I have the following purchases inbound to me:

• Revolutionary Girl Utena - The Rose Collection/The Movie Boxed Set (Anime)
• Berserk, Vol. 1 (Manga)
• Seikai: Crest of the Stars 2: A Modest War (Seikai Trilogy) (Novel)
• Steamboy/Memories (Anime)

I have the following on pre-order:

• The Twelve Kingdoms 1 (Novel)
• Kino No Tabi 2: Book Two of the Beautiful World (Novel)

I also have Full Moon Volumes 2-4 DVDs waiting to ship with Kino No Tabi.

After a long period of time, I've finally finished Kino no Tabi. What a nice read, and it ends well with "Coliseum", which in the anime was the only multi-episode story. Indeed, it is the longest in the book, and works well as a stopping point for this book. I can't wait for the next one!

Next up are two rather different stories.  The first one is a extremely short tale about Kino and Hermes meeting three men working on a rail line.  The second is perhaps one of the more disturbing episodes featured in the anime.  Both were far too quick reads.

The next short story pertains to a land that was long ruled by kings, until a decade ago when the people had enough and overthrew the monarchy and instituted a democracy. Kino and Hermes arrive to see and listen to the story of that revolution and its result.

Again, this book continues to entertain me with another thoughtful story. What I loved about the anime was just how intelligent it was without being ambiguous. It shows in the books, where there's no "interpret it your own way" message. If you see it, it's rather clear, and this short story about Kino and Hermes discovering the secrets of a technologically advanced, but seemingly lifeless town.

Even if it isn't my most favorite anime series (though it is up there), I consider Kino's Journey the best anime series I've ever seen. By far, I would recommend this series to more people than The Twelve Kingdoms and Haibane Renmei and other series. So when I found out that the first book of short stories that this anime series was based on had been translated and released in the U.S., I excitedly scoured all the local bookstores to see if any of them had it in stock. Fortunately, one did (though they didn't even have it in their inventory system yet, the book was up on the shelf!), and, as of the first couple of parts, the book Kino No Tabi: Book one of THE BEAUTIFUL WORLD is proving itself to be everything the anime was and more.