Job Discussion Forums

nawlinsgurl · Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 8:20 am Post subject: Good Reads...

Someone had posted this topic before and I actually picked up a few good books from it. So I decided to bring the topic back. Any good reads folks???

I just finished "One Dead in the Attic" by Chris Rose and it rocked. (If you're interested in New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina and want some humor mixed up, get it.)

Its not really a laughing matter, but its good to know people are getting their spirits back up.

Squire22 · Joined: 06 Jul 2005 Posts: 68 Location: Shizuoka, Japan

Musashi and Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa are awesome.

Jon Taylor · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 238 Location: Tokyo

Mr Nice - Howard Marks

japanman · Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 281 Location: England

If you're talking about books on Japan then Japanese Mirror by Ian Buruma has to be the best that i've encountered.
Books in general, bit of a tricky question,
Sidhartha by Hesse. Armdale by Collins, Portrait of a Lady by James. But ofcourse some pwople might hate them.

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

Given all the trouble in the Middle East, terrorism, jihadists with even the Pope getting in on the action, maybe reading through the Quran (Koran) would be a good investment... Confused

wolfman · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 189

I'm a big fan of Nick Hornby books, and I'm not even British.

I really don't like Anime/Manga, but Wrong About Japan by Peter Carey was a really interesting read. It talks a lot about the "real" Japan and what the hell something vague like that could mean.

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 1:02 pm Post subject:

I would second the recommendation for Ian Buruma. Although "A Japanese Mirror" is a little dated in its examples of comtemporary culture there remains some important insights into Japanese culture that allowed me to appreciate the Japanese-way alot more. Some of his other books such as "The Wages of Guilt" and a collection of essays titled "The Missionary and the Libertine" are also good.

Two other books by the English writer Alan Booth "Roads to Sata" and "Looking for the Lost" are excellent. They are both journeys through the Japanese countryside in which he meets people who are left agape at the gaijin's presence despite the fact he clearly knows more of the history of Japan that they'll ever care about.

Jim's (tongue-in-cheek?) recommendation of the Koran is interesting - personally I've never been able to get through a few chapters - but I would counter it with a recommendation of "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins and wish that a few more religious zealots would try it out. Desmond Morris' "The Naked Ape" wouldn't be a bad idea either.

I have, sadly. not been reading a lot of fiction recently but "The Quiet American" by Graham Greene was one of the books that stand out most. "Stand on Zanzibar" by John Brunner was another.

I did read Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch" about a month or two ago and although he makes some interesting points I think he was also advocating too many ideas that make the Premier League the shambles it is today.

SeasonedVet · Joined: 28 Aug 2006 Posts: 236 Location: Japan

Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe.

"Things Fall Apart which was first published in 1958 is Chinua Achebe's first novel and is already a classic of modern writing. Critics in Africa, Europe, and America acclaimed it on publication and have done so ever since."

natsume · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 409 Location: Chongqing, China

I just finished "The Inland Sea", by Donald Richie. He calls it a novel, but it is based on journals from his travels throughout the islands of the Inland Sea during, I believe, the sixties. It is as fascinating for it's look at a Western interface between a nostalgic quest for a "vanishing" Japan and the reality he finds, as it is for the writer's exploration and discovery of himself. The journey serves as a catalyst for a coming to terms with life, and his very unique, honest, and singular perspective is engaging and entertaining.

seanmcginty · Joined: 27 Sep 2005 Posts: 203

I second the Eiji Yoshikawa reccomendation and add "Tale of the Heike" to the list of his books that have been translated into English.

"Japanese Inn" by Oliver Statler is a very enjoyable read too.

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

I'm reading Raould Dahl's Danny Champion of the World in Japanese. Many of his books have been translated quite well into Japanese.

And I've put aside Banana Yoshimoto's Amrita (in English) while I read Danny. It's a wandering tale of family, love between siblings, loss and fantasy.

japanman · Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 281 Location: England

II often find that so many books on japan are so angry and bitter. take the Dogs and Demons book for instance. That book will make you hate evrything about this place even if you loved it to begin with. Many others are very angry too. So my advice is to stay away from dogs and demons. Anyone like that book?

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

one second...going back to the original post...
How did they mix humor with hurricane Katrina? Just wondering...

Eva Pilot · Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 2:10 pm Post subject:

Totto Chan: The Little Girl at the Window was a great and inspiring book for me, especially as I deal with a lot of different children every day. I took a lot out of that book.

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Japanman,

Ditto that! Kerr's earlier books are insightful, but Dogs and Demons is really dark and relentlessly critical of Japanese culture. He overlooks the individual in the book and attacks the institutions. He's right in many ways, but his chapters hardly ever bring in other voices to show alternatives to the horrors. And there are other voices.