I thought it might be interesting to note down something new I did recently. When it comes to book reviews, my way of reviewing has always been pretty standard: read the book → review the book. Sometimes, it’s read the book while taking notes → review the book while taking notes. Regardless, book reviewing has… Read More My exercise in ‘Slow Reviewing’
What has Amazon done to the novel? An easy answer (at least for those of us who have followed self-publishing circles) might be to bring up the “tsunami of crap” argument that was really popular in first half of the 2010s. But with Hugh Howey’s Wool, E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, and much more,… Read More Book Review: Everything and Less – The Novel in the Age of Amazon by Mark McGurl
“I am a man,” answered Father Brown gravely; “and therefore have all devils in my heart.” The Hammer of God by G.K. Chesterton It occurs to me that I’ve not properly reviewed this book on the blog before! And yet it’s a collection that I enjoy returning to because I really like Chesterton’s language (although… Read More Book Review: Father Brown – The Essential Tales by G.K. Chesterton
I am, as you know, oddly fascinated with the Internet and Social Media (see: last year when I decided to binge read a bunch of books on social media). So when a friend shared a long-form article about how internet algorithms were leading to oddly homogenous coffee shops, I knew that I had to read… Read More Book Review: Filterworld by Kyle Chayka
Going to Choco Story in Belgium made me realise that I’ve not reread this fascinating book about chocolate for quite some time! I think The True History of Chocolate was one of the first serious history books about food that I read and it definitely left an impression on me! Broken into 8 chapters, The… Read More Book Review: The True History of Chocolate by Sophie D. Coe & Michael D. Coe
I’m pretty sure I heard about Lore when I was in the spooky podcasting phase, though I don’t remember ever listening to the podcast. But oh well, it never hurts to check out a book that’s already on my TBR list. Lore is a collection of stories about supernatural creatures and phenomena, with the book… Read More Book Review: The World of Lore – Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
The first time I can remember watching Spirited Away was way back in the time of portable VCD players. My mum had brought my siblings and I to queue for passports (this was also way back when you had to wait for ages instead of waltzing in on the time you chose online) and the… Read More My History with Ghibli
While I can confidently say that on the whole, this trip to Okinawa was a success, there is one thing tha I wish I did differently. I really would have liked to stop by more Michi no Eki. Michi no Eki is literally translated as “The station for roads”, though in my mind the Japanese… Read More Memory Rest Stops
When it comes to books on the history of Okinawa, I haven’t been able to find much in English. Most of the books I can see cover the battle of Okinawa, or they talk about Okinawa’s diet or karate traditions. So in this way, The Ryukyu Kingdom fills an important void because who doesn’t want… Read More Book Review: The Ryukyu Kingdom by Mamoru Akamine
Lately, I have been obsessed with buying Mamianqun (Horse faced skirts). It’s part of my growing fascination with hanfu — traditional Chinese clothing. While I have bought a few modernised Tang and Song dynasty outfits, the first piece of hanfu I bought was a mamianqun and the pieces I’m most often drawn to are mamianqun. … Read More Wearing Mamianqun in Okinawa
