Happy 2024 - Year of the Dragon - and it's already off to an energetic start here in Japan...
Personally, I could use a bit more energy this year.
Last year, I only read 30 books, my 5th worst year since I started keeping track. In my defense, I did discover a great local
taiko drum rock band and spent quite a bit of time on their concerts - and listening to their CDs in between. They are better live, though.
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Anyway, here's my list, I hope to get a few more books FOR LV in this year.
"Real" books or ebooks
for my own entertainment/edification/or for work:
1.
The Showa Anthology by Van C. Gessel and Tomone Matsumoto. Wonderful collection of literary short stories written from 1929 to 1984.
2.
Cha-no-yu by A. L. Sadler. The ins and outs of Japanese tea ceremony in extremely detailed detail.
3.
Tea ceremony by Shozo Sato. Illustrated book on tea ceremony; I'm not sure if kids are really interested in all the meticulous details here, no matter how "creative" they are.
4.
Raku - A Legacy of Japanese Tea Ceramics by Raku Kichizaemon XV & Raku Atsundo. Fascinating family history with lots of pictures - of tea bowls.
5.
Invitation to Tea by Horacio Quieroga. Picture Book with a story that wouldn't be published today - and rightfully so. What did the cat do to deserve this?
6.
Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink. How 2nd gen. Germans deal with the Holocaust. Slow book that deserves attentive reading.
7.
Seventeen by Hideo Yokoyama. A reporter of a local newspaper has to deal with the deadliest single-aircraft accident, the crash of JAL-123 in 1985. Probably based on his own experiences at the time.
8.
The Woman on the Stairs by Bernhard Schlink. A book about love - found, lost, regained - and a woman who lives according to her own ideas.
9.
What I talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Murakami. Autobiographical 50:50 on running and writing. Didn't grip me, but it's better than his "Novelist as Vocation".
10.
The Temples of Kyoto by Donald Richie & Alexander Georges (photos). Part travel guide, part history, part personal observations with photos of 21 temples sprinkled in.
11.
1001 Paintings to See Before you Die. Lots of photos; some very old paintings look surprisingly modern. Centered on the West, sadly.
12.
The Izu Dancer and Other Stories by Y. Kawabata and Y. Inoue. 4 short stories with a literary bent. Izu Dancer made Kawabata famous in the West.
13.
Underground by Haruki Murakami. Interviews with victims of the Tokyo Subway Gas Attack in 1995, as well as with members of the Aum sect (which was responsible). Heartbreaking first part, followed by "
I couldn't have done it" rationalizations.
14.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. He indeed is a master; the breadth of his imagination is unbelievable.
15.
The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida. A deep dive into autism from an author who has autism and purportedly wrote it at age 13. The style seems a bit too good for that imo, but I might feel that because I can only read the translation.
Audiobooks FROM LibriVox for my own entertainment/edification on commutes and during housework:
1.
Auf Schneeschuhen übers Gebirge von Fridtjof Nansen. Short account on a winter solo trip (with dog) over the mountains of Norway.
2.
The Ego Machine by Henry Kuttner. A writer gets revenge on a film director by having less evolved egos imposed on his brain - fun scifi.
3.
Brennendes Geheimnis von Stefan Zweig. A 12-year old boy gets caught up in his mother's love affair and is compelled to intervene.
4.
Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences by Mark Twain. Does what it says on the tin - hilariously so.
Audiobooks FOR LibriVox for my own entertainment/edification and possibly that of others: