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ryin-silverfish · 7 months

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Chapter 12: What the monk doing?

Disclaimer: Not a Buddhist, just some Chinese nerd who has an academic interest in religious art and folklore.

-When Guanyin saw Xuanzang reciting scriptures for the Grand Mass, she went "So you know your Lesser Vehicles, but what about the Greater Vehicles?"

-Without going too deep into details: the "Lesser Vehicle" Buddhism (Hinayana/Theravada) is the older school of Buddhism that followed Sakyamuni's teaching more conservatively, and is mainly concerned with personal liberation from the cycle of transmigration, and was somewhat pejoratively referred to as such by later "Greater Vehicle" (Mahayana) Buddhists, who believed that practitioners could save others from the same cycle through the Path of Bodhisattvas.

-However, however, these dictionary definitions of the different Buddhist traditions had little to do with how JTTW's flavor of Buddhism defines "Lesser/Greater Vehicle".

-Let's take a look at the names of the scriptures: Sutra of Life & Deliverance from the Dead(受生度亡经), Heavenly Treasure Chronicle for Peace in the Nation(安邦天宝篆), Scroll on Merit and Self-Cultivation(劝修功卷).

-None of these names could be found in any official Buddhist canon, and Anthony Yu's footnote suggested they were made up by the novel's author. They aren't entirely fictional, tho.

-The first invokes a sort of folk religion apocrypha, which were all about the salvation of souls in the afterlife. A subset of those apocrypha books is called 寿生经, often falsely attributed to the historical Xuanzang, and the gist of its belief is…interesting.

-Basically, when people go off to reincarnate, they have to borrow money from the Underworld bureaus in order to become a human in their next life again. A sort of Pay-to-Reborn mechanics, if you will. So remember to burn paper money in life to save into your Underworld bank account, kiddos, bc the true face of Hell is capitalism all along.

-The other two had titles that were typical of surviving "Precious Scrolls", performative religious storytelling aimed at the largely illiterate masses. Also typical of Chinese folk religions, these stories were often a chowder pot of the most easy to understand + entertaining bits of Buddhism, Taoism and local tales, with a hefty dash of singing and folk operas.

-So, to JTTW's author, Lesser Vehicle = bastardized lay religion Buddhism, while Greater Vehicle = the scripture canons. Funnily enough, what he believed the True Scriptures TM could do——freeing the masses of the wrongful dead——is exactly what the "lesser" sort of Buddhism is crazy obsessed about.

-Which reminds me…in academic studies of JTTW, for a long time, the consensus is that JTTW's final author-compiler (who may or may not be Wu Cheng'en) was NOT well-versed in Buddhism at all("尤未学佛"), as Lu Xun had suggested , because of things like the nonsensical scripture names.

-However, newer research brought up a different hypothesis——the author wasn't well-versed in canonical scriptures, but he certainly possessed more than surface-level understanding of the Yogacara school and its ritualistic text.

-Now, Yogacara(瑜伽教) has a specific connotation in Ming dynasty religion. The way temple administration works, Buddhist monks were divided into three types: Chan (who meditated), Jiang (who studied scriptures and doctrines), and Jiao(Yogacara), who performed rituals and grand masses for the dead by secular request.

-Since they were the kind of monks laypeople are most familiar with, the line between Yogacara practice, similar Taoist rituals and folk religion was also the blurriest, creating a need to both promote and legitimize themselves. Which is a possible explanation for why JTTW's version of "Greater Vehicle" Buddhism shared the same general concerns and beliefs of folk religion, while also dissing the more outlandish Precious Scrolls stuff.

-Those who read the forewords to the Yu edition may know that the historical Xuanzang snuck himself outta China illegally, and would have never gotten Taizong's blessing or become his Royal Brother. However, the "Royal Brother" thing did have some basis in Xuanzang's biography, 大慈恩寺三藏法师传.

-When he travelled to the Kingdom of Gaochang, he was met with open arms by its king, Qu Wentai, who wished he could stay in his court forever. However, since Xuanzang was so determined to go to India, the king settled for sworn brotherhood instead and gifted him a royal entourage, just to make his future travels easier.

-Does this remind you of anything? (kingdom of women arc wink wink nudge nudge)

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

#jttw book club #xiyouji #jttw #journey to the west #jttw reading group

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longtheriverrun · 1 year

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🦋 Xia / Maki 🦋

🦋 She / They 🦋

——— ☾ ———

I’m interested in literature, art, philosophy, cinema, science, paraliterature, anime & manga, and visual novels—but I have a passion for literary fiction and science fiction. I’m a bit lesbian too, my gf means the universe to me.

Despite my “academic” interests, I’m not judgemental or elitist and I try to find the positive in everything!

——— ☾ ———

Favorite books, fiction:

Nabokov, Ada or Ardor

Cortazar, Hopscotch

Bolaño, The Savage Detectives

Yu Hua, Chronicle of a Blood Merchant

Burroughs, Naked Lunch

Delany, Dhalgren

Pynchon, Mason & Dixon

Books, misc

Chiang, The Story of Your Life and Others

Borges, On Exactitude in Science

Deleuze & Guattari, Anti-Oedipus

T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

Kierkegaard, Fear & Trembling

Films:

The Social Network (2010)

Magnolia (1999)

Drive My Car (2021)

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

Pi (1998)

Anime, TV:

Hyouka

Shirobako

Wandering Son

Haruhi

Eizouken

Madoka

Anime films:

Summer Wars (2009)

The Wind Rises (2013)

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Liz and the Blue Bird (2018)

Manga:

Act-Age

Wandering Son

Gakkou Gurashi

A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow

Hana ni Arashi

Land of the Lustrous

Visual Novels:

Subahibi

Highway Blossoms

Chaos;Child

CROSS†CHANNEL

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psitrend · 2 years

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A Third Century Chinese Account of the Roman Empire

New Post has been published on https://china-underground.com/2022/05/12/a-third-century-chinese-account-of-the-roman-empire/

A Third Century Chinese Account of the Roman Empire

Roman life is described in translations of The Weilue, a 3rd-century Chinese historical text.

Mutual knowledge of the Chinese and Roman empires was very limited. Only a few attempts at direct communication are witnessed in the documents. In order to preserve control over the lucrative silk trade, intermediate empires such as the Parthians and the Kushans prevented direct contact between the two empires.

The historian Florus recounted the arrival of various envoys to the court of the first Roman Emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC – 14 AD), including the “Seres” (possibly the Chinese):

“Even the rest of the nations of the world which were not subject to the imperial sway were sensible of its grandeur, and looked with reverence to the Roman people, the great conqueror of nations. Thus even Scythians and Sarmatians sent envoys to seek the friendship of Rome. Nay, the Seres came likewise, and the Indians who dwelt beneath the vertical sun, bringing presents of precious stones and pearls and elephants, but thinking all of less moment than the vastness of the journey which they had undertaken, and which they said had occupied four years. In truth it needed but to look at their complexion to see that they were people of another world than ours.” (Florus, as quoted in Yule (1915))

The Chinese commander Ban Chao attempted to send his emissary Gan Ying to Rome in AD 97, but the Parthians forbade him to cross the Persian Gulf. Ancient Chinese historians told of several alleged Roman embassies in China. The first known came in 166 AD, presumably from the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius or his adopted son Marcus Aurelius. Others are said to have arrived between AD 226 and 284, with a notable gap to the first Byzantine embassy in AD 643.

Weilue: The People of the West

The Weilüe (魏略), or “Short History of Wei”, is a Chinese historical text written by Yu Huan between 239 and 265. Yu Huan was an officer in the state of Cao Wei (220-265) during the period of the Three Kingdoms (220-280). Although he was not a historian, he was highly regarded by Chinese academics. The original content of the book has been lost, but the chapters on the Xirong have been cited by Pei Songzhi, as an annotation to volume 30 of the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms (三國志), the official historical text of the Three Kingdoms period, which collects the chronicles of the rival states, Wei Kingdom, Shu Kingdom, and the Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms in a single text, and served as a model for historical novels such as The Romance of the Three Kingdoms of the 14th Century, first published in 429. The Weilüe contains material new, unique, and generally reliable, mostly from the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. Most of the new information contained in the volume appears to come from the Eastern Han Dynasty before China was largely cut off from the West by civil wars and unrest along its borders during the late 2nd century.

Yu Huan, who never left China, does not mention in his text the sources from which he received the information. However, land communications with the West apparently continued uninterrupted even after the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty.

Yu Huan collected a great deal of information on Western countries including Parthia, India, and the Roman Empire, and on the various routes to reach these exotic destinations.

Some information was already known before Yu Huan, and can also be found in some sections of the Records of the Grand Historian (史記, Shiji by Sima Qian), the History of the Former Han (Hanshu, 汉书, initiated by Ban Biao, continued from son Ban Gu and terminated by Biao’s youngest daughter Ban Zhao), and the Book of Later Han (Hou Hanshu, 後漢書, compiled by Fan Ye).

The book describes the routes to the Roman Empire. It is possible that some, if not all of the information contained come from reports by foreign sailors and travelers. One such document that may have been available to Yu Huan is detailed in the Book of Liang by a Roman merchant who arrived in Jiaozhi near modern-day Hanoi in 226 and was sent to the court of Eastern Wu Emperor Sun Quan, who asked him for a report on his native country and its people.

Yu Huan included a brief description of “Zesan”, a vassal state of the Roman Empire, identified by some as Trebizond in modern-day Turkey and by historian John E. Hill with Azania, corresponding to the southeastern coast of Africa.

The complete translation with the translation notes by John E. Hill (September 2004) of the volume in English can be found by following this link.

Below, are the most significant passages describing a peripheral part of the Roman Empire through the eyes of a third-century Chinese intellectual.

Section 11 – Da Qin (Roman territory/Rome)

The kingdom of Da Qin (Rome) is also called Lijian. It is west of Anxi (Parthia) and Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana), and west of the Great Sea.

From the city of Angu (Gerrha), on the frontier of Anxi (Parthia), you take a boat and cut directly across to Haixi (‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt). With favourable winds it takes two months; if the winds are slow, perhaps a year; if there is no wind, perhaps three years.

The country (that you reach) is west of the sea (haixi), which is why it is called Haixi (literally: ‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt). There is a river (the Nile) flowing out of the west of this country, and then there is another great sea (the Mediterranean). The city of (Wu) Chisan (Alexandria)7 is in Haixi (Egypt).

From below this country you go north to reach the city of Wudan (Tanis?). You (then) head southwest and cross a river (the Sebannitus branch of the Nile?) by boat, which takes a day. You head southwest again, and again cross a river (the Canopis branch of the Nile?) by boat, which takes another day. There are, in all, three major cities [that you come to].

Now, if you leave the city of Angu (Gerrha) by the overland route, you go north to Haibei (‘North of the Sea’ – the lands between Babylonia and Jordan), then west to Haixi (Egypt), then turn south to go through the city of Wuchisan (Alexandria). After crossing a river, which takes a day by boat, you circle around the coast (to the region of Apollonia, the port of Cyrene). (From there, i.e. the region of Apollonia) six days is generally enough to cross the (second) great sea (the Mediterranean) to reach that country (Da Qin = Rome).

This country (the Roman Empire) has more than four hundred smaller cities and towns. It extends several thousand li in all directions. The king has his capital (that is, the city of Rome) close to the mouth of a river (the Tiber). The outer walls of the city are made of stone.

This region has pine trees, cypress, sophora, catalpa, bamboo, reeds, poplars, willows, parasol trees, and all sorts of plants. The people cultivate the five grains [traditionally: rice, glutinous and non-glutinous millet, wheat and beans], and they raise horses, mules, donkeys, camels and silkworms. (They have) a tradition of amazing conjuring. They can produce fire from their mouths, bind and then free themselves, and juggle twelve balls with extraordinary skill.

The ruler of this country is not permanent. When disasters result from unusual phenomena, they unceremoniously replace him, installing a virtuous man as king, and release the old king, who does not dare show resentment.

The common people are tall and virtuous like the Chinese, but wear hu (‘Western’) clothes. They say they originally came from China, but left it.

They have always wanted to communicate with China but, Anxi (Parthia), jealous of their profits, would not allow them to pass (through to China).

The common people can write in hu (‘Western’) script. They have multi-storeyed public buildings and private; (they fly) flags, beat drums, (and travel in) small carriages with white roofs, and have a postal service with relay sheds and postal stations, like in the Middle Kingdom (China).

From Anxi (Parthia) you go around Haibei (‘North of the Sea’ – the lands between Babylonia and Jordan) to reach this country.

The people (of these countries) are connected to each other. Every 10 li (4.2 km) there is a ting (relay shed or changing place), and every 30 li (12.5 km) there is a zhi (postal station). There are no bandits or thieves, but there are fierce tigers and lions that kill those travelling on the route. If you are not in a group, you cannot get through.

This country (Rome) has installed dozens of minor kings. The king’s administrative capital (Rome) is more than 100 li (42 km) around. There is an official Department of Archives.

The king has five palaces at 10 li (4.2 km) intervals. He goes out at daybreak to one of the palaces and deals with matters until sunset and then spends the night there. The next day he goes to another palace and, in five days makes a complete tour. They have appointed thirty-six leaders who discuss events frequently. If one leader does not show up, there is no discussion. When the king goes out for a walk, he always orders a man to follow him holding a leather bag. Anyone who has something to say throws his or her petition into the bag. When he returns to the palace, he examines them and determines which are reasonable.

They use glass to make the pillars and table utensils in the palaces. They manufacture bows and arrows.

They divide the various branch principalities of their territory into small countries such as that of the king of Zesan (Azania?), the king of Lüfen (Leucos Limen), the king of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan), the king of Xiandu (Leukê Komê), the king of Sifu (Petra), (and that of) the king of Yuluo (Karak). There are so many other small kingdoms it is impossible to give details on each one.

Section 12 – Products of Da Qin (Roman territory)

This country produces fine linen. They make gold and silver coins. One gold coin is equal to ten silver coins.

They have fine brocaded cloth that is said to be made from the down of ‘water-sheep’. It is called Haixi (‘Egyptian’) cloth. This country produces the six domestic animals, which are all said to come from the water.

It is said that they not only use sheep’s wool, but also bark from trees, or the silk from wild cocoons, to make brocade, mats, pile rugs, woven cloth and curtains, all of them of good quality, and with brighter colours than those made in the countries of Haidong (“East of the Sea”).

Furthermore, they regularly make a profit by obtaining Chinese silk, unravelling it, and making fine hu (‘Western’) silk damasks. That is why this country trades with Anxi (Parthia) across the middle of the sea. The seawater is bitter and unable to be drunk, which is why it is rare for those who try to make contact to reach China.

The mountains (of this country) produce nine-coloured jewels (fluorite) of inferior quality. They change colour on different occasions from blue-green to red, yellow, white, black, green, purple, fiery red, and dark blue. Nowadays nine-coloured stones of the same type are found in the Yiwu Shan (a mountain range east of Hami).

In the third Yangjia year (CE 134), the king of Shule (Kashgar), Chen Pan [who had been made a hostage at the court of the Kushan emperor, for some period between 114 and 120, and was later placed on the throne of Kashgar by the Kushans], offered a blue (or green) gem and a golden girdle from Haixi (Egypt).

Moreover, the Xiyu Jiutu (‘Ancient Sketch of the Western Regions’) now says that both Jibin (Kapisha-Gandhāra) and Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana) produce precious stones approaching the quality of jade.

Product List

Note: The translator has added the numbering in brackets for the convenience of the reader in checking the notes on the various items. For information on any of the items mentioned in the list, please click on the blue superscript No. 12 after “Product List” above, and then scroll down the page of notes until you come to the number you are looking for. For instance, if you want to check the notes on tin, scroll down until you reach note number 12.12 (6).

Da Qin (the Roman Empire) has plenty of:

(1) gold

(2) silver

(3) copper

(4) iron

(5) lead

(6) tin

(7) ‘divine tortoises’ – tortoises used for divination

(8) white horses with red manes

(9) fighting cocks

(10) rhinoceroses

(11) sea turtle shell

(12) black bears

(13) ‘red hornless (or immature) dragons’ (which produced the famous “dragons’ blood” resin)

(14) ‘poison-avoiding rats’ = mongooses

(15) large cowries

(16) mother-of-pearl

(17) carnelian

(18) ‘southern gold’

(19) kingfisher feathers

(20) ivory

(21) coloured veined jade

(22) ‘bright moon’ pearls

(23) luminescent ‘pearls’ or pearl-like jewels (probably large diamonds)

(24) genuine white pearls

(25) yellow amber

(26) (red) coral

(27) ten varieties of glass: red, white, black, green, yellow, blue-green, dark blue, light blue, fiery red, purple

(28) a magnificent jade

(29) white carnelian?

(30) rock crystal or transparent glass

(31) various semi-precious gems

(32) realgar

(33) orpiment

(34) nephrite

(35) multicoloured jade or gemstone

(36) ten sorts of wool rugs: yellow, white, black, green, purple, fiery red, deep red, dark blue, golden yellow, light blue and back to yellow

(37) finely patterned multicoloured wool carpets

(38) nine colours of multicoloured lower quality wool carpets (kilims rather than knotted carpets?)

(39) gold threaded embroidery

(40) polychrome (warp twill) fine silk or chiffon

(41) woven gold cloth

(42) purple chi cloth

(43) falu cloth

(44) purple chiqu cloth

(45) asbestos cloth

(46) fine silk gauze cloth

(47) shot silk, ‘clinging cloth’ or ‘cloth with swirling patterns’?

(48) dudai cloth

(49) cotton-wool cloth?

(50) multicoloured tao cloth

(51) crimson curtains woven with gold

(52) multicoloured ‘spiral curtains’?

(53) yiwei

(54) myrrh

(55) storax

(56) diti

(57) rosemary

(58) probably dhūṇa – an incense made from the resin of the Indian Sal tree.

(59) bai fuzi – lit. ‘white aconite’ – but it is not clear what plant this refers to here. See notes.

(60) frankincense

(61) turmeric, saffron or tulips

(62) rue oil

(63) Oriental lovage – Lysimachia foenum-graecum Hance

Altogether (they have) twelve types of aromatic plants.

Section 13 – The Sea Route to Da Qin (Roman territory)

As well as the overland route from Da Qin (Roman territory) through Haibei (‘North of the Sea’ – the lands between Egypt and Parthia), one can also follow the sea south along the seven commanderies of Jiaozhi (stretching down the north Vietnamese coast), which are in contact with foreign countries. Nearby (or ‘North’) is a waterway (the Red River) which leads to Yongchang in Yizhou (a commandery in present-day southern Yunnan). That’s why rare items come from Yongchang.

In early times only the maritime routes (to Da Qin) were discussed because they didn’t know there were overland routes.

Section 14 – Roman Dependencies

Now, (the Roman Empire) can be summed up as follows: the number of people and families cannot be given in detail. It is the biggest country west of the Bai Congling (‘White Pamir Mountains’). They have installed numerous minor kings so only the bigger dependencies are noted here:

Section 15 – The Kingdom of Zesan (Azania)

The king of Zesan (Azania) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). His seat of government is in the middle of the sea. To the north you reach Lüfen (Leukê Komê). It can take half a year to cross the water, but with fast winds it takes a month.

(Zesan) is in close communication with Angu city (Gerrha) in Anxi (Parthia). You can (also) travel (from Zesan) southwest to the capital of Da Qin (Rome), but the number of li is not known.

Section 16 – The Kingdom of Lüfen = Leukê Komê or modern Al Wajh

The king of Lüfen (Leukê Komê) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). It is 2,000 li (832 km) from his residence to (the nearest) major city (= Daphnae) of Da Qin (the Roman Empire).

From the city of Lüfen (Leukê Komê) going west to Da Qin (alongside the Butic Canal), you cross over the sea by an ‘elevated bridge’ 230 li (96 km) long;3 then you take the sea route southwest, travelling around the sea (coast), and then head west (to reach Da Qin).

Section 17 – The Kingdom of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan)

The king of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From the kingdom of Sitao (Istakhr, Stakhr) you go south, cross a river (the Rūd-i Kor), then head west 3,000 li (1,247 km) to go to Qielan (Wadi Sirhan). The route leaves south of the river (the Rūd-i Kor), only then do you head west.

From Qielan (Wadi Sirhan) you again travel west 600 li (250 km) to the kingdom of Sifu (Petra). The Southern Route joins (this east-west route) at Sifu (Petra). Also, (a route) goes southwest to the kingdom of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah).

Due south from Qielan (Wadi Sirhan) and Sifu (Petra) is Jishi (‘Rock Piles’). To the south of Jishi (‘Rock Piles’) there is a big sea (the Red Sea) which produces coral and pearls.

North of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan), Sifu (Petra), Sibin (Susa) and Aman (Ariana) there is a mountain range (the Taurus mountains)11 running east to west.

East of both Da Qin (Roman territories) and Haixi (= Egypt) there is a mountain range (the Jibāl ash Sharāh Range or Mount Seir) running north to south.

Section 18 – The Kingdom of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah = Leukos Limên)

The king of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah = Leukos Limên) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From his residence it is 600 li (250 km) northeast to Sifu (Petra).

Section 19 – The Kingdom of Sifu (Petra)

The king of Sifu (Petra) is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From his residence northeast to Yuluo (Karak), you go 340 li (141 km), and cross over a sea (mistake for ‘river’ = the Wadi al-Ḥesa).

Section 20 – The Kingdom of Yuluo (Karak)

Yuluo (Karak) is subject to of Da Qin (Rome). The seat of government is northeast of Sifu (Petra) across a river (the Wadi al-Ḥesa). From Yuluo (Karak) you go northeast, and again cross over a river (River Arnon).

Featured image: Great Hunt mosaic depicts the capture and transportation of animals, Villa del Casale Sources: Wikipedia 1, 2

#AncientRome, #CaoWei, #RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms, #ThreeKingdoms, #YuHuan

#Ancient Rome #Cao Wei #Romance of the Three Kingdoms #Three Kingdoms #Yu Huan

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quemirabobo · 3 years

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Mom: eat something

Me: *literally covered in work eating my sanity away* I'm not hungry

#I can't do this anymore #heeeeelp #so much to do and my eye is hurting cause I've been with the computer since 7 am and now it's 21 #can i cry? I'll do it while working so i don't waste time #chronicles of Yu's academic life

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hopeaterart · 2 years

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CHRONICLES FROM REDWOOD: Citizens part 4

Chronicles From Redwood is currently a work-in-progress, and this is the last post about the cast! I hope. Despite the stories focusing on the girl's attempts at juggling their personal issues, school life and dealing with ghosts, Redwood is still very important in being it's setting: this is their home. As Redwood is a small town, they know a lot of the people who live there beyond their families. Personally, I'd love to explore most of these characters in stories separated from the girls. This particular post is about some of the other teenagers and kids around town, and how they're related to the girls. As always, feel free to ask questions about it!

Natsuko Yukimori is an older student at the Institute. She's part of a tutoring program as one of the tutors, and her giving academic advice to the girls slowly shifted into giving plain old advice. She doesn't really mind: the girls use weird metaphors for the ghost problems, so she thinks they have very hilarious but severe problems.

While Valkyrie's social circle more or less collapsed when she first came out, her closest friends stayed and she still hangs out with them a lot outside of school. There's the kind and mature Kotaro Yukimori, the wimpy and dorky Cedar Hawthorne, and the loud and abrasive Storm Sorrow.

Makoto and Ichigo Masayoshi are Yui's older and younger brothers respectively. Makoto is a high school dropout who's suffering from severe depression after burning out spectacularly, and Ichigo is a cheerful child with a passion for space. Being there for her brothers- since their parents certainly aren't- is one of the multiple stressors Yui has to deal with.

Parisa Abdi is Afeda's younger sister by two years. Unlike her sister, she's very mindful of the assumptions people make about her and doesn't know how to deal with them. Afeda just told her to do what she thought was right, and that's the advice that made her feel better. She looks up to her older sister a lot.

Yu-Jun Callistro is Shin-Hye's toddler half-sister that her mom had with her long term boyfriend. She thinks that Shin-Hye is the coolest person ever, and wants to be just like her when she grows up! On her part, Shin-Hye thinks her younger sister is adorable, even if the age gap makes things a bit awkward.

Glimmer used to be part of a different group of girls, but had a falling out with them during the summer before the beginning of the first story. Which is probably a good thing, seeing as they were a bad influence on her by worsening her need for attention to harmful levels. Jessica Duong is essentially a social delinquent, and while Paige Sherwood doesn't really mean any harm, she still causes it.

Noori Sari is a nice boy who spends most of his free time at the library. He and Dawn end up striking a quick friendship once they work up the courage to talk to one another. In fact, he's probably the only reason why Dawn still gets out of the house outside of necessity.

Lyric currently lives in a foster home, alongside 6 other kids. From oldest to youngest, we have: Ivan Dimitrije Sokolovosky (I.D. for short) lost his parents in the same gruesome incident that destroyed his vocal chords. Bryan and Cassie Wood are twins who lived on the street for the longest time until they were put under Monique's care. Mia Allen ran away from her home in the big city and refuses to go back for reasons that were good enough for Monique when she asked. Chun Zhang's father is unable to support him due to a severe illness, and no one else was able or willing to step in. Ariel Borsellino's parents were severely neglectful, and he's staying with Mrs Castle until a more suitable situation is found. I.D. currently works as a freelance artist- mainly commission work-, and the rest are still going to school. Lyric's age is in-between the Wood twins and Mia.

One of Fred's favorite sport is skateboarding, so it's natural that she made friends while doing it. Mateo Viotto is the confident sort, not minding what people think of him as he's having fun. Hugh Whitlock gives off a pretty intimidating vibe, but he means well.

#chronicles from redwood #original work #original characters

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brella · 6 years

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i feel like we always ask you about books so today i wanna ask you some anime recs :)

HOW INTERESTING THAT YOU SHOULD COME TO ME NOW, JUST AFTER I FINISHED ATTEMPTING TO BRIBE A TWITTER MUTUAL WITH A PHYSICAL CAKE SO THAT SHE WOULD WATCH AN ANIME I LOVE. i am always happy to share anime recs.

ping pong: the animation (dir. masaaki yuasa): effusive yutaka “peco” hoshino and reserved makoto “smile” tsukimoto have been best friends since day one, and both of them love to play ping pong. peco, a child prodigy at the sport, loves it with all of his soul, and is so confident in his own talent that he’s become arrogant; while smile, in spite of his natural talent, does not take ping pong seriously, seeing it as nothing more than a way to pass the time. things are shaken up for the boys by the arrival of wenge “china” kong, a chinese player sent to redeem himself in japan after being kicked off the national team, who skunks peco in their first match, sending him spiraling into crisis; meanwhile, smile catches the interest of the school’s coach, a former star player, who is determined to make sure smile does not waste his talent. also joining the cast are manabu “akuma” sakuma, peco’s belligerent rival since childhood, and ryuichi “dragon” kazama, vanguard of the elite ping pong team at kaio academy. when all is said and done, will smile and peco’s friendship—and the love of ping pong that bonds them—remain? i urge everyone to watch this anime; it is perhaps the best i’ve ever seen. a work of art, of joy, of sadness and failure and triumph—a tribute to being alive, and to what it means to love something so much you feel like there’s no point in being alive if you can’t do it. and the animation, voice acting, and score are outstanding! 11 episodes.

the tatami galaxy (dir. masaaki yuasa): an unnamed college student is perpetually dissatisfied with his life, bemoaning the fact that he can never seem to grasp that “rose-colored campus life” he was certain he would have upon attending college in kyoto. just about the only thing he has in his corner is his mischievous frenemy, ozu, who drags him into scheme after scheme that only seem to make his situation worse; and a fellow student, akashi, who the protagonist has feelings for, but can never quite seem to spit it out. after a bad break-up sends him over the edge into total cynicism, he starts to wonder if his college years would have been spent differently (i.e., better) if he had chosen to join a different club on his first day. unbeknownst to him, the desire to go back and do it over again does send him back in time—each episode is an alternate timeline based on which club he joined. no matter how things change, though, he always seems to keep running into ozu, to just miss akashi, and to get involved with a man calling himself higuchi, who claims to be a god of matrimony; a bone-headed popular senior named jougasaki; and a beautiful but intense dental hygienist named hanuki. in the protagonist’s quest for the perfect college life, however, will he miss what’s right in front of him? i really love yuasa as you can probably tell and this, just like ping pong, is beautifully animated, great fun, and unexpectedly moving. a testament to the little things, to seeing the beauty and wonder in what we have. and the opening and ending are GOD TIER. 11 episodes.

gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun (dir. mitsue yamazaki): if you somehow haven’t watched this yet, please love yourself and do it. a romantic comedy series that follows 16-year-old chiyo sakura’s attempts to woo her crush, umetarou nozaki, gsnk, contrary to the shoujo form, actually begins with her confessing to him—but he misunderstands and gives her... his autograph?! yes, it turns out nozaki moonlights as a hugely successful shoujo romance mangaka, and he’s been needing an assistant, and sakura is in the art club... convenient! this show has it all—uproarious humor, masterful comedic timing, incredibly charming characters, and just the right dose of heartfelt romance to warm any heart. other cast members include mikoto mikoshiba, nozaki’s best friend, whose flirtatious antics constantly cause him to nearly die of embarrassment; yuzuki seo, chiyo’s best friend, a brash and oblivious jock with a beautiful singing voice; hirotaka wakamatsu, a mild-mannered basketball player constantly aggrieved by seo’s bullying; yuu kashima, star of the drama club and dashing prince of the school; and masayuki hori, drama club president and kashima’s ever-frustrated director. love is in the air not just for sakura, but for a few others, as well—it’s going to be an interesting year! 12 episodes.

kids on the slope (dir. shinchiro watanabe): kaoru nishimi is a shy and depressed honor student, classically trained to play the piano, who has spent his entire life moving from town to town due to the nature of his father’s job. at the beginning of the summer of 1966, he is sent to a small coastal town in kyushu to live with relatives, and is prepared for another year of loneliness until his world is turned on its axis when he meets delinquent sentaro kawabuchi. the two develop a strange and unlikely friendship, and kaoru soon discovers that sentaro, or sen, is an avid fan of jazz, then an emergent form of music in japan, and plays the drums in the basement of a record store owned by the family of his childhood friend, ritsuko mukae, with whom kaoru immediately falls in love. when ritsuko says that she would love to hear kaoru and sen play together, kaoru begins to acquaint himself with jazz, too, and finds that it holds more magic than he expected. part classic coming-of-age drama, part love letter to the jazz genre, this series was, fun fact, directed by the man behind cowboy bebop and samurai champloo—so, like, if that isn’t a testament to its quality, i don’t know what is. it will make you cry, though. just warning you.

silver spoon (dir. tomohiko ito): desperate to escape the pressures of his home life, beleaguered honor student yuugo hachiken foresakes his chances of attending an elite tokyo high school and applies to ezonoo agricultural school in hokkaido. at first holding himself a rung above his peers, due to his perception of them as bumpkins who have never had to work hard academically due to their security as farmers, hachiken quickly learns that there’s a lot he doesn’t know, and he’ll have to work hard if he wants to keep up with his peers. though initially withdrawn, hachiken comes to make many new friends, and soon begins to take his studies seriously, earnestly trying to learn all he can about the world of agriculture and how it affects the lives of his friends. this series is easily something i’d call “the feel-good story of the decade,” but it also has many profound and emotional moments, and a hugely relatable protagonist in hachiken. it’s definitely a comedy, but at its heart, it’s one of those special series that kind of takes your hand and smiles at you and says, “yeah. i get it. i know how you feel. but it’s all right. life’s pretty fun, even if you don’t notice.”

hyouka (dir. yasehiro takemoto): to this day i’m still a bit stunned that kyoto animation managed to come out with something as good as hyouka, since it’s so different from their other works, but the truth is there. it’s simple, with a cast of only four characters and few recurring side ones; a subdued score using mostly public domain classical pieces, a quiet high school as the backdrop, a close and intimate portrait of the four kids it brings together. the PV actually does a fine job of introducing the characters—apathetic houtarou, inquisitive eru, cheerful satoshi, and caustic mayaka—so i won’t go into that too much. essentially, houtarou is urged by his sister to sign up for the classics club after no one else does, since it will be disbanded if it does not have at least one member. much to his surprise, someone else already has signed up by the time he does—a curious girl named eru with an insatiable appetite for mysteries. though houtarou lives by a philosophy of what he calls “energy conservation,” eru has a power over him (read: he has a big, beautiful crush on her) that compels him to go along with her antics, and his penetrating intellect doesn’t help much. satoshi, houtarou’s best friend, and mayaka, a childhood... acquaintance of houtarou’s, also join the club, and hyouka chronicles all of the things that happen to them over the course of their school year. when asked about the meaning behind the title (”hyouka” means “frozen dessert”), the author of the novels said, “the colour of youth is like ice cream. its many flavours are like the spectrum of a rainbow, but no matter how it tastes, what doesn’t change is its richness and flavour. another distinguishing feature of ice cream is the short time one has to eat it, and how we must take care to avoid polluting it. it’s just like how youth is full of numerous possibilities, but its fragile and limited energy is easily challenged by the outside world.” i think that probably speaks for itself in alluding to the bittersweet tone of the series. it really is one of my favorites.

and, because my fingers are getting tired: yu yu hakusho is my favorite shounen series by a mile and one of the few for which i highly recommend the dub—it’s long though, 100+ episodes, but worth every minute. i’ll be glad to go into why yyh specifically is the best in a separate post if anyone is interested bc hoo boy. uchouten kazoku season 1 is great and one of my favorites but season 2 was kind of eh to me. if you like action and tragic romance, kyoukai no kanata is my second-fave kyoani series after hyouka, though it does have some fanservicey bits and fetishy humor that kind of date it a little bit. and if you haven’t started boku no hero academia yet—PLEASE GET ON THAT; IT’S SO MUCH FUN!

and, of course, the anime of my heart and soul: lovely complex, a romcom about a tall girl and a short boy, and their arduous, hilarious, heart-melting journey from vitriolic best buds to lovers. hits all the right notes. no other shoujo compares. it’s a series that anyone and everyone can AND WILL enjoy.

i hope that’s enough to get you started! :’D pls let me know what you think if you watch any

#long post /#anonymous #ask #Anonymous

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mymessytidylife · 7 years

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A tribute to the books I read in 2016

I’ve read 65 books last year and that’s probably the biggest thing I did so far. I’ve finished a few I didn’t think I would ever finish. Invisible Jest is one example another is A Dream of Red Mansions. I didn’t read any graphic novels last year, which was stupid because I’ve read three already this year and how delightful are they?

I started the year 2016 with reading Post-Democracy by Colin Crouch which is ironic if I think about how 2016 ended and how 2017 started (in this spirit I’ve been reading a lot about defiance since the first of January).

I continued with Crush by Richard Siken - a book that I owned since at least 2010, that I took with me to Prague when I drunkenly kissed my roommate and didn’t tell my boyfriend. I remember sitting in the bus taking me to Prague and skimming through the pages and everything felt too raw and real and I did not know what to think about myself now that I knew that somewhere inside me a cheating beast only waited to take power. It took me six years to read Siken again and while his words a still powerful they did not rip something apart inside of me any longer. After crush there came my first try with an English translation of 紅樓夢. I finished that book and didn’t understand a thing and kept wondering if I had suddenly lost the ability to read in English. I found out not soon after that I had bought one of the worst and incomplete versions out there and ordered another one and said goodbye to despairing about language.

After this first try with Dream of a Red Chamber, I read Anti-Politics Machine by James Ferguson. That book was an eye-opener and set the tone for the rest of the year during which I put a lot of emphasis in my academic life on studying development. It was also the last book my ex-boyfriend recommended to me.

At this point I was missing my Russian writers and read the Vagabond by Gorky. I’ve always loved Gorky and the Vagabond was no exception, but it did not strike a tone as deep inside of me as some others. There were some stories I loved and others that did not stir much interest.

After Gorky, I read We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families by Philip Gourevitch. That book is probably my book of 2016; the horrors of it stayed with me for weeks. There isn’t another one I’ve recommended this much since reading it and I had to stalk Gourevitch on all available platforms. Go read that book! If we talk about a human history of suffering and how we all need to understand our own histories of failure in protecting innocent lives this is one of the must-reads.

After Gourevitch my new edition of Dream of a Red Chamber finally arrived. I plunged into it and even though it has some 2500 odd pages I finished it under two months. Its story was captivating and I loved the style of the first books, even though the style of the last was somewhat disappointing (it is believed that the original writer did not finish the whole book and that parts of it were rewritten by others that remain anonymous).

Following this long book I needed something shorter and read some poems by Bukowski. I have a conflicted relationship with Bukowski (admiring his talent, loving his books but hating him as a person) and I did not enjoy those poems (Continental Edition, I think) as much as others, but there where still sentences that went straight into my heart.

When I finished Bukowski I was missing some Chinese authors again and read Grass Soup by Zhang Xianliang and then something more academic by Xin Liu (In One’s Own Shadow). Both were disturbing in their own ways (hunger for Zhang, marriage rituals for Xin) and I did not much like either. Next I wanted to read a novel again and kind of stumbled upon Confessions of Zeno by Italo Svevo. Zeno was beautifully written and explored a lot of the light and dark sides that make us human but I started to tolerate books writing discriminately against women a lot less in the last years and though Zeno is a product of its time, I could not enjoy it despite its brilliance. Following Svevo I realized I hadn’t read anything in German for some time and I read another book of one of my favorite authors, Heinrich Böll. Und sagte kein einziges Wort explored some of his usual themes, but for me it didn’t quite do what some of his other books did, even though it was fascinating as always to know what Germany looked liked straight after the war. Missing James Ferguson’s brilliance I read another one of this books next. Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order was another book that gave me a lot to think about and I jotted down some thesis ideas. The neoliberal script has been another big private and academic topic for me in 2016. After Ferguson I spent a Sunday browsing some flea markets and came home with a lot of books whose authors I had never heard of before. I started off with Dispatches by Michael Herr, which was a brutal portrait of men and war and which I kind of had to read in a one go night session. After Herr, university started again and gave me a lot of reading ideas. I read Lu Xun’s Diary of a Madman next, in the bilingual version and loved it, and then thanks to the feminist perspectives I followed throughout 2016, I continued with a German book about a series of talks between Judith Butler and Gayatri Spivak on language and power. The questions of power and language and discourses that shape my Western understanding of the world made me remember Orientalism by Edward Said, which was on my to read list for the longest time and I went and picked up a copy and finally read it. While some of it wasn’t exactly new I started to be a lot more critical and saw Orientalism everywhere and understood where some of the prejudices against Muslim immigrants were coming from. Said is brilliant. After Said, I read a book of a lot of African authors that was edited by a NGO (Africavenir) on Defiance, Revolution and Renaissance. I liked that one a lot (always an advocate for reading more texts by authors of color), but its focus was a bit too heavy on the Arab Spring for my liking. African Renaissance shouldn’t be broken down on North Africa, I think, and I wish the book would have been more specific about its own focus.

Next I had to read Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua for university, which hasn’t a hardship at all, because I always loved Yu Hua. The Chronicle was just as wonderful as most of his other books, though being a squirmish person, I did have some trouble with all the blood talking. I went book-shopping once more and bought some books by Cynthia Enloe, who was recommended during one of my feminist peace studies classes. I read Bananas, Beaches and Bases first with the promise, that it would change the way I viewed the world, and in a way it might just have done that, but I wish I would have known about the updated version that came out only a while back, because the examples kind of lacked actuality for me.

I read the Deer Park by Mailer next and was impressed by the language and the feeling of the book but similar to Svevo what impressed me a lot less and bothered me quite a lot was the portrayal of women. Again, a book of its time, but one that is still considered a masterpiece today and I am unsure where to draw the line between being impressed by talent and being disgusted by patriarchy.

I had to do some more reading for class after that one and read Northern Girls by Sheng Keyi next. I hated the coarse language at first, but surprisingly started loving the story (but the ending is weird). I am usually a stronger advocate for language than for plot but this book finished much stronger than I expected.

I returned to feminist literature next and first read Butler’s Krieg und Affekt, followed by another Enloe: the curious feminist. I liked both of them and started to incorporate a feminist perspective in my academic life after finishing them. Afterwards I finally finished a book I started reading at the beginning of 2014: Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy from 1453 to the Present by Brendam Simms. It was quite the fascinating read though in the spirit of anti-power discourses I was a bit bored with another great power view on the way our world works, but I learned a lot of new stuff (and was quite happy to put it aside after two years...). I went home next and re-read a book that I had not quite finished when I gave it to my Dad as a present back when we visited me in China: China 3.0 by Mark Leonard. It’s quite short and might not be up to date any longer, but the perspectives on China remain interesting. Next I stumbled upon a book that appears to be a classic in feminist literature: The yellow wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I read that book using a new app for my iphone that really changed my reading because you can read chapters of classical books in 5 to 15 minutes depending on length. The app is called Serial Reader and whoever invented it: a huge thank you, I doubt I would have read quite that much in 2016 otherwise. I read another Bukowski next, Ham on Rye which I liked better than the poems I read earlier this year. Still immensely impressed by this man’s talent, still immensely impressed by the personal ruin he followed through all his life.

I read Art of War by Sun Tzu next which was very anti-climatic given how much this book has been talked about in the last decades. Warfare strategy appears to bore me. After Sun Tzu I started reading Anton Chekhov and started off with the Bet and Other Stories. I love Russian authors and while I usually am not much of a fun of mind game stories I liked this one a lot. I immediately read The Darling right after and liked that one as well. Putting Chekhov aside I finished another of the books I started ages ago. China's Silent Army: The Pioneers, Traders, Fixers and Workers Who Are Remaking the World in Beijing's Image by Cardenal and Araujo. I had a hard time with this one, because while I was impressed by the scope of research, I despise the use of words like “Chinese tentacles” or “Chinese genes” and the book seriously lacked a comparative perspective. It would do us good if no fear-mongering would be used to sell books in times of post-factualism.

I returned to my theme of the year and read Civil Disobedience by Thoreau next. I have to be honest and admit that I kind of rushed through it and did not follow all arguments and should probably re-read that one.

Following Thoreau I finally read Time Machine by H.G. Wells which is one of those books everyone knows somehow but never read. I did too but I was glad I finally got around to it - just like with 1984 or Animal Farm I was much more impressed with the language and the story than I thought (though the mechanics of time travel are really quite funny).

I visited Chekhov once more before turning away from him for the rest of the year and read the Seagull which has to be my favorite book I read by him in 2016.

After Chekhov I had to make a stop in all my other reading because Here I am by Safran Foer came out and I read it within a few days. I will forever love Extremely loud and incredibly close and Here I am did not change that in a bit, but after being disappointed midway through the book did pick up some more steam towards the end.

I read Blue Hotel by Steven Crane next, though I am not much of a horror story person, but it was short and fit me schedule quite well. Next I discovered Oscar Wilde and loved the first book I ever read by him: the importance of being earnest. I have always loved word games and can’t wait to see that play on a stage somewhere, sometime.

Because I loved Wilde after that I read the Canterville Ghost straight after and liked that one as well, but not quite as much as Being Earnest.

I turned away from Wilde for a time after that and read the Crazed by Ha Jin. The book has a somewhat dreamlike atmosphere with a passive protagonist and nothing happening for page after page until a crescendo hits and I enjoyed reading it.

I had to read Factory Girls by Leslie Chang after the Crazed to finish a paper and really liked that one as well. It is something of a mix between literature and research and still holds value of migrant life in China today. I read A Room of One’s Own next and loved it. Woolf will always, forever be a bright-shining star on my very personal literature firmament and someone I will forever want to re-read.

Next, I discovered a new favorite and I wish she wouldn’t be gone already: Fatemna Mernissi. I read Scheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems and didn’t really like it until the very last chapters which were so bright and interesting that I couldn’t stop googling here for a week. Definitely someone I want to read more of in 2017.

Mernissi was followed by my own personal highlight: I finished Invisible Jest. What a long and dry ride it was; every year since 2010 I started this book to put it away some time later in the firm believe that no one anywhere would want to read those sentences and words and plots. I have grown over the years; understood the jokes and references better and when I picked it up again at the beginning of 2016 I realized quite early on that this was the first year I was ready for the book, that I would conquer it finally. I did and I miss picking it up every year in January, miss the frustration and the joy when I understood a reference. I will re-read it one day, when the story has settled and I stop thinking about it so much.

I finished Twelve Years a Slave by Northup afterwards. What a striking, terrible book. Remember modern slavery; there are still so many Solomons out there waiting to tell their stories. We need to listen to them.

I read my personal least favorite next: The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft. I know many people believe that book to be the start of the horror genre but in a year filled with as much populism and hatred as 2016 demonizing the other, the unknown (and, of course, linking them to darker skin and weird religions) did nothing but fill me with dread. Of course, this book was written in another time. But maybe we all need to think harder about how we want to portray the other. Time should not be an excuse.

I returned to Wilde after Lovecraft to be comforted, but the Picture of Dorian Grey turned out to be my least favorite book of Wilde. Once again, gender relations turned out to be the factor that took me away from the book, but it was also a bit boring and drawn-out. Can anyone be only evil? Are we not all creatures shaped by circumstances and life around us?

Close runner-up to my most disliked book is the Catastrophist by Ronan Bennett. The “exotic” Congo Conflict is used a backdrop for a (stupid) love story of with foreigners; Congolese are always only at the parameter of the story; the women gets moral bonus points because she is so invested in Congolese people themselves but at the same time she is a child for thinking she can change them. White savior syndrome and white exceptionalism at its best.

I read the very short “Modern Proposal” by Jonathan Swift next and loved it. Rationalizing poverty; blaming poor people for their poverty; pretending that poverty is a natural state achieved by laziness has been angering me endlessly this last year and Swift’s take on the matter was refreshing to read.

Afterwards I read another horror story - again, not my thing, and the Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs did not change that much. Just going to be even more suspicious of wishes coming true.

The next book as again a disappointment: Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation, edited by Barbara Findlen. I loved the idea and the introduction, but the essays themselves were mostly rubbish and poorly written. There were some exceptional ones, but they remained far and few between.

And again, I returned to horror - while I love the Serial Reader, the amount of horror stories I read because of it could be less. The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe was well written and I liked it better than some others.

Next I read another personal favorite: The Vagrants by Yiyun Li. The book is well written, I loved the characters, I loved the complexity of the story and it is very far from a happy ending. A book that continued to haunt me for quite some time. Afterwards I read Youth by Isaac Asimov, of whom I had heard a lot in the last years. I liked Youth quite a lot, especially because I did not really foresee all twists and turns of the plot.

I decided to read another book that I only knew the movie version of next and read the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving. Quite different than the movie, if I remember it correctly and quite boring as well.

I read a German book next, Rückspiel by Ulrich Woelk. Still unsure that to think of that one; there were parts that I disliked and a lot that I liked and it was another interesting take at German history. I am ambivalent.

Eduardo Galeano’s Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking-Glass World was another favorite of mine. The book is a tour de force with lots of arguments I had not heard before. It fit very well in wanting to challenge the status quo in which we live.

I started the Circle by Dave Eggers next and no book freaked me out more than this one in the last year. Big data and social media remain parts of our world that I am not knowledgable about and my blind trust or better, not-caring about my personal data seems foolish after reading this book. Surveillance is definitely a topic I will read more on in 2017.

To calm myself I read some poetry by Emily Dickinson (Three Series Complete). I did like some of them but mostly they did not light that spark inside of me that poetry usually does.

Next, I started the Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. Lahiri has been a favorite of mine for some years now and I loved the Lowland. The story stayed with me. The experience of the loneliness of leaving your home is something Lahiri can describe and take to further places like almost no one else; the only author I can think of is V.S. Naipaul who does it equally well (and maybe, Rushdie).

I started missing David Foster Wallace too much and read the very short This is Water. It’s impossible to compare this with Infinite Jest of course, and I am still unsure what to really make of it.

The last book of a Chinese writer I read in 2016 was Liao Yiwu’s The Corpse Walker. It’s a collection of heart-wrenching stories and Liao’s life journey is incredible. The people he talks to are not always people one can sympathize with but he presents them in a way that hurts and haunts.

After studying Chinese Studies in my B.A. I finally came around to reading the Communist Manifesto by Marx years after getting my degree. Would have definitely been more useful to read that book before talking about socialism with Chinese characteristics...

I finally fulfilled a dream and read Heimsuchungen by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It was a Christmas present and the first book I read that is written by her and I was not disappointed! Can’t wait to read more by her in 2017.

I thought I could give myself a boost by finishing 2016 with What I talk about when I talk about running by Murakami. I loved the insights into his mind but I also found out that I am no runner any longer. So much for finally rediscovering my running motivation in 2017...

What a wild year it’s been!

#books #books are important #booklr #haruki murakami #jhumpa lahiri #david foster wallace #dave eggers #reading goals #reading 2016 #cynthia enloe #defiance #feminism #read more

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