I found this book at the annual Popular Bookfest, where it was being sold at a 73% discount! Since I love fairytales and myths, I had to pick up this book (I was actually pretty good at the fair and only bought two books – the other being How Not to be a Twit, a… Read More The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends by Peter Berresford Ellis
I picked this up because, as I’ve probably mentioned before, I have a family vacation coming up (I am definitely not going to be able to shut up about this) and while part of my preparation is figuring where to go, another part is figuring how I’m going to tell stories about my trip when… Read More Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Writing by Don George
If you’ve been to a Chinese restaurant (especially one in Hong Kong), you’ve probably had puer. It’s a post-fermented tea and is said to aid digestion. I heard a lot of things about puer, about how Malaysia (and I suppose by extension, Singapore) are great places to age it, about how people buy them for… Read More Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic by Jinghong Zhang
As part of my research into the world of Genji, I decided to read up about the history of Kimono. Unfortunately, most library books are for reference, so I borrowed the only one that wasn’t – The Kimono: History and Style. This book is a very beautiful book that takes a pictorial look at the… Read More The Kimono: History and Style by Ito Sacico
So this was a pretty fun read (and may mark me rereading more cozy mystery books if I can find them). Dry Bones is the third in the Village series, staring retired Colonel Hugh, who lives in the village of Frog End. By the time the novel starts, he’s already solved two cases and settled… Read More Dry Bones by Margaret Mayhew
I once took a course on how to wear kimono, partly because I thought they were lovely and partly because I owned two sets and didn’t know how to put them on. The course definitely helped me get the basics down, although I definitely need to practice, but one ‘side-effect’ was that I ended up… Read More All My Kimono
After I borrowed this book, I realised that I’ve already read it 6 years ago. But all I know about what I thought then was a four-star rating on Goodreads and the line: “It’s definitely not the kind of mystery I was used to, but it’s interesting in its own way.” I was definitely way… Read More Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
Here’s another tea that I got from the Dayre Tea Exchange! I may have to go slow on the new teas after this because it seems like my gastric is back. Oh well, I had a good few weeks run of daily teas. This green tea is from Tafu and for some reason, I can’t… Read More Tafu’s Green Tea Powder（粉末緑茶）
A little while back, my brother introduced me to the Odd1sOut’s videos. Partly because he wanted me to buy him this book for his Christmas present. Since I ended up enjoying the videos too, I borrowed the book from him when I was done. The Odd1sOut’s book is a collection of comic essays he wrote.… Read More The Odd 1s Out by James Rallison
I have wanted to read this book ever since I heard of it. Although I swing back and forth between reading the Western and Asian histories of tea, that’s because I want to get a sense of the whole picture. A Social History of Tea covers the rise and impact of tea in Britain and… Read More A Social History of Tea by Jane Pettigrew & Bruce Richardson
