I heard about this yesterday. Catherynne M Valente’s upcoming The Melancholy of Mechagirl, and even if I wasn’t instantly drawn to it by the amazing cover art, I would have been drawn for two other reasons: 1) Catherynne M Valente, and 2) fantasy and sci-fi stories about Japan.
I don’t think it’s possible to create a combination of factors that would be more appealing to my personal tastes.
Now I admit, I haven’t read much of what Valente has written, and what I have read seems to be mostly short stories in anthologies, which is why there haven’t been many reviews of her work here. But every time I come across something she’s written, I enjoy it. Without fail. And I can’t imagine that this collection is going to suddenly change that.
Plus I confess to being a sucker for Japan. My tastes run to more than just anime, manga, and video games, and I have no small obsession with traditional textile arts, Japanese history, modern and past culture, and the language. Combine that with my love of fantasy and speculative fiction, and it’s easy to see why Valente’s collection of Japanese-inspired fantasy and sci-fi stories would appeal to me in a powerful way.
This is one book for which I’ll count down the days until the release date, and will make a point of getting a copy as early as I can!
Look for this book to hit stores and shelves on July 16, 2013.
Bibliotropic 
This one is new to me, but something that uses Japanese culture in a fantasy setting is good with me (after reading Jay Kristoff’s Stormdancer, it got me mighty intrigued).