The Advent Calendar; December 12th

Today, I’m sharing one of the first blogs I added to my bookmarks; Code for Something. Amber writes about fashion, design and culture in general. I love her blog because she gives me something different from everyone else, another point of view on things! You’ll have to read her posts to understand, I think. Amber and I share a love for reading, and she kindly agreed to share a reading list with us!

HOLIDAY READING – DESTINATION JAPAN

The holiday season is finally upon us, and for many, that means an opportunity to curl up with a few good books and escape. Did you know the word hiken is Japanese for read? Here are a few novels that are inspired by Japan – set (at least in part there) or written by Japanese authors. I personally vouch this list– they are all intriguing, inspiring and captivating.

Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden

You may have seen the film, but have you read the book? It’s undoubtedly better. Told in the first person, by Sayuri Nitta, it is a tale of a geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before and after World War II. It describes the aspects of geisha life and the personal trials of being both revered and reviled by the different people in her life.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Norwegian Wood has repeatedly been described as Japan’s Catcher In The Rye, the Bildungsroman that everyone reads. Named for the Beatles Song, it tells the story of young man’s involvement with a schizophrenic girl. A delicate and descriptively bittersweet love story.

The Method Actors by Carl Shuker

New Zealand novelist Carl Shuker has penned a thrilling, dark and addictive book. The Method Actors traces the disappearance of a young, gifted military historian named Michael Edwards from his desk in Tokyo and his sister Meredith’s return to the metropolis in search of him. It’s an exploration of the lives of modern gaijin, 17th century secrets and so much more.

“I can feel the Koshukaido Avenue bridge outside the Shinjuku South exit flexing and shaking with trucks, thousands bursting at the seams of the sidewalks, the Don’t Walk icon holding them fast. The concrete of the bridge is broken by corrugated metal seams, the slack for concrete to expand in the summer heat, and the gray turned indigo in the streetlamps for me, twelve months ago.”

Shuker’s writing is sublime – it’s hard to believe this is his first book.

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

Kitchen tells the story of Sakurai Mikage, a young woman whose grandmother has passed away. Consumed by grief, Sakurai spends her nights sleeping on the kitchen floor of her apartment until Yuichi Tanabe knocks on her door. Yuichi – a fellow student – invites her to live with him and his transsexual mother. She agrees and although adrift in every other sense, Sakurai finds herself anchored to the Tanabes’ couch and their kitchen where she cooks for the family to reciprocate their kindness. An enthralling ‘pop’ novel – Yoshimoto (who despite the androgynous nickname is a woman) is one of the best of contemporary Japanese writers alive.

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

“Cayce Pollard is an expensive, spookily intuitive market-research consultant. In London on a job, she is offered a secret assignment: to investigate some intriguing snippets of video that have been appearing on the Internet.” Thus starts a thrilling hunt, including an action packed visit to Tokyo. Pattern Recognition was set in 2003, and you can imagine things would be easier with today’s iPhones, but it’s still a great story. Fashion blog No Good For Me wrote a guide to Cayce’s style – it’s a must read too!

Thank you Amber!