It has been far too long since I wrote a tea review, but I decided to start this year by opening one of the teas that I’ve been saving since my trip to Japan last year. This is an interesting tea because it’s an oolong – not very common in Japan – and I had… Read More Tea Review: Sayama Oolong by Shimizu-En
I borrowed this book quite impulsively from the library, but then put it to one side for a bit while I reread Endo’s Silence and Foreign Studies. After that, I picked this up thinking that I should read the book before the loan expires and was shocked to find that the first chapter featured discussion… Read More Book Review: The Meiji Guillotine Murders by Futaro Yamada
I’ve seen Strange Pictures around on Instagram from quite a while back, but I’ve always procrastinated on reading it because I couldn’t decide if I wanted to read the translation or the original Japanese version. However, when a friend texted me to ask me to read it because she got too scared to continue, I… Read More Book Review: Strange Pictures by Uketsu
I have been motivated to read more poetry after being led there by… nonfiction books. Which is rather strange but given that I enjoyed The Wastelands by T.S. Elliot when I would not have looked at the book when I was younger, I have decided not to question it. As I start to read more,… Read More 3 Poems I liked from Hyakunin Isshu
After hearing about Christine de Pizan multiple times (including from the Weird Medieval Guys), I finally decided to borrow a book of her writings. The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan translates and condenses texts from: In addition to these translations, there are also seven essays that evaluate Christine’s work and reputation from various academics.… Read More Book Review: The Selected Writings of Christine de Pizan translated by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Kevin Brownlee
It’s been a while but I got another book from Kickstarter! Illustrated by Rowyn Ellis, Here Be Dragons is a beautiful book that collates various dragon stories and carvings from across England. Here Be Dragons opens with a substantial introduction to dragons, where they are found, and what they could possibly be. The introduction is… Read More Book Review: Here Be Dragons by Ralph Whitlock
One of my book club friends recommended this book – I can’t remember why but I think it was about compelling books with unlikeable protagonists. And you know what? This totally fit the genre, but also with very timely social commentary. Just note, some of my thoughts may hint at spoilers, so if you want… Read More Book Review: Culpability by Bruce Holsinger
Happy New Year, my friends! I wrote a bit about how my year started on substack (on my phone, basically) which explains why I was absent. But now that I have some time, I thought I would finally post this book I read in December 2025. I chanced upon this book and thought it sounded… Read More Book Review: A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao
Happy new year!! It occurred to me that I have not been doing my year in review (probably for two, maybe three years now?) and I wanted to just write a short post on January 1st to talk about how 2025 was for reading and this blog and what I plan to do in 2026.… Read More 2025 Blog in Review and 2026 Plans
I heard about The Notebook from a newsletter and a book about the history of the notebook sounded quite interesting, especially since I have three unused notebooks in my house (and probably more at my parents’ house, not to mentioned all the half-filled notebooks!). In fact, the only notebook that I’m probably on the way… Read More Book Review: The Notebook by Roland Allen
