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12 Haruki Murakami books to read
Earlier this year, I published the post ‘23 Japanese books to read in 2023’. This was later followed by the post ‘9+1 Japanese literature classics’. Neither of these posts included any books by Haruki Murakami. The reason was that I was planning to publish another post specifically discussing some of his works (those I’ve read so far that is). Here it is. Novels by Haruki Murakami My fascination with Japan, which I am yet to visit, began in childhood. However, I was in my 30s when I first read a Japanese novel, Murakami’s Norwegian Wood. Since then, I have read many more Japanese novels. Through those, I have learned a lot…
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7 (+4) American literature classics
07/04/2023. Today is the US Independence Day, also known as the Fourth of July, a day of celebrations in America. The day commemorates the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America. To mark the occasion, I discuss 7 American literature classics (this list is, of course, far from exhaustive), as well as 4 more recent books. 7 American literature classics The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) Set in the 1920s on Long Island, near New York City, The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third novel. It is widely considered a literary masterpiece, as…
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9+1 Japanese literature classics
A few months ago, I published the post ‘23 Japanese books to read in 2023’. Since then, I’ve read a few more books from the Land of the Rising Sun (but I’ve still not been there). Among those, there are a few Japanese literature classics, which I would specifically like to discuss today. In writing this post, I’ve made two rather controversial decisions. First, to include works by Kazuo Ishiguro. Born in Nagasaki, Ishiguro moved to the UK at the age of 5, and has been a British citizen since 1983 (Japan does not permit dual citizenship). Even though he writes in English, and most of his books have little to…
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Travel writing: 10 books to read
The Sherborne Travel Writing Festival, curated by the renowned British-Canadian travel writer Rory MacLean, took place from 14 to 16 April 2023. I was in Greece then, celebrating Easter, so I did not attend the festival. I have to admit here that I am yet to read any books by MacLean. Or, as a matter of fact, the writings of the ancient Greek geographer Pausanias, widely considered the first travel writer. But, what exactly constitutes travel writing? According to the Auckland-based travel writer Petrina Darrah, travel writing is defined as “writing that describes places the author has visited and the experiences they had while travelling”. Most agree that travel writing has…
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23 Japanese books to read in 2023
World Book Day 2023 will be on 2 March 2023. To mark the occasion, I have compiled this list of 23 Japanese books to read in 2023. A fan of Japan (a country that I am yet to visit) and literature, I have read quite a few Japanese books in the recent years. A year ago, I joined the Virtual Book Club: Japanese Literature on Meetup. This is a book discussion club that meets online once a month. Before each meeting, a Japanese book (that has been translated into English) has been selected for the attendees to read, whereas during the 90-minute meeting the attendees share their thoughts, impressions and reflections…
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Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic (book review)
I was recently asked to review the book ‘Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic’, by American psychiatrist Paul Conti. After two years of a pandemic and with the recent monkeypox outbreaks, any mention of the word ‘epidemic’ is going to be quite alarming. But, there’s no reason to panic. This is a different kind of an epidemic – trauma is not a contagious disease, but its consequences can be as (or perhaps) even more devastating than those of Covid 19. Here’s the full review as published on Goodreads and Amazon. Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic, a book review According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), “a wide range of…
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A literary trip to Greece with Alex
Happy World Book and Copyright Day! Since I started this blog in June 2018, I have been posting an extra post on this day (‘Aristotle ’s Way: Ancient Wisdom & Happiness’ in 2019, ‘Best London bookstores, tsundoku & bibliotherapy’ in 2020, and ‘My 7 (+1) favourite books’ in 2021). In the meantime, books have inspired many other posts. For example, in June 2022, my friend Deborah sent me a link to the article ’10 of the best novels set in Greece – that will take you there’ which had recently been published in the Guardian. This gave me the inspiration for my post ‘A literary trip to Norway with Alex’.…
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A Cure For Darkness (book review)
Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, the Mental Health Awareness Week is taking place from 10 to 16 May 2021. As a Psychiatrist, I simply had to share a post about mental health (rather than travelling) today. Being an avid reader, I’m sharing my thoughts on the recently-published book ‘A Cure for Darkness: The Story of Depression and How We Treat It’, by Alex Riley. I’m also discussing about bibliotherapy and the beneficial effects that reading has on the mind and the brain. A Cure For Darkness ‘A Cure For Darkness’ is a blend of scientific theory and personal memoir. Written by Alex Riley, a science writer who’s struggled with depression…
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My 7 (+1) favorite books
Today is the World Book Day. A few months ago, I was nominated by my friend Haris to list my 7 favorite books in 7 days. At first, I was so excited about the prospect of looking back to the books I’ve read and reflecting on my favorite ones that I eagerly accepted the challenge. But then I realized that I had read so many books that I had a lot more than 7 favorites. Which ones to choose? To help make up my mind, I started reflecting on the reasons why I love reading books. Truth be told, I’ve not always been a bibliophile and an avid reader. As…
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5 (+1) Books from the Land of the Rising Cat
When I first came across the title of the book ‘Land of the Rising Cat: Japan’s Feline Fascination’, I knew I had to read it. On the one hand, even though I have never been to the land of the rising cat… sorry, the land of the rising sun, I’ve always been fascinated by the Japanese culture and pretty much anything else Japanese (including literature). On the other hand, I have been an ailurophile for as long as I remember… About a year ago, I published the post ‘5 (+1) Japanese novels to read in 2020’, where I recommended some Japanese books I’d read and loved, and also mentioned some…