Tag Archives: books

Book Review: The Ice Master by Jennifer Niven

This is the ultimate Arctic voyage novel, based on real events. The 1913 Canadian voyage on the Karluk was the worst planned arctic mission in history. The captain declared the boat unsuitable on seeing it and the crew consisted of a rag-tag bunch of wannabes with no experience in Arctic weather. The scientists on the voyage had never stepped out of a classroom.

Book Review: A Beginner’s Guide to Japan Observations and Provocations by Pico Iyer

Time magazine journalist and author Pico Iyer has lived in Nara (land of the rabid deer) in Japan for the past 30 years. In this book, Iyer follows his instincts to uncover the depths of the Japanese psyche, Japanese soul and character. This is fascinating to me because I am (in case you didn’t know)Continue reading “Book Review: A Beginner’s Guide to Japan Observations and Provocations by Pico Iyer”

Ancient words of the day: Glamour and grammar

Glamour is an 18th Century corruption of the word grammar. Or the occult processes that were traditionally associated with learning during the middle ages. The words grammar and glamour are also associated with the word grimoire – a spell-book. Glamourie: witchcraft, magic, fascination or a spell Glaumerify: to cast a spell over or bewich Glamour-bead:Continue reading “Ancient words of the day: Glamour and grammar”

Ancient word of the day: Tsundoku

The Japanese word, “Tsundoku”, which literally means “reading pile”, dates back all the way to the Meiji era (1868-1912). It’s a unique word for which there is no English equivalent. If you’re an avid reader though, you will well understand that feeling…it’s pure happiness, the feeling of knowing that you have many more books readyContinue reading “Ancient word of the day: Tsundoku”

Book Review- Picnic in the Storm by Yukiko Motoya

* Contains no plot spoilers Japanese author Yukiko Motoya’s collection of short stories have a definitive style and are matched with substance. It’s obvious that she gets a bit of inspiration from Murakami’s magic realism style, although seen through Yukiko’s lens, the world is from a woman’s perspective. Her stories seem to feature unremarkable everydayContinue reading “Book Review- Picnic in the Storm by Yukiko Motoya”

Jisei: Haunting Japanese death poems from history

Japan has a long history of jisei, or death poems. Jisei is the “farewell poem to life.” These poems were written by literate people, often monks, royalty or courtiers just before their death.  A Jisei from Prince Otsu in 686 BC is one of the earliest recorded death poems. Not all death poems are writtenContinue reading “Jisei: Haunting Japanese death poems from history”

The book blogger confessions tag

I saw this tag at the wonderful book blog by Diana Ideas on Papyrus.  I simply had to do this book tagging exercise, even though this apparently happened AGES ago. Still, it’s a very cool and fun idea. So here are some books that have imprinted themselves onto my soul. Please share the love and doContinue reading “The book blogger confessions tag”

Helen Keller’s Fierce Friendships and Bold Legacy

Helen Keller was not just some blind lass from the last century. She was a fierce socialist, pacifist, author and sufragette who believed in birth control, workers rights and women’s rights. The first blind person to complete a Bachelor’s Degree, she was a bold trailblazer with a sweet nature. Keller won hearts all over theContinue reading “Helen Keller’s Fierce Friendships and Bold Legacy”

Seven reasons why it’s great to be an introvert and having introverted friends

Many of us are introverts but are in denial about this and trying fervently to be extroverted, pushing ourselves to exhaustion trying to make small talk about bullshit that doesn’t matter, often dealing with obnoxious people who have loud voices and often (but not always) boring and generic thoughts on the world. Here’s a listContinue reading “Seven reasons why it’s great to be an introvert and having introverted friends”