WHOOOAAH! Another post today? Yes! Joining in again with Sheila from Book Journey’s It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? meme.
I’m currently reading two books.
Geketende democratie: Japan achter de schermen (‘Democracy in Chains: Behind the Scenes of Japan‘) ~ Dutch nonfiction about Japan by Hans van der Lugt, who’s been a foreign correspondent in Tokyo for 10 years. It’s a very interesting book and I’m glad I recently picked it up again after having ignored it for a few months.
This week I’ve been reading about corrupt police officers (and uragana, secret money funds), about the dowa issue (still existent discrimination of the lowest classes) , Van der Lugt ‘meeting’ the emperor and empress in a press meeting where he was the only foreign journalist allowed to ask questions, and the holiday to The Netherlands crown prince Naruhito took in 2006 with his depressed wife Masako. It reminded me that I desperately want to read the biography of the royal princess, written by Micha Fritz & Y. Kobayashi.
For fiction I’m reading the Dutch translation of Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country: Sneeuwland. I only just started so there’s nothing to tell yet.
In the past week I’ve read the following books & stories.
- Hear the Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami
I had my heart set on reading Murakami’s first novel(la) first thing in 2011. And I did, right after I finished the last book I had started in 2010 (Caos Calmo). It was like meeting a good friend! - Near the end of the Hear the Wind Sing I came across this quote:
“I bought a ticket for the overnight bus, sat down on the waiting room bench, and just looked at the lights of the town. As the night wore on, the lights began to go out until only the street lamps and neon signs were left. From far off steam whistle sounded, ushering in a slight sea breeze.”
Not only is that shear poetry, it also made me re-read the title story of ‘A Steam Whistle in the Middle of the Night‘, a miniature love story that is absolutely beautiful. - Poelie de Verschrikkelijke (‘Poelie the Terrible‘) by Frans Pointl
This autobiographic collection of cat stories, Kodaks and poetry by Frans Pointl should be read by every cat lover. Just be prepared to shed a tear or two. - Last but not least I devoured Blacklands by Belinda Bauer
It’s the Boekgrrls’ January group read and I’m so glad this book got chosen because chances are it would never have popped up on my radar otherwise. It is so much more than a crime novel! I really felt for 12-year old Steven Lamb, looking for his family’s affection by searching his uncle Billy’s body.
“How had it happened? Where had he gone? Somewhere, somehow, the little boy who used to be him had disappeared and been replaced by the new him.”
I’m awfully happy with how 2011 started! Planning to keep it up ;)
Of course it’s also Music Monday on this — not so depressing — Blue Monday, so I’ll close off with the wonderful eighties hit by New Order. Enjoy!
Graasland 
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maandag 17 januari 2011 bij 23:59
Chinoiseries
LOL, the eighties! A friend of mine is really into 80s music, he even played in a themed band ;) The book about Japan sounds very interesting. I am starting to realize that I need to read more (non-fiction) about Japan in order to understand the Chinese (negative) and Taiwanese (positive) sentiment better. I wonder how the Japanese people really felt about those two groups.
As you know, I also enjoyed Hear the Wind Sing. I do feel however, that because my week was so busy, I missed the fine poetry in his writing. Which means that at some point I will have to re-read again (not a chore with Murakami! ;)) I didn’t know about that novella and I really, really envy you for having a translated copy!
I am not sure whether I’ll read Blacklands, because I got the feeling (through Twitter) that it’s a pretty dark and heavy book? Will you be posting a review soon? ;)
dinsdag 18 januari 2011 bij 05:15
Sheila (Book Journey)
You have some amazing books here! My 2011 has been pretty awesome too!
dinsdag 18 januari 2011 bij 11:42
Uniflame
You are reading so much!! Do you get all these books from the library, bookcrossing or how do you do it? :)
Poelie de verschrikkelijke will be read somewhere in the future :) Adding it to wishlist :)
dinsdag 18 januari 2011 bij 12:40
Gnoe
@Chinoiseries: I just loooove the 80’s :)
If you read about the Nanking Massacre you’ll understand why there’s so much resentment against JPN in China. Or did you mean it the other way round?
Rereading Hear the Wind Sing is not a big job, so I expect I’ll be doing so sometime as well.
As for Blacklands… it is a dark story but not in a horrific way? It’s a good book that won’t disappoint you, nor leave you depressed for days or anything LOL. You should try it!
@Sheila: Don’t you love it when the year starts out great? :)
@Uniflame: It looks more than it really is, both Poelie and Hear the Wind (and the short story I read) are really quick reads of not that many pages. But I’ll admit I’ve been reading more these first few weeks than I did in the last months of 2010. And I like it :)
Although Mr Gnoe and I do own quite a lot of books, both Kalme chaos and Blacklands were lent to me by family/friend. Geketende democratie was a birthday present and Sneeuwland a 2nd hand gift by one of the Boekgrrls. I have an English copy too, which I won in a giveaway ;)
That leaves just the Murakami (of whom we collect all works) and Poelie, that was a gift from me to Mr Gnoe. There you have it ;)
Because I have enough books and bookloving friends as well as Bookcrossing (and Boekgrrl swap meetings), I do not have a library membership anymore.
If you were living in Utrecht I’d lend you the Bento Box in the Heartland once I’d read it ;)
dinsdag 18 januari 2011 bij 20:55
Chinoiseries
The other way around, I’ve studied Chinese history ;) I’ll put Blacklands on my to-read list then!