— EusReads —

May 2024 in Review

June 3, 2024

Hello! I’m poking my head back up from my reading/crocheting hole to talk about what’s been happening in May.

First up: I’ve still not finished my smoked tea review post. If I don’t get it done in June, I’m just going to have to accept that I’m just enjoying teas and not writing about them at this point in my life. I’m still drinking tea, but it’s just not something that I’m writing about (for whatever reason). I also had a nice afternoon tea at Sofitel but I think I missed the moment to write about it because I’ve got no motivation whatsoever.

What I’m Reading

Now on to the bookish stuff. I’ve actually got about three reading themes going on right now, which is why I’ve not yet come back to the blog.

The first theme is ‘folklore’ – I found the Folklore podcast recently and my dormant interest in folktales and folklore has been reawakened! This time, I want to hear what the folklorists have to say, so I’m planning to read more from them. I’ve finished one book so far and I’ve got another two or three queued up so I’m hoping I’ll have a nice series of posts on the theme by the end.

The second theme is ‘Japanese Literature’ – It started with one post about a Light Novel series that got me back to reading in Japanese and I just wrote a review about a Korean mystery that was translated into Japanese. It’s only two books/series so far so I’m not sure if anything will come of it, but I’ve got one translated JLit book on my TBR so I’m going to give this a bit more time and see if anything comes of it.

The third theme is ‘theology/Christian living’ – I finished facilitating a worldview course recently and have been diving into some of the suggested readings as part of the course preparation! I really enjoyed Liturgy of the Ordinary (which helped bridge the sacred-secular divide in a beautiful manner) and I’m enjoying How to Inhabit Time right now. This is a more personal reading theme for me; I’m not sure if I’ll be writing about it because I enjoy having real-life convos about the books (and after that, I don’t really feel the need to blog about it!) but I am enjoying contrasting these to some of the books on minimalism and the attention economy that I read earlier this year. Here’s a quote from How to Inhabit Time that hit me deeply:

If you can’t see the image, here is the text:

This is why you can’t go home again: because the you that arrives is not the you that left, and the home you left is not the home to which you return.

Crochet and Other Stuff

When I’m not reading or with fiancé/family/friends, I’m crocheting! This month, I finished a bag (complete with two keychains) for my sister and I’ve finished a bag for my mum. I’ve been finding crochet to be very soothing and a bit addictive; I really like seeing the end product and knowing I’ve made something tangible. And I only need a couple of minutes to work on the project if it’s been a busy day (unlike baking where I feel I need a free day to even start).

Finally, over the weekend, we went to the Fukusa Exhibition at the Peranakan Museum (link to museum page)! It was a gorgeous exhibition and the pictures cannot convey how gorgeous these pieces of clothes are and the variety of dyeing and embroidery techniques that went into them. I took a few photos, because they really were too pretty, but you really need to see them in person to appreciate them.

And that’s pretty much what’s been happening off the blog that might affect what happens on the blog! I’m going back to my reading/crochet hole right now but I will still be blog hopping here and there while I’m away.

18 thoughts on “May 2024 in Review”

  1. I actually just bought myself a few Japanese books recently. Mostly translated to English of course, though also one in Japanese which I’ve just started reading with the help of a translating app. Wish you a lot of fun reading books from these three interesting themes. And while you might not be writing about tea, I’m glad you’re still enjoying drinking tea so much 🙂

    1. Oooh, which books did you get? I have one translated book on my TBR – the cat who saved books – so I’m also looking forward to that!

      1. The Leopard Mask, which is the first book in the Guin Saga series, one of the longest book series ever written. The Honjin Murders, which is the first book in the Detective Kindaichi series. And Mayu Iwatani’s autobiography, she’s one of the best wrestler in the world right now, regardless of gender. Though she was a hikikomori for two years before she became a wrestler. That’s the one I’m reading now, very slowly, with the help of a translating app.

        I’m more of a dog person myself, though the cat who saved books looks pretty good. Hope you’ll love it 🙂

        Also, bit curious, if you don’t mind me asking. How do you feel about translations from Japanese to English? Do they always capture the subtle details that can make the book so great in Japanese, or do you think sometimes something can get lost in translation?

        1. Sounds like a great list – I think Honjin Murders is on my TBR too (can’t quite remember, there are too many Japanese mysteries!)

          Hmmm that’s a good question. When I read No Longer Human in both languages (also partially to check that I was understanding the OG correctly), I did find passages where I thought: “I would have translated it differently”. But I didn’t think it was so radically different.

          I also think the difference in experience might also be due to my comfort level when reading in Japanese and English. Viorica Marian wrote about how literature resonates differently in a second language (there is more emotional distance as well) and I think that might be a cause too.

  2. Whew, sounds like you’ve had a full month. I look forward to reading what you have to say about those books on folklore; that’s a fascinating topic, but I don’t honestly know much about it, so it’ll be interesting to get your perspective.

    Those little bags are too cute (the matching keychains!!!, are you kidding me???); also, I appreciate the bit about that fukusa exhibit; it’s not an artform I’d heard of before, but now I’ve got 1 billion tabs open ready for a rabbit hole expedition next time I get a break at work.

    1. Fukusa is so beautiful – I never realised that it existed (I know about furoshiki, which is also cloth for gifts but fukusa includes a lot of meaning in the design as well).

      Thank you! My sister seemed pleased with her bag so I’m very glad I spent time on the keychains!

  3. You make me wish I liked tea more. I appreciate it vicariously through you and my husband. The Fukusa Exhibition sounds so interesting! Your photos came out well and so I can only imagine how much better it would be to see everything in person. The bag you made for your mom is so cute! And those keychains! You are so talented. I hope you have a great week, Eustacia.

    1. Thanks so much! I really like tea, I wish I could write about it better haha. I think tea is just a comfort drink now, compared to when I was exploring a bit more :p

    1. Thanks! I lucked out and chose a really easy project for my first crochet bag (basically one stitch and then I sewed the handles and sides together) so it’s been okay finding time. I can see how crochet = less reading time though! Not to mention I haven’t opened Netflix in two months haha

      Do let me know if you want any of the patterns I used, I can always email it to you + pictures. I got them from tutorial videos (most came with the kit) so I wrote it down for my own reference.

      1. Thanks! I’ll let you know. 🙂
        No Netflix?! I keep thinking that once I get into crocheting, I’ll spend my time watching TV while doing so.

        1. Haha I listen to podcasts because I still need to look at the piece, but I think more people can watch or even participate in meetings while crafting!

  6. Oh my goodness, your crocheting skills are unmatched! Those are so adorable. Do more! 😀 I also like your themes of folklore and Jap lit! I’m curious to see what you get around to checking out! Happy reading!

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