hunting and fishing and reading

Yesterday at the library I picked up "The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing"  Let's just say I was mislead by the title. 

Not that I thought that it would actually be a hunting and fishing guide, those of you who know me well can guess that those activities have little appeal to me.  I did go fishing once or twice with my dad in the Adirondaks when I was a kid.  All I remember is that fishing is boring and you have to touch worms. 

I went in under the assumption that this book would be in some way adventurous - or at least use interesting hunting and fishing metaphors to explain some aspect of the main character's life. Not so.  It was a hollow memoir of a shallowly crafted character's poor dating choices. 

The jacket reviews were outstanding.  Maybe I should have been tipped off not to trust them when the only publication produced by the quoted authors that I recognized was Cosmopolitan. 

On the bright side, I picked up the book yesterday and I'm finished with it already.  Not because I stayed up half the night hiding under the sheets with a flashlight reading as I was known to do with The Baby-sitter's Club books, but because it was deceivingly short.  It feels like a fairly substantial book, coming in just under 300 pages, but the typeface is large and there can not be more than 200 words on any page. 

It wasn't a terrible book, but a great work of literature it was not.  Well, moving on.  To another pillar of the Japanese literary world, Kenzaburo Oe and A Personal Matter.

And we did get to take a glorious bike ride around Ogikubo today followed by gnocci, broccoli, and spinach in white wine sauce for dinner.  Spring is springing!

Mata ne,
Melissa

again?

So the snow that two days ago was a novelty is still here, trying hard not to melt in quaint little piles around town (if you've seen the snow piles that would accumulate in the old Fayetteville Mall parking lot, then you know what a real snow pile looks like).  Tonight, it wasn't so exciting to discover as I was taking out the ridiculous daily ration of garbage that it is, once again, snowing in Tokyo.  Not Funny.

We did have a nice day though, eating all of our meals at home (yes, this is a major accomplishment for us these days) and doing a lot of work(jeff)/reading(melissa) at a coffee shop.  Well, we did have coffee and a choco-cro (chocolate croissant) but that doesn't count, right?

I started a new book by Natsume Soseki, the author of Kokoro, and I am less that 15 pages from the end so I think I can safely say I'll be finishing it tonight.  Unless we watch all of last week's Daily Shows before bed.....

Mata ne,
Melissa

photo from choco cro website

killing two books with one sun*

Yesterday I finished two, that's right TWO, books!  One of them I'd started earlier in the week and the other I read start to finish yesterday.  They were both by (very) well known Japanese authors and were translated (by others) into English.  I say this because having been translated to another language, one must wonder if any of the original style or charm that make the authors so well-liked is lost.

At least he never walked.

The first book is What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami.  It was recommended to us by my Ironwoman Aunt Nancy.  For anyone who is a runner, or participates in any activity where one spends considerable time alone with their thoughts and is constantly questioned about why they do it, I recommend taking a look at this book.  At just 180 pages, it is a relatively quick read.  More personal memoir than narrative, it has interesting insights into both the life of the runner and the life of the author.  I have to wonder, though, for someone who discusses the art of translating a novel without losing the beauty of the original words, if this translation does an adequate job.  Maybe I'll make Jeff read the original and tell me.  (For the record, he is playing sudoku on his phone in the background.)

The heart of things.
(Don't judge the 1 a.m. portrait by my husband.  He loves me just the way I am - at 1 a.m. or otherwise)

Kokoro (which is best translated as the heart of things, by Soseki Natsume) is the second book I read, the one I read cover-to-cover yesterday.  I think maybe it helps to have just a slight familiarity with Japanese culture and customs when reading this book - but really, just a slight familiarity - I was quite comfortable with all of the context required.  This book was first published in 1914 and is considered a classic of Japanese literature.  It is essentially a story of a friendship between two men - one young, one old - and the differences in how they interact with the world.

Much like Jane Austen, Natsume writes of a time when long entrenched traditions and the established social order meet with an evolving modern world, and the different ways that old and young people relate to the changing cultural context.  Sounds heavy, I know, but it was a quick read (250 pages - hence me reading it in one day) and I think a very thought-provoking tale addressing the concepts of friendship, love, jealousy, honor, and loneliness.  And the translation (be sure to get the one by Edwin McCellan in 1957) was wonderful. 

Check two more books off the list for me.  We're headed back to the library within the next few days and I plan to further my exploration of Japan through its classic literature.

Mata ne,
Melissa

*one sun is one day in Japan

How does your garden grow?

I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  However you may have felt about The Bean Trees in high school, this new book is worth a good read.   More personal family memoir than novel, it's focus is on the Kingsolver family's year of eating almost exclusively locally produced foods. 

 This book is neither an attack on industrial farming institutions nor a how-to guide for taking yourself "off the grid" of our current agricultural infrastructure, though there are interesting commentaries which touch on both of these subjects.  Rather, it is one family's experience with the pleasure of eating seasonal foods in season and the value of supporting local farmers by buying their products rather than (lower quality) imports supported by corporate farming interests. I have a hard time believing people will be able to find fault with either of those points, but I'm sure some will. 

Regardless of your political leanings or diet, I seriously suggest you check out this book. 

Mata ne,
Melissa

Elle and Julie: This is my vote for next month's book club.  I'll even skype in!

ongakuka - musician

Today I went to the library and signed up for my very own library card.  Actually, Jeff signed me up for my very own library card.

I skipped over to the three rows of English language books excited about my new found freedom to actually select one and remove it from the premises.  I happened upon a collection of sketches by John Lennon that he used while studying Japanese.  (Yoko Ono, remember?  It took me a second too.)  It's called Ai, which means love, and has funny sketches that illustrate the words and concepts on the page.  From the cover of the book you'd swear it was titled Japan through John Lennon's Eyes, but Yoko set the record straight in the introduction.

I now have two weeks learn all the words John Lennon can teach me before moving on to the extensive collection of Lonely Planet guides and cookbooks (many of them baking recipes for which we have no oven).

There were also several shelves of Japanese literary classics (translated) that I've got my eye on.  I think I'm going to start with What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami.  I need all the inspiration I can get in that area right now.

(editor's note:  Jeff claims there were more than three rows of English books.  We will have to wait until we return to settle that score.)

Mata ne,
Melissa