{"id":1840,"date":"2022-01-30T13:14:29","date_gmt":"2022-01-30T13:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=1840"},"modified":"2023-04-26T13:49:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T13:49:29","slug":"books-i-read-for-january-in-japan-recommendations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=1840","title":{"rendered":"Books I Read for January in Japan + Recommendations!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hi Readers! I participated in January in Japan this month & read 3 books translated from Japanese!<\/strong><\/mark> I had only read Haruki Murakami<\/a>\u2019s books earlier. But, this month I saw people reading so many Japanese authors across genres. Till last year, Japanese only meant Murakami & magical realism<\/mark><\/strong> to me. But, now I have a long list of books to read. But, I will get to those after I tell you about the books I did read!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES by HIRO ARIKAWA~~<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I started reading The Travelling Cat Chronicles, I was immediately immersed into it. The book starts with a stray cat narrating the story of how he was adopted by a kind man. I thought, that\u2019s cute! A light warm-hearted story. But then, it jumps to 5 years later when that kind man Satoru is looking for someone else to adopt the same cat (now named Nana) because of some unmentioned reasons. It doesn\u2019t take long to realise that he wants to give away Nana because Satoru is dying. So much for a light warm-hearted story! But, even with this slightly sad doom always looming on the threshold of the story, I really liked reading this book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the cherished stories of friendship, love, belonging are pure in entirety. All the memorable trips with Satoru & Nana in the silver van feel like you are with them sitting in the back seat feeling all that those two are feeling. I truly enjoyed the beauty of countryside with its horses & sea of grass & unexpected sight of double rainbows. I was lost in their world & they made me feel welcome to experience all those things, but also all the emotions beyond those things too. I loved being on this bitter-sweet journey of stimulating yet funny conversations, frightening yet hopeful destinations, new yet familiar friendships & a riveting thought-provoking presence, all in 238 pages! I have rated The Travelling Cat Chronicles at 4\/5 stars!<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out the full review here<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~1Q84 by HARUKI MURAKAMI~~<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I thought it would take me at least a month to finish this book, but it only took me 14 days. But, now that I look back at it, I honestly have no clue how this story was written across 1318-pages! This is one of the reasons why I haven\u2019t reviewed it yet. 1Q84 is the parallel world to 1984 where Aomame<\/strong> <\/mark>finds herself. The chapters are divided between Aomame & Tengo<\/mark><\/strong>, our main characters. They both are involved in dangerous things. Tengo is ghost-writing a book called Air Chrysalis<\/mark><\/strong> & soon the world of 1Q84 itself becomes the fictional world of Air Chrysalis. There are 2 moons<\/mark><\/strong> in the sky. There are Little People<\/mark><\/strong> in this world. There are many other weird things in addition to this, as is expected in any Murakami novel. I liked the eccentricity of this world, though dangerous, it was captivating. For the most part of it, I was engaged with the story & had a good reading experience. I may or may not write the full review, but this does sum it up. I have rated 1Q84 at 3.5\/5 stars<\/strong>!<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN by SAYAKA MURATA~~<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I finished this book today so it is still very fresh in my mind. Keiko Furukura<\/mark> <\/strong>is our convenience store woman who is neuro divergent. While there are many things that the author wanted to convey, two of them were visible throughout. In the first half of the book, we see the routine life of Keiko which is basically where the author wanted to establish the life of neuro divergent people<\/strong>.<\/mark> In the second half, we see how a single woman is perceived by the society<\/mark><\/strong> even after we have come forward after all those years from the Stone Age. I really enjoyed reading this book. It has touched upon a lot of tangents and I loved reading about all of those. I will write a review on this book soon! I rated Convenience Store Woman at 4\/5 stars!<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~BOOK RECOMMENDATION FOR JAPANESE LITERATURE~~<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned earlier, I was acquainted with MANY Japanese books<\/mark><\/strong> this month. I couldn\u2019t read more than 3 books, but I definitely plan on reading these during the rest of the year. I have mentioned some books as per authors, some as per genre & so on. Hope you find the next book to read from this list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~Haruki Murakami~~<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kafka on the Shore<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1Q84<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norwegian Wood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sputnik Sweetheart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~Kazuo Ishiguro~~<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Never Let Me Go<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Klara and the Sun<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Remains of the Day<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Buried Giant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Artist of the Floating World<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~Sayaka Murata~~<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Convenience Store Woman \u2013 Contemporary Fiction<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earthlings \u2013 Horror<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Clean Marriage \u2013 Short Stories<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~Yoko Ogawa~~<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Memory Police \u2013 Science Fiction<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Housekeeper and the Professor \u2013 Fiction<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revenge \u2013 Horror Short Stories<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~Hiromi Kawakami~~<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Strange Weather in Tokyo \u2013 Fiction<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nakano Thrift Shop – Fiction<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People from My Neighbourhood \u2013 Short Stories<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~Books about Cats~~<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Cat Yugoslovia by Pajtim Statovci<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cat Who Saved Books by S\u014dsuke Natsukawa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a Cat by Soseki Natsume<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cat And The City by Nick Bradley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~Mystery & Crime Genre~~<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Inugami Clan by Seishi Yokomizo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lady Killer by Masako Togawa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Master Key by Masako Togawa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murder in the Crooked House by Soji Shimada<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out by Natsuo Kirino<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~Some More~~<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Phone Box at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Personal Matter by Kenzabur\u014d \u014ce<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confessions by Kanae Minato<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope your TBR is enriched with some of these amazing books! I am always here to give book recommendations, so if you are looking for anything in particular, reach out to me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until next time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Readers! I participated in January in Japan this month & read 3 books translated from Japanese! I had only read Haruki Murakami\u2019s books earlier. But, this month I saw people reading so many Japanese authors across genres. Till last year, Japanese only meant Murakami & magical realism to me. But, now I have a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-1840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","tag-japanese-books"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SI_20220130_184106-1.jpg?fit=2500%2C2500&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2737,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2737","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":0},"title":"Japanese Murder Mystery Book Recommendation: The Tokyo Zodiac Murders","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"April 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! April has been a fantastic reading month. I read 14 books and I might just read one more before the end of the month. Here's a short review of a gory yet fun murder mystery novel. Have you ever read a mystery that has so many angles to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230426_185017-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230426_185017-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230426_185017-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230426_185017-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230426_185017-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2940,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2940","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":1},"title":"Women in Translation Month Book Recommendations!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"August 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! You have seen a few book reviews this month for the books I read for Women in Translation month. I won\u2019t be able to read all the books that I have on my TBR for this. So, I thought of sharing my TBR with all of you. When\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/BaseFile-1.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/BaseFile-1.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/BaseFile-1.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/BaseFile-1.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/BaseFile-1.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3285,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=3285","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":2},"title":"January 2024 Wrap-Up!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"January 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! After 84 years, January has finally ended! But, what a month to start the year! I feel like I did a lot of fun stuff, read quite less, spent time with my people, worked more than I did all of last quarter, worked out more too, tried new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/PSX_20240129_201555-02-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/PSX_20240129_201555-02-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/PSX_20240129_201555-02-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/PSX_20240129_201555-02-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/PSX_20240129_201555-02-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3281,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=3281","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":3},"title":"Japanese Murder Mystery Book Recommendation: The Mill House Murders","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"January 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! 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This is probably\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230421_133857-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230421_133857-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230421_133857-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230421_133857-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/PSX_20230421_133857-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1840"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1957,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840\/revisions\/1957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}