Lilisin in 2017

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Lilisin in 2017

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1lilisin
Modifié : Déc 22, 2017, 1:00 am

Hello 2017!

So it seems I stopped reading in May of 2016 and basically never touched a book after that (although I did buy some used books due to the excellent price despite not reading). I don't foresee reading anytime soon in 2017 either but out of tradition I will make my thread. Just in case. :P

So far in 2017:
1) Richard Flanagan : The Narrow Road to the Deep North
2) Shizuko Natsuki : Hara-kiri, mon amour
3) Haruki Murakami : L'Étrange Bibliothèque
4) Han Kang : The Vegetarian
5) Loung Ung : First they killed my father
6) Amelie Nothomb : La Nostalgie Heureuse
7) Junichi Saga : Confessions of a Yakuza
8) Hiroko Oyamada :
9) Maiko Seo : 天国はまだ遠く
10) Ryu Murakami : オーディション

Books read in 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009

2wandering_star
Jan 5, 2017, 4:22 am

And I'll follow it just in case ;-)

3catarina1
Jan 5, 2017, 8:34 am

Me, too. You must be busy, hoping you're enjoying. . .

4kidzdoc
Jan 5, 2017, 10:10 am

Welcome back!

5lilisin
Jan 9, 2017, 7:53 pm

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! I'm going to try and be good again about turning off all electronics at 10pm so that I can attempt to read till midnight. I used to do that in grad school to de-stress and it worked really well. As long as I don't get my friends texting me at that time (which they usually do), I might be able to create some reading magic. And if I'm not reading books, as long as I continue to read comics in Japanese to continue improving my Japanese, I'll consider that being on the right track. We will see what happens!

6AnnieMod
Jan 9, 2017, 8:06 pm

>5 lilisin: I've started turning my phone in Night mode at 10 pm - which basically silences the messages and sends calls to voice mail directly. It had made miracles for my evenings...

Plus comics are books :)

7lilisin
Jan 31, 2017, 3:22 am

First update for 2017.
I have been following my reading plan and although I'm still a bit distracted in the evenings, I've made great progress on The Narrow Road to the Deep North which I should finish in February.

Although I never declare New Years Resolutions, I've without noticing added new habits to my schedule. I've been working out at home to youtube videos two days a week after work (for more intense training than my weekend soccer), have been studying Japanese more intensively while at work, and have also been trying out lots of new recipes that I've been cooking and adding to my ... what's the word? Can't recall right now. (5 minutes later: repertoire!)

The new recipes are quite exciting. There are lots of cooking apps being advertised on Facebook right now so I decided to download a few and found one I like. Every day you get about 6 new easy recipes that come with videos on how to prep and cook so I save my favorites and the next day I make one recipe. They don't take longer than 30 minutes to do and are a great way to get me used to Japanese cooking.

Other good news is that my year long hunt for a violin is finally over and I finally bought the most beautiful (sounding and looking!) violin. I'm very happy. However, with my teacher we are working hard to undo my poor left hand habits and replace them with a more proper form and it's leaving me flummoxed and frustrated. It's so hard trying to fix the basics in your technique when you are working on such difficult pieces with the orchestra. I have to keep the motivation that fixing my technique will make the difficult pieces less difficult!

So lots of wonderful things going on.

January Book Summary!

Books read: 0
Manga read: 1

Manga acquired: 0
Books acquired: 2

Books purchased:
小山田 浩子:
磯崎 憲一郎: 終の住処

8catarina1
Jan 31, 2017, 11:27 am

Gambatte kudasai!

9lilisin
Modifié : Fév 7, 2017, 2:17 am

1) Richard Flanagan : The Narrow Road to the Deep North

First book read since May!

But I'm not sure what I think of it. I wanted to read a POW of war book as my grandfather was once a (French/Vietnamese) POW of the Japanese. He spoke of their cruelty and lived his life praising the virtues of the Vietnamese, and cursing the "Japs". However, this wasn't a POW book, at least, not in the way that I wanted it to be.

And I'm not sure I know what this book was. I found the Amy love story unrealistic and unconvincing and it read like an Ian McEwan book (an author I do not care for) and then the bushfire later also felt very much out of place and unnecessary.

Flanagan had a better time describing the POW situation but although his writing is lovely, it was too flowery for the subject. Instead of having me feel the horrors myself, he tried to tell me how to feel the horrors and I just read with a shrugged shoulders sort of outlook as he kept repeating himself just with different floral accents on his writing.

I'm not disappointed at the book, and I'm glad to have read it, but I'm not sure I see it as anything but another book. There are so many other books out there about WWII that really rip you out emotionally so I guess I just don't understand the prize.

However, to get a bit more of a realistic take, the next book I'm reading is Shohei Ooka's autobiographical Taken Captive: A Japanese POW's Story which will give me a different perspective. And as he is the author of the magnificent Fires on the Plain, I'm greatly looking forward to this one.

10lilisin
Modifié : Fév 27, 2017, 11:09 pm

An end of February update.

This year in Tokyo we are having a very mild winter (yay!) so the weather is gorgeous and already feeling like spring. Here's to hoping the rain stays away during cherry blossom season which will be at the end of this month. Last year I told myself I should do a little weekend trip to a new city to see the cherry blossoms there so I think I might like to start researching that. At least, even if I don't do it this year, I can get ideas for next year.

This month not only did I manage to stay away from the bookstores, I also managed to read the Flanagan book that has been on my wishlist since it was first published, but read within 3 months of purchasing it and putting it on my TBR pile.

I'm currently reading a book in Japanese that has not yet been translated in English. I think I can quite easily finish it in March as long as I don't get distracted by other enticing things.

The new Haruki Murakami book, Killing Commendatore, came out here in Japan this week and it was tempting to purchase but I've never read over 300 pages in Japanese (and this one is 500 pages per volume, 1000 total), and I have to say that I really dislike this cover.



I think I'm willing to wait two years for it to come out in paperback and by then I will have a few more novels read in Japanese under my belt.

11Simone2
Mar 1, 2017, 11:56 am

>10 lilisin: Japan is the only country I visited where I thought that I would actually like to live there. Your update on reading Japanese, mild winters, upcoming cherryblossom and even Murakami's ugly covers do remind why I thought that!

12lilisin
Modifié : Mar 2, 2017, 3:32 am

>12 lilisin:
Mild winter but only this year! Last two years were dreadfully cold.

----

A lot of explanation for what I still consider to be a horrible cover.

Haruki Murakami : "Killing Commendatore" Book Design
http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2017/02/28/haruki-murakami-killing-commendatore-book...

13RidgewayGirl
Mar 2, 2017, 11:15 am

I'm glad you're here. Your life sounds very full, I wouldn't push the reading when you have so much going on. And should you be reading about Japanese POW camps while living in Japan? I had to avoid books about WWII while living in Munich - I'd emerge from the pages and eye everyone around me suspiciously.

Will you post pictures of cherry blossom season?

14lilisin
Mar 2, 2017, 7:51 pm

>13 RidgewayGirl:

Thank you! My life is indeed very full! I'll definitely post pictures of the cherry blossoms if I remember. :)

What a funny anecdote. I do sometimes look at the older generation and their stubbornness and think, oooooh, so that's how they were trained to become tyrants. And I do see how it could actually be done again but overall life here is so peaceful, it's much more fun to bathe in the splendor of cherry blossoms.

Sometimes though I think I maybe should start reading these books in public just to remind some of the older generation of the destruction Japan did. Otherwise you end up with these ridiculous people:

Hotel chief places book in every room of hotel room; a book that he wrote, rewriting history and basically denying the Nanking Massacre.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/02/06/national/protesters-march-tokyo-apa-...

15lilisin
Avr 30, 2017, 10:57 pm

Been a while since I've come to my own post.

In April I got hit with a nasty cold that keeps coming back and preventing me from being 100% me. I actually went home one day early from work with a fever and stayed home the next day. I haven't been missed a day of work/school from sickness since elementary school! Living in a big city will definitely test your immune system.

We also had our orchestra concert that didn't feel like much of a success but I'll have to hear the recorded version. We played:
Smetana - Moldau
Poulenc - Les Biches
Dvorzak - Symphony 7

This Sunday we start rehearsing the new music which is:
Camille Saint-Saëns - Danse Macabre
Debussy - Petite Suite
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique

This week is Golden Week in Japan which is basically like a Spring Break with Wed, Thurs and Friday being holidays. With May being the best month of the year for weather, I'm looking forward to soaking up lots of sun in the park and doing nothing else but that. May will also bring in lots of major festivals, two weddings, my LT 10 year thing-aversary.

Despite not reading I was really bored one day and tired of being stuck at home with my cold so I decided to at least go to the bookstore to wander when I had more energy. I ended up coming home with three books that I don't need but fortunately Japanese books are small and don't take up much space.

Books purchased:
村田 沙耶香 : コンビニ人間
井上 靖 : しろばんば
瀬尾 まいこ : 天国はまだ遠く

One is Shirobamba which I've already read in French but apparently that is the abridged version as the whole has never been translated. So I picked up the original because I remember loving this book but remember nothing about it and thought it'd be nice to revisit it in the original Japanese.

One book is called Conbini Ningen which won the Akutagawa Prize this past year and is getting rave reviews. So much that its translation rights have already been picked up so I'd like to read this sooner than later so I can enjoy what I think will be a fun read, and I could recommend it to LT later for when the translation comes out.

The third book I chose just for the title, the synopsis, and what looked like an easy read despite not usually being my genre. I'll have to see how it goes.

In all reality I won't read any of these any time soon but eh. Maybe someday. Someday indeed. :P

---

>13 RidgewayGirl:

I still plan on posting cherry blossom pictures if I can go through selecting a few. I missed out on most of the season to the strange weather we had and my fever hitting right before full bloom but I was able to take a little bit.

16lilisin
Mai 9, 2017, 4:03 am

I read a book! Or maybe I should better state, I finished a book! I read the majority of this last year but never read the last 60 pages so this Golden Week (the Japanese version of Spring Break except not limited to just students) I pushed myself to read at least 10 pages a day to finish it.

2) Shizuko Natsuki : Hara-kiri, mon amour
American title: The Obituary Arrives at Two O'Clock

The book was actually translated into French from the American version.

Kosuke is a grounds keeper and one day gets in a fight with the owner of a golf course over unpaid debts. The following day the owner of the golf course turns up murdered and all evidence points to Kosuke. Did he do it?

This little crime fiction is apparently a prize winner and was definitely intriguing with all its twists and turns. I also very much liked the ending although I think I'm over my brief foray into crime fiction.

The French title was very confusing as it has nothing to do with the plot of the book and was only used because a character quotes it. Due to this I was definitely mislead into expecting a different kind of book.

Normally I would discuss the Japanese-ness of the book to continue with my studies of Japanese literature but I think I'll just move on this time.

17RidgewayGirl
Mai 9, 2017, 6:49 pm

I enjoy Japanese crime fiction, so I'll have to keep an eye out for this one!

18lilisin
Mai 19, 2017, 1:10 am

3) Haruki Murakami : L'Étrange Bibliothèque
English title: The Strange Library

I read this one next as it is a short 50 pages or so with half of the pages being illustrations.

I didn't like this. There was no point to it other than to make a lot of money off a short story (which worked). Brilliant marketing strategy, not so much a brilliant story.

I just feel indifferent to this. I didn't see the point; there was no message; surrealism for the sake of surrealism.

At least it was short.

19lilisin
Modifié : Mai 29, 2017, 3:26 am

It is my 10 year LT anniversary today!

I first joined LT when I was living in Argentina and have had so many great experiences on this page since then. My reading has slowed now and my exuberance for the site has as well but I still enjoy coming here every day to see what people are up to. I look forward to seeing where another 10 years on LT will take me.

Now, normally the tradition is to buy 10 books for your 10-er but I'm just going to try to complete the series I'm reading that happens to have 10 volumes in it. I think reading that will be a great way to celebrate.

Off to Paris on Thursday for my two week vacation visiting family!

20RidgewayGirl
Mai 29, 2017, 11:44 am

Happy Thingaversary! And spending time in Paris sounds like the perfect way to celebrate. Enjoy your vacation.

21lilisin
Juin 14, 2017, 10:28 pm

Back from my vacation!

While it started with weird weather (sweaters and hail!), it ended with wonderful warm sun and friendly blue skies. I have really missed having the sun set past 10pm as in Japan, at the height of summer, the sun sets at 7pm (6:58pm to be exact) and rises at 4:24am which can make it feel like summer never even happened since you are still sleeping during three hours of prime daylight.

I enjoyed eating good food, visiting some castles, spending time with my relatives but mostly just enjoyed doing nothing and walking around aimlessly. Of course I bought lots of books I have no intention of reading anytime soon but oh well. At least they can sit there and look pretty on my shelf.

Books purchased:
Jules Verne : L'étoile du Sud
Han Kang : The Vegetarian
Junichi Saga : Confessions of a Yakuza
Stefan Zweig : Le voyage dans le passé
Zola : La Fortune des Rougon, La Débâcle, Une page d'amour, Germinal, Le Rêve, L'Oeuvre, Nana, La Faute de l'abbé Mouret, La Conquete de Plassans, L'Assommoir, Son Excellence Eugène Rougon

22lilisin
Modifié : Juil 10, 2017, 11:47 pm

4) Han Kang : The Vegetarian
Korea

Meh.

I feel like I've read this kind of book so many times. Sexuality covered in surrealism (ie. Haruki Murakami), disfunctional Asian families (ie. Banana Yoshimoto), marital unhappiness, etc. I've read so many variations on this topic that it is hard to make it seem new.

While I devoured the book in three reading sessions over the weekend due to how well translated the prose is, I just know that I'll forget about this book in a few months time.

23RidgewayGirl
Juil 11, 2017, 10:17 am

Before you give up on Han Kang, take a look at Human Acts, a novel based on the aftermath of the student uprising and violent repression in Gwangju, South Korea. It's an amazing book. Of course, I also loved The Vegetarian, so take that under consideration.

And adding fresh books to the shelf is a fine thing to do. Glad your time in Paris was enjoyable.

24lilisin
Août 20, 2017, 8:21 pm

5) Luong Ung : First they killed my father

Finished this short book over the weekend, a first account narrative of the Cambodian genocide by the Khmer Rouge. The story is told via the perspective of the author from the age of 5 to about 10. It was a gripping story as she tells the story of her family's attempt at survival while surrounded by the horrors of starvation, fear of execution, fear of separation, and a general lack of understanding why this was happening. The author never goes into the why and the how and the when; she's not here to provide a historical account of the event, only her personal account. All in all a good read.

I had bought this book while in Cambodia which added an extra dimension to the book as I could picture the Cambodian countryside as she traverses it. To wonder what Cambodia could have been without this massive step back.

---

Update on the 10 year Thingaversary goal. I'm halfway through the last volume of the 10 volume series and will finish that this evening.

Otherwise, been having a lovely summer going to the beach practically every weekend, saw one fireworks display and been basically quite busy with moving. I have no furniture so have been sleeping on a yoga mat for the past three weeks. This upcoming weekend they are delivering my mattress so I'm excited to finally sleep on something a bit more comfortable although my back feels wonderful after having been realigned by the hard surface. This week I'm also finally buying a refridgerator, a washing machine and an oven.

Also, my next orchestra concert is coming up in two week. So soon! Lots happening!

25lilisin
Août 30, 2017, 8:46 pm

6) Amelie Nothomb : La Nostalgie Heureuse

I always say that I like Nothomb best when she writes about herself and this was no different. Here she writes about her experiences coming back to Japan for the first time since her 20s (she's in her 40s now) as part of a French television program, meeting her former nanny and former fiance. There were great snippets of her famous humor and as always she wrote so well about her return to Japan without falling too much into the Japanese cliches despite the director of the program putting her in cliche areas. A nice summer book accentuated by my own experiences with Japan.

26lilisin
Modifié : Oct 18, 2017, 11:42 pm

7) Junichi Saga : Confessions of a Yakuza

A doctor chronicles the stories of his patient, a former yakuza boss, which leads to this wonderful insight into the yakuza world of 1920-1940s Tokyo. While getting a look at the underground world was fascinating (unlike today's yakuza, back then they made their money only from gambling), what was most remarkable was getting to walk through Tokyo in the 20s and 40s. Living in Tokyo now, you remember that this Tokyo is only about 70 years old as Tokyo has been destroyed a few times already. So getting this insight into a city you live in but don't actually know, is fascinating. Really enjoyed this one.

27dchaikin
Oct 18, 2017, 11:40 pm

>26 lilisin: Was this an English language read? The subject sounds fascinating.

28lilisin
Oct 18, 2017, 11:42 pm

>27 dchaikin:

Yes it was! I always put the titles in the language I read them.
It's a simply little nonfiction title but I really enjoyed it and it's a quick read!

29tonikat
Nov 15, 2017, 4:53 pm

And now me catching up with your thread. I've had a much more local year of relocation, I started with a mattress but still no washing machine. My disruptions to reading have come and gone and come. Japan sounds amazing, cherry blossom, in Japan, wonderful. Hope concert went well and any now on the horizon again. We're close in thingaversaries.

30lilisin
Nov 15, 2017, 11:27 pm

>29 tonikat:

Thank you for stopping by! With my short thread it must have been very easy to play catchup. :)

Japan is good. The weather is driving me nuts (did we even have an autumn?) but coming from the land of hot weather and blue skies (Texas) it's expected that it'll take me a while to get used to this, if I get used to it at all.

Good luck with your furniture acquisitions! I still need a couch and a table.

31tonikat
Nov 16, 2017, 3:09 am

>30 lilisin: thank you - and yes, one day a couch (or sofa bed I hope -- spare bedrooms are now a study and a library) and a table may be mine too, one day.

32chlorine
Nov 16, 2017, 2:29 pm

Just dropping by to say hi.
Happy 10th anniversary, although I'm a little late for saying this!

33lilisin
Nov 16, 2017, 6:58 pm

>32 chlorine:

Welcome back! As you can see my reading has dropped while you've been gone but perhaps I'll be inspired to pick a book back up again. :)

34chlorine
Nov 17, 2017, 12:16 pm

>33 lilisin:

I did notice your reading has dropped, but am glad you're sharing what you're reading with us! Anyway don't put pressure on yourself, you'll start reading more when it is the right time for you. :)