31.Aug.2009 Snakes and Earrings by Hitomi Kanehara
Snakes and Earrings is a novella by young contemporary Japanese author which won the Akutagawa prize (a prestigious literary award in Japan). The front of the book states it as a cult-classic in Japan. I can understand why. The book is bold in carrying the darker issues of Japanese youths: body modification (split tongue, gigantic [...]
29.Aug.2009 Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie
(left is my advanced copy and right is the published cover) Burnt Shadows is a pot mix of everything. Setting in various countries, check. People from different culture who speak different languages, check. Mix them up. Mix them up as much as possible, check. A German has relationship with a Japanese in Japan. The Japanese [...]
26.Aug.2009 R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IV
25 August 2009 – 31 October 2009 Carl @ Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting the fourth R.I.P. Challenge. I’ve never joined R.I.P. challenge for various reasons. First I have never lived at that part of the world where it’s going windy and gloomy around the time of the challenge so I don’t get that Halloween [...]
22.Aug.2009 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
I was utterly mesmerized. I was so sad when the book has ended because I thought I would never find a book like this ever again — which was how I felt when I finished my top 2 books. So this book officially has crept onto my top 3 books ever (in no order). Middlesex [...]
The Spice of Life Challenge
1 July 2009 – 31 December 2009 Rebecca Reads is hosting The Spice of Life Challenge, which I’ve been eying since its conception, but wasn’t sure if I could manage with my other challenges. But what the heck, I love food and I should really not miss a challenge about food related books! It’s a [...]
17.Aug.2009 Mailbox Monday – Bookshop Birthday Bash
Basement Book, which is apparently also known as the Evil Bookshop in one of the mailing list I joined — evil as in making you buy books and books because their prices are unbelievable, was having its birthday, so there were lots of heavily discounted books for a couple of weeks. I resisted the temptation [...]
13.Aug.2009 Squeamish about Sushi by Betty Reynolds
Squeamish About Sushi: And other Food Adventures in Japan is an illustrated “guide book” to eating in Japan. Delightfully drawn and colored in water color pencil, it shows various situations that you may find in Japan, from eating in a restaurant, Japanese style inn (ryokan), to Sumo stadium. From cherry-blossom (sakura) viewing, street food at [...]
08.Aug.2009 Japanese Literature Challenge 3
30 July 2009 – 30 January 2010 Bellezza is hosting the third Japanese Literature Challenge! How exciting! Yes of course, I’m joining! Japanese literature always has a special place in my heart, as I grew up with all things Japanese throughout my childhood and teenagehood years (from manga to anime to merchandise), though only in [...]
03.Aug.2009 Mailbox Monday: Visit to a Thrift Shop
A visit to a thrift shop on Sunday resulted in these 2 books I’m quite excited about! A hardcover Brick Lane by Monica Ali and a tomb of a book: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I met Monica Ali during the 2009 Sydney Writers’ Festival earlier this year and have been contemplating [...]
02.Aug.2009 Sunday Salon: Generational Saga Novels
If you dropped by here in the past few weeks and noticed the books I’m reading on my sidebar, you’d see that I have Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie. They are both saga novels, span across three generations. They both have political and cultural histories wedged in between the main [...]
