it, and it was a quick read. Any idea how often the manga gets updated? -
u/eternal-potato:
I don't get it, she is bored and wants to consume new information at her usual rate. How is making her own book going to help that in anything but extremely long-term?-
u/kaukamieli:
At this point she doesn't care about the freshness of the information. She would make a ton of books and sleep on top of them and guard them as her treasure. She has a problem. -
u/ben_oni:
... no. She's not bored. She's passionate, and the object of her passion (books) is unavailable. Consider that her driving desire is to be a librarian.
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u/RadiantLegacy:
Wow, I love the concept, read all the chapters last night. The artwork is really cute and on point, without being . . . weird, for lack of a better term. Edit: I'm going to catch up with the light novels today, after I read the latest Ward chapter . . .