One great thing about this World of Genji research project is that it’s getting me to read all sorts of books I wouldn’t normally pick up, such as this history of Kyoto city. The Tale of Genji is set during the height of the Heian period in Heian-Kyo (premodern Kyoto). Since the World of Shining… Read More Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital by Matthew Stavros
We’re almost halfway through January and I thought it would be nice to see how the start of the year has been (it is very weird but if I don’t write things down, I can’t seem to properly take stock). So what I’ve realised is that I’m extremely thankful for Christmas and New Year, not… Read More Start of the Year Updates
Look at these stack of books: Doesn’t one of them look different from the rest? That’s because it’s tea!! My manager got me this for Christmas, along with a T2 teapot and I couldn’t wait to try it out! (Please note all the exclamation points that denote excitement) This fruit tisane is made of apple,… Read More Festive T2 Classics: Lady Esmerelda’s Ultimate Dream Dictionary
After reading about Nagai Takashi’s – a Japanese Christian – response to the bombing of Nagasaki, I decided to go back in time and continue reading about Christianity in Japan. This time, however, the topic is completely different. Christ’s Samurai is an account of the Shimabara rebellion, which has the dubious honour of being the… Read More Christ’s Samurai by Jonathan Clements
For Christmas, my boss gave all of us books. Specifically, he gave us Volume 5 of Sunday Em@ils from a Chairman and wrote a note recommending certain chapters to each one of us. Since he asked us immediately after Christmas if we’ve finished it (spoiler alert: no one had), I decided to move this book… Read More Sunday Emails from a Chairman (Vol. 5) by Liew Mun Leong
Nowadays, I go to the library to catch up on my TBR list, because I don’t have the money to buy books. But it’s not very fun to plan out all your borrowed books and I normally try to wander around and grab at least one book on impulse. The Murder of Harriet Monckton was… Read More The Murder of Harriet Monckton by Elizabeth Haynes
Ever since one of my friends in Britain sent me a picture of Yorkshire Tea’s Biscuit Brew, a tea that’s supposed to taste like tea and biscuits, I’ve been wanting to try it. Since I had relatives visiting England, I asked them to help me bring back: FIVE BOXES. This was definitely not intentional. I… Read More Yorkshire Tea’s Biscuit Brew
I requested for this book from NetGalley because the idea of language being a marker of identity was fascinating. That said, despite reading the blurb, I didn’t actually realise the title was a pun until after I finished the book. If you’re a bit quicker than me, you’ll realise that Figures of Speech is about… Read More Figures of Speech by Tim Cassedy
I heard about this book from The Indicator since it was one of their recommended ‘beach reads’ (because economics can be fun!). It sounded pretty interesting, so I found a library copy and started reading it. Divided into seven sections, the book covers fifty different inventions that Harford feels shaped our modern economy. As he… Read More Fifty Inventions that Shaped the Modern Economy by Tim Harford
After reading an abridged copy of The Tale of Genji (the unabridged, library copy is proving rather elusive), I decided to read more about Heian Japan, in the hopes of knowing more about the world and hence being able to appreciate the unabridged novel more when I finally find it. The World of the Shining… Read More The World of the Shining Prince by Ivan Morris
