This book seems to confront me, forcing me to question my own life, career, relationships, and goals. I am always a firm believer that good novels make us ask questions about ourselves. It isn’t just about escaping, but instead escaping within ourselves and discovering something new. Continue reading
So, I thought. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so terrible to make a summer reading list written and recommended by an avid reader and book-loving human with some literary qualifications up her sleeve.
Below, you’ll find six books that I highly recommend for reading over the summer. Some are new releases, and some are recent. There is a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. They are weird, serious, and hilarious. Hopefully, there is something for everyone. You get extra points if you read all six over the summer and let me know what you thought of them in the comments below. Continue reading
I find it so strange that two books, both by Japanese women, both discussing themes of societal and cultural pressures around femininity, work (domestic and paid), and food, would have such wildly different receptions. Continue reading
His latest work though is a very different kind of book. Instead of creating worlds in a well or alternate universes through tunnels, Murakami has released a book about his experiences as a career author, and in it, he details all the highs and lows of what it is really like to write books for over 35 years. In this book, he talks about each section being a speech rather than an essay or memoir, and I feel like that is perhaps the best way to think of this book. It does feel like Murakami is talking to you – delivering a speech at a graduation or event. Considering that Murakami rarely makes public appearances, he does this kind of speech writing well. Continue reading
Find out what I have been reading since the end of summer! Continue reading
In Tawada’s world, the old don’t age or die, and the young are cursed with ill-health and short life-spans. Learn more about why this dystopian novel haunted me for months after I read it. Continue reading
I am a lover of Japanese literature. I studied Japanese in primary school (but it sadly is not one of the languages that stuck in my head), and I have had an affinity for Japanese culture, art, and food. When I came across Sayaka Murata’s work, Convenience Store Woman, I knew I had to get … Continue reading
I bought The Courage to Be Disliked because I was curious to learn more about what the book had to offer. There has been an explosion of self-help literature in the 21st Century, and it probably has something to do with our chronic feelings of loneliness, burnout, and fear of not fitting into society. Japanese … Continue reading
It has already been said that Ishiguro’s novel is a beautiful study of Englishness. The book for me, like all of Ishiguro’s works I have read, is extremely soothing to read. Somehow, Ishiguro has a way with words that not only calms, but also excites the reader. The book spans not only six days of … Continue reading
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