• 矢沢あいの「ナナ」v２ | “Nana” vol. 2 by Ai Yazawa
  • It’s difficult for me to write about “Nana” because the series has shaped me more than any other book, movie, tv show, album. I have long said I will write some definitive piece about the series, but can never actually bring myself to do so. In the meantime, I am re-reading the series as part of a virtual book club and enjoying every moment.
• 角野 栄子 の 「魔女の宅急便」| “Kiki’s Delivery Service” by Eiko Kadono
  • Kiki’s Delivery Service may well be my favorite film by one of my favorite directors, so of course I had to read the book that inspired the movie. My Japanese is at a level where enjoying middle-grade literature is no problem — yet this book has proven extremely challenging. It’s full of slang and dialect that’s hard to parse on the page. As a result, what should be a fun and light read has taken me now more than 6 months to slog through.
• あずまきよひこの「よつばと！」v１６　”Yotsuba” vol. 16 by Kiyohiko Azuma
• “The Legend of Meneka” by Kritika H. Rao
• “Fifty Sounds” by Polly Barton
  • Barton is one of my favorite translators of Japanese to English, so I was very happy to come across this book at the library. Part memoir, part theory, part unnecessary references to Kierkegaard. Though I am not sure I am actively enjoying this book, I am glad it crossed my path.
• “If Only” by Vigdis Hjorth
  • I am captivated by this extremely strange novel. I was previously unfamiliar with Hjorth, but quickly became interested when the book jacket touted her as the “Nordic Annie Ernaux.”
• Bralette Zine vol. 1
  • I bought this zine on a whim when I stopped in to the lovely Print Bookstore in Portland, Maine. It’s delightful!
• “This is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
  • I need to rectify my status as “the only person who hasn’t read this.”
• “The Goodbye Cat” by Hiro Arikawa
  • Since the passing of my beloved feline companion Torby in January, I have been reading a wealth of cat-themed literature. The Travelling Cat Chronicles has perhaps been my favorite. That novel absolutely broke my heart in the most beautiful and cathartic way. The Goodbye Cat is the follow-up.
• 青木美沙子の　「まっすぐロリータ道」| “I’ll Always be a Lolita” by Misako Aoki
• “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller
  • Again, am I the only person who hasn’t read this? I’ve been contemplating doing a “summer reading list” like we used to do in school, and I think this would be at the top of the list.
• “Read Real Japanese” edited by Michael Emmerich
• “Light in Gaza” edited by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing, and Mike Merryman-Lotze
• “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron
  • I committed to The Artist’s Way program last year, but fell off about halfway through. I think it’s a wonderful, generative, and restorative exercise. This is languishing on my nightstand as a reminder that I should give it another go.
• クッキー雑誌２０２４年１１月刊 | Cookie Magazine, November 2024 Edition

Am I actively reading all of these books? No. Is it comforting to know that certain books are just a stretch away at any given moment? Yes.