I just finished this book and while I have other drafts of book reviews sitting in my blog, I thought it would be nice to end this mini-streak of Japan-related book reviews and posts with one last translated work! The Convenience Store by the Sea is, in some ways, a very typical example of the… Read More Book Review: The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida
I was looking for a different Endo book in the library when I chanced upon this one and was hooked by the line “a newly discovered novella”. Apparently in 2020, a curator at the Endo Shusaku museum in Nagasaki discovered the novella that is translated and collected with five short stories (three of which are… Read More Book Review: Portraits of a Mother by Endo Shusaku
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
I’ve had my eye on The Kamogawa Food Detectives for a while because it seems like the cosy, heartwarming genre of Japanese fiction I like – books like What You’re Looking For is in the Library and There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job come to mind as similar titles. And if you’ve read… Read More Book Review: The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai
Since I have been reading more Japanese literature (and since my memory of struggling through “人間失格/No Longer Human” in the original Japanese is fading), I decided to reread Natsume Soseki’s classic, “I Am a Cat”. I’ve read it years ago and my main takeaway back then was that the first chapter was lots of fun… Read More Rereading: I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki
I generally avoid very hyped books because I’m afraid that my expectations won’t match my reading experience, but I saw so many lovely reviews about this book AND it’s Japanese literature which I love so I figured I would give it a go. Unfortunately, I really do think it’s overhyped. Before the Coffee Get’s Cold… Read More Book Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
This is another book club pick and one that I was excited about because I love Japanese literature! Adn I love books and this sounds like a good combination of the two. What You Are Looking For Is In The Library is a collection of five stories about people who go to their local community… Read More Book Review: What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama
Hello again! I took a day off blogging yesterday because I was really tired and decided that instead of just recapping my day, I would try writing a discussion post – it’s the one that you saw earlier today! And doing that was actually really energising, which helped me regain the momentum for today. As… Read More June ’23 Rereading: Day 20 – Kiku’s Prayer
A while back, I wrote a post on cottagecore books – while this isn’t the traditional cottagecore book, it is a heartwarming book set in a small village in a forest and because of that, I think it qualifies as one. Thanks Juliet, for sending me a copy of this book, it’s beautifully translated and… Read More Book Review: Kamusari Tales Told at Night by Shion Miura
I’ve been hearing good things about Lonely Castle in the Mirror on Instagram and I’m so glad that I read it because it is amazing! Honestly, I was captivated from the first page! Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a touching fantasy about the power of community. Kokoro has been unable to go to school… Read More Book Review: Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura