SAOAGGO volume 12 read:

Squad Jam 5 continues in Gun Gale Online volume 12.  There's lots of jokes and explosions, and as expected our heroes are navigating the problems competently.  There are basically zero emotional stakes in this squad jam, it's pure entertainment this time, so aside from enjoying the spectacle there's nothing to say about this book.  It doesn't make you think or feel anything.

Meanwhile I'm up to the second to last currently released Xanth book, #46, Six Crystal Princesses.  It's looking like #43, Jest Right, is the last Xanth volume that mentions one of the five princesses -- Dawn, Eve, Melody, Harmony or Rhythm, and #42 is the last time they have a prominent role, so there isn't much of a point to continue reading the series, but I may as well complete my reread when I'm this far in.  It's a shame that the series simply refuses to show Harmony's wedding with Bryce, the last missing piece of the puzzle, but oh well, it's Piers' series, he can do what he likes with it.

I think all reasonable readers should stop reading at #43, the dropoff in quality after that is like a cliff.  But before then the quality stays at a surprisingly high level.  I really had fun with Board Stiff (#38).  The highlight of the entire series is Two to the Fifth (#32), where Rhythm takes on Ragna Roc and the Adult Conspiracy all at once.  Stork Naked (#30), where Surprise retrieves her baby from the stork works, is also really good.  The point being that the quality of the series stays quite high for a very long time.

Generally speaking, any books about Melody, Harmony, Rhythm, Dawn, Eve, Jenny, Dolph, Bink, Dor, Trent, Surprise, Imbri, or Mundanes crossing over into Xanth for their first time tend to be excellent.  Mundanes crossed over as recently as Ghost Writer in the Sky (#41) and it was again a good time.  There are also some very solid one-off adventures, including the one about Humfrey, Jordan, Grundy, Smash, Esk, Chlorine, and Clio.

My Xanth reread can last me until the arrival of Final Fantasy XVI, and after that comes the Women's World Cup, so it looks like a nonstop fun summer.  The summer anime season starts in just 4 days with new Love Live! Sunshine.