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Book Review: The Demon at Agi Bridge and Other Japanese Tales by Haruo Shirane

May 25, 2026

Since I’m exploring Japanese culture, I thought a good follow up to the Ukiyo-E book would be The Demon at Agi Bridge and Other Japanese Tales, which is a collection of Setsuwa stories from various compilations. Setsuwa stories refer to “stories that were first orally narrated and then written down. These recorded stories were often… Read More Book Review: The Demon at Agi Bridge and Other Japanese Tales by Haruo Shirane

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Tea Review: Hokumei White Tea by Hiraoka-En

May 22, 2026

Now that we’re in 2026, I’m slowly opening up some of the more unusual teas that I bought in 2025 (ignoring the even rarer teas that I bought in 2022 in SF!). Today’s tea is a white tea, which is a type of tea that I rarely see in Japan. The dry leaves of the… Read More Tea Review: Hokumei White Tea by Hiraoka-En

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Book Review: Murder at the Black Cat Cafe by Seishi Yokomizo

May 20, 2026

I was browsing Libby one day when I chanced upon Murder at the Black Cat Cafe. The title caught my eye and so I decided to borrow it – realising only later that the author, Seishi Yokomizo, was someone that I had intended to read back when I read The Decagon House Murders. Murder at… Read More Book Review: Murder at the Black Cat Cafe by Seishi Yokomizo

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I’m Finally Making Progress on my Reading Goal!

May 18, 2026

Hello friends! It’s been a long time, and I’ve actually been slowly writing book reviews here but not publishing them as life got more and more hectic. But I think I’ll be back for about one or two weeks with a few posts before disappearing again. The impetus for this slight return to the blog… Read More I’m Finally Making Progress on my Reading Goal!

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Book Review: The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch

February 27, 2026

I don’t think I reviewed the first Andy Crouch book I read, which was part of my reading binge on culture making, but I recently read his new book and thought it would be a good one to share. Subtitled: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World, Andy Crouch makes the case for how to be… Read More Book Review: The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch

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Tea Review: Sayama Oolong by Shimizu-En

February 18, 2026

It has been far too long since I wrote a tea review, but I decided to start this year by opening one of the teas that I’ve been saving since my trip to Japan last year. This is an interesting tea because it’s an oolong – not very common in Japan – and I had… Read More Tea Review: Sayama Oolong by Shimizu-En

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Book Review: The Meiji Guillotine Murders by Futaro Yamada

February 16, 2026

I borrowed this book quite impulsively from the library, but then put it to one side for a bit while I reread Endo’s Silence and Foreign Studies. After that, I picked this up thinking that I should read the book before the loan expires and was shocked to find that the first chapter featured discussion… Read More Book Review: The Meiji Guillotine Murders by Futaro Yamada

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Book Review: Strange Pictures by Uketsu

February 11, 2026

I’ve seen Strange Pictures around on Instagram from quite a while back, but I’ve always procrastinated on reading it because I couldn’t decide if I wanted to read the translation or the original Japanese version. However, when a friend texted me to ask me to read it because she got too scared to continue, I… Read More Book Review: Strange Pictures by Uketsu

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3 Poems I liked from Hyakunin Isshu

January 27, 2026

I have been motivated to read more poetry after being led there by… nonfiction books. Which is rather strange but given that I enjoyed The Wastelands by T.S. Elliot when I would not have looked at the book when I was younger, I have decided not to question it. As I start to read more,… Read More 3 Poems I liked from Hyakunin Isshu

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Book Review: The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan translated by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Kevin Brownlee

January 22, 2026

After hearing about Christine de Pizan multiple times (including from the Weird Medieval Guys), I finally decided to borrow a book of her writings. The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan translates and condenses texts from: In addition to these translations, there are also seven essays that evaluate Christine’s work and reputation from various academics.… Read More Book Review: The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan translated by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Kevin Brownlee

Eustea Reads

A life in books and tea