Author: Michiko Aoyama
Translated to English by Alison Watts
Geemiz Rating: 4/5
One of the many feel-good Japanese fictions that I have been diving into since I started reading Japanese novels way back in 2016 with the book The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama.
Frankly, I miss reading Japanese historical fiction. Even though they are not as comforting and easy to read as the latest Japanese novels that I am into right …
Book Title: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
Author: Satoshi Yagisawa
Rating: 4.8/5
Reading this book feels like watching a feel-good movie, you keep on smiling most of the time.
“Young people today, they don’t read books anymore. They just play computer games. It’s hopeless. And even if they do read books, it’s just manga or these shallow little stories on their cell phones. Even my son, he’s almost thirty and he still just plays video …
Book Title: The Book of Lost Names
Author: Kristin Harmel
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Historical Fiction
Eva, the smart young Jewish forger in Kristin Harmel’s book The Book of Lost Names, may be made up, but the work she did and the risks she took during World War II were real. Among the most famous forgers were Adolfo Kaminsky (1925–) and Alice Cohn (1914–2000), who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews.
…There’s a certain value
Book: The Samurai’s Garden
Author: Gail Tsukiyama
Personal Rating: 4/5
This is the 2nd time I read The Samurai’s Garden. I read this book way back in February 2017.
…I’m a sucker for historical fiction and The Samurai’s Garden has a different take on what happen during the 1930s when the Japanese invaded China, especially the Nanking Massacre. The story takes place far away from war yet the consequences of war are still apparent.
“You
Book: Sweet Bean Paste
Author: Durian Sukegawa
Personal Rating: 4/5
A heartwarming story of an old lady, a young man, and a middle school girl who found an unfamiliar friendship at a struggling dorayaki (a type of pancake filled with sweet bean paste) store.
…“THAT’S WHY I MADE CONFECTIONERY. I MADE SWEET THINGS FOR ALL THOSE WHO LIVED WITH THE SADNESS OF LOSS. AND THAT’S HOW I WAS ABLE TO LIVE OUT MY LIFE.” –
Book: Before Your Memory Fades
Author: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Personal Rating: 4/5
This is the third book of the “Before the Coffee Gets Cold” series by the same author.
…The setting is not Cafe Funiculi Funicola, but rather Cafe Donna Donna. It has the same magic as the latter and is owned by the same family but managed by the matriarch Yukari Tokita. Since Yukari is away in Amerika, he’s son Nagare Tokita owner of Funiculi
Book: The Paris Library
Author: Janet Skeslien Charles
Rating: 9/10
This is one of the books that I finished quickly – just in a week, maybe because I love the story so much.
This is my first time reading about the effects of books during World War II and learning that there are more groups and individuals who are doing their job to at least make that trying time a little better.
…
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Book: The Personal Librarian
Authors: Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
My Rating: 8.5/10
I have a little knowledge of amazing women in history. This book piques my interest in researching them.
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I like the story of a light-colored black woman pretending to be white to be able to survive. The fun part is that she must hide her identity from one …
Author: Matt Haig
Rating: 7.5/10
In my first few pages, I have ranted how annoying the lead character is and I’m afraid that I might DNF this book. But one thing I learn from reading the Ilustrado book by Miguel Syjuco is not to judge a book by the 1st hundred pages, so I continued and finish the whole book and I am glad I did.
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Author: Miguel Syjuco
Ratings: 7/10
Mystery, historical, and critical are genres I incorporate in this book. It has politics, gossips, rich problems, heartaches, passion, and doing what you like best. It’s one of those books that gets better the more pages you read.
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I would lie if I say that I did not have a hard time reading the book. I found …