Welcome to Litsy!

"Man was born for love and revolution." ❤️?

Went to a bookstore for the first time in ages and didn‘t find any of the books I was actually looking for. 😬 I did, however, find three books on my “keep an eye out for these” list and a new one by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. Definitely ready for some holiday long weekend reading!

The novel is circular by design, which I liked at first, but the text was too repetitive & there was too much filler -- overuse of phrases like "in other words" or "with that thought." And I think every character thinks or says, "Huh?" at least once. Here are a couple quotes: "Eiko had no idea what a Whiskey and Coke was." ? "Plants were amazing things. Every year, without fail, they created literal, solid produce." ? Better in Japanese, maybe?

"People always make a serious face when they tell a lie. The seriousness of our leaders these days! Pooh!"

"From that day to the present, we have managed to continue our solitary lives in this cottage in the mountains. We prepare meals, knit on the porch, read in the Chinese room, drink tea - in other words, lead an uneventful existence almost completely isolated from the world."

My idea of paradise! ?

Next up, Dazai's novel of the decline of the Japanese aristocracy immediately following WWII. Published in 1947, the year prior to Dazai's death by suicide, it's tragic in tone.
The translator's introduction in this edition was written in the 1950s, and is itself an interesting, if brief, historical insight into a contemporary Westerner's perception of Japanese post-war culture.

Just an update!

This #10BeforeTheEnd thing isn‘t happening. 😆 Mood reading strikes again! But I did actually pick up some of them, which may not have happened otherwise (and I may sneak some of them in still — especially the book club picks in the upper left).

Thanks for a fun concept, @ChaoticMissAdventures ! I am hereby releasing myself from any semblance of obligation, imaginary or otherwise. 🙃

It‘s perfect that this book ended with a postscript because the whole thing almost felt like a P.S. Just an, “Oh! By the way…” But then, it‘s fitting because it‘s the little things that make up a life. It‘s just that usually, the “little” things don‘t include a pygmy hippopotamus. Which is even more fitting still, because the “little things” are never really so little, are they? 👇🏻

I have now finished the series! (I didn‘t read them in order)
The story about the dog had me crying!

#fictionaltraveler - Asia
#bookspinbingo

This book is wild. An architect has won a competition for designing a tower in Tokyo for prisoners, for whom we need to feel sympathy, cause aren‘t we all human beings? She feels conflicted about this, consults AI and a younger boyfriend and it‘s all pretty meta but so Japanese and I devoured it!

Thank you Helen, for sending me this one!

📸Teshima Art Island, Japan