Book Review: 『往復書簡』by Kanae Minato

『往復書簡』(おうふくしょかん) is a collection of four epistolary short stories by Kanae Minato (湊かなえ) published by 幻冬舎文庫 (げんとうしゃぶんこ). A journey to the past With the exception of the fourth story, which is very short and a little different than the others, the three main short stories all follow a similar pattern: several people who share a..

Book review: 『手紙』by Keigo Higashino

It took me a long time to read it, but I finally finished the novel 『手紙』by Keigo Higashino (東野圭吾)! Reference: 『手紙』(てがみ), by 東野圭吾 (ひがしのけいご), published by 文春文庫 (ぶんしゅんぶんこ). The story 「差別はね、当然なんだよ」 p317 This novel is not a detective novel, the only murder occurs in the prologue and there won't be any police investigation afterwards. 『手紙』is..

Book Review: 『探偵倶楽部』by Keigo Higashino

There are 5 short detective stories in 『探偵倶楽部』(The Membership Detective Club - たんていくらぶ) by Keigo HIGASHINO (東野圭吾) and I loved every single one of them! The stories all feature the Membership Detective Club, but the detectives are not the protagonists. The stories mainly focus on the people that are involved or find themselves involved in..

Japanese Music: STUTS

Today, I would like to write about STUTS, an artist that I have discovered recently!  ABS+STUTS I already mentioned STUTS in a previous post, when I was talking about another Japanese artist: Alfred Beach Sandal. STUTS and Alfred Beach Sandal have made an EP together called "ABS+STUTS". To be honest, I am completely obsessed with..

Film review: 『犬に名前をつける日』by Akane YAMADA

『犬に名前をつける日』(official website) is a "documentary drama" by director Akane YAMADA (山田あかね) that was released in Japan in 2015. It features Satomi KOBAYASHI (小林聡美) and Takaya KAMIKAWA (上川隆也). Akane YAMADA is a film director for the television. When her dog dies in 2010, her friend and mentor Nobuko SHIBUYA (渋谷昶子) suggests that Akane YAMADA should make..

Back to study!!

After two weeks away from Japanese, I now feel the urge to study again! The last two weeks, I was more interested in other hobbies, and I have left my Japanese studies almost untouched. This break has been a good thing since I now feel a new motivation to learn Japanese.  So I will start..