I have read The Traveling Cat Chronicles, by Hiro Arikawa, a must-read for any cat lover, I think.
Nadia has read Goodbye, Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto.
Mel outlined his plans for month 2 of the Japanese Literature Challenge here.
Now I must start in earnest The Pillow Book for our read-along. Reading Killers of The Flower Moon by David Grann has been a tedious and torturous endeavor which I am only completing for book club obligations. (Have you ever noticed that after truly great literature, everything else pales in comparison? Even a true story involving my country’s history about the Osage Indians and the FBI.)
However, The Pillow Book is proving to be a delightful book. It is a change from the fast pace of the 21st century, it is journal writing of the finest detail, and it makes me think. Consider these lines:
Infuriating things: A guest who arrives when you have something urgent to do, and stays talking for ages…A hair has got stuck on to your inkstone and you find yourself grinding it in with your inkstick…Someone suddenly falls ill, and an exorcist is sent for. They don’t find him in the usual place, and a tedious amount of time is spent waiting while they go around in search of him…A baby who cries when you’re trying to hear something…A dog that discovers a clandestine lover as he comes creeping in, and barks…
(Feel free to join us, this February, in the read-along of this Japanese classic novel.)
Dolce Bellezza 
Meredith dear how are you? what wonderful books. May I read the end of loneliness? Love !ways m
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Thanks again, for the update, Bellezza. I am interested in reading Nadia’s thoughts about Goodbye, Tsugumi, a book I read a while ago.
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I hate it when the exorcist is hard to find 🙂 I was planning to read The Pillow Book with you, but got side-tracked from blogging much recently. It sounds fascinating both from this excerpt and your other post, though, so I’ll see if I can get a copy and catch up!
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It is SO annyoing when the exorcist is no where to be found! I hate when that happens.
It is really an interesting book, and surprisingly applicable to life today even though that example is far fetched. I am really enjoying her calm telling of life, the peaceful pace, the joy in little things. I hope you like it too, but of course, don’t feel pressure to read it. Neither Sei nor I would like that.😊
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