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non-bookworm myself.
Wednesday, 8 June
I didn't have time to take a photo so this is a substitute. a little scribble... I got tagged by Sven. It's little uncomfy that I don't sound smart like him or Dr. Paul if I list up books I read...Well, I am not smart so I am supposed to sound not smart... um... some books I mention here are Japanese obviously. Anyway, here it goes.. How many books do I own?
I used to have hundreds of books but I realized that I would keep them forever and not read them again. I am planning to move out some time this year so I decided to sell unimportant books. After lots of organizing, I think I only have less than 100 books right now.
The last book I bought
Grass for his pillow
It's actually funny. Sven mentioned this on his blog and I thought this was the one I've read but it wasn't. I decided to buy it on Monday. I am always interested in knowing how people outside Japan deal with Japan. On an additional note, I really liked the book A Diplomat in Japan by Ernest Satow. Culture shocks and uncertainty with unfamiliar culture at first were very well described in detail. It's very honest and well observed. I can't imagine how difficult it was for a foreigner to live in Japan at that time. This was aboslutely intriguing.
The last book I read
Dear Theo by Vincent Van Gogh
He is one of my favorite artists. He was so obsessed with how real the light could be drawn on a canvas. I guess I understood why he was that obsessed with it.
Five books that mean a lot to me
Little Prince
It's rather childish but I keep this book for as long as I want. It's easy to forget what's essential for our lives. This book reminds me of things that I should remember.. It's very deep and moving. I am hoping to be able to read this in French some day.
Kokoro
This is my favorite book in Japanese. I haven't read it in English. Although it's little weird to see the relationship between this teacher and the student, it's exciting and lyrical at the same time. I think this is the magic of Soseki.
Woe is I
Okay, my English grammar sucks. I know it. My professor back in college told me that clearly. Ever since then, I hate writing things in English. However, I bought this book when I was a college student, and I still read it from time to time. It's like keeping the third wheel.
Pavane by Faurre
Does this count? This piece was presented by my favorite music professor. This piece was never something I would love to play but he convinced me to try it. This was an icebreaker for sure as I started exploring other areas of music I had never experienced. I quit playing the piano after quitting majoring in Music but I still keep this to remind me to be an explorer.
Confession of a mask
I read this for the first time when I was a high school student. It was absolutely shocking considering it was released in 1949. Mishima didn't come out but we all know he was queer. I read this in English when I was in early 20s. The translation was marvelous. The translated version still captures the essence of Mishima.
Whew, this was really long. You know I am embarrassed because I think I reveled something too personal. My lunch break is almost over. Okay, the problem is that I don't know many people who blog..I am still a blog rookie.....darn... let me tag people here...
Psychophobic
Intertextual
James
Okay, getting back to work.
02:44 PM Geeky | Permalink | Comments (8) | (0)
Comments
Hello again,Thanks to you I could see the second version of the cell phone,and it's more terrific!I really hope I can use that cute one some day..and I also like Van Gogh!He is my favourite artist ever since I was high school student. (Though I don't know much about 'art'.)And I'll read the book,'kokoro'-It means 'heart',right?-before long.
PS I'm not good at English maybe you've already expected:-)
Posted by: leigh at June 8, 2005 09:29 PM
Hi Leigh,
Welcome back! Although I am not really a fan of his early works, I like how he captured the light and colors. Although his self portrait and sunflowers are very famous, I like the Starry Night and Almond Blossom better. Okay, I should stop right here before I bore you:-) Yes, it means "heart". I hope it reaches your heart as well.
Your English is totally O.K. Why do you say that? As long as we can communicate, that's all it matters. Good night
Posted by: Shigeki at June 8, 2005 09:46 PM
Thanks for taking the meme Shigeki! Maybe I have to look for Kokoro in english?
As for too personal, I don't think so, but you'v given us access to yet a side of you :)
Posted by: Sven at June 9, 2005 02:51 AM
Hi Sven,
No problem at all. It was sort of enjoyable to do this. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to look back at what I read.
I recommended this to some friends for some time and haven't gotten any negative feedback from one single person yet. I assume the translated version is as good as the original. It's shorter compared with other novels so I think it's no harm to try this if you have some time to spare. :-) Soseki ROCKS! Okay, I seriously wanna go home by now... darn it. Have a good evening!
Shigeki
Posted by: Shigeki at June 9, 2005 02:58 AM
sorry, shigeki, paul tagged me and i've already done the meme.
Posted by: raph at June 10, 2005 09:14 AM
Hi Raph,
That's what I realized when I finished writing mine. So I removed you from my entry but I already sent you e-mail. :-) Thanks anyway.
Shigeki
Posted by: Shigeki at June 10, 2005 09:57 AM
Hi Shigeki,
Thanks for the mention on your site.
When blogging it’s always difficult to decide what to post, there are some things in life that are too personal to blog about but it’s a personal choice as to where you draw the line.
Myself, I post pretty much anything, my blog is an aid to my memory, I like to look back over the years to see what I’ve said and done.
I run my blog from my home on an old PC as the server; I prefer it like this as it gives me total control over my site.
You said that you’re still a blog rookie, I think your doing okay, if you need any help, drop me an email.
Posted by: James at July 2, 2005 08:52 PM
Hi James,
That's so true that it's difficult to draw a line. I know I have one but I am not really clear about it. I started doing this because a friend of mine suggested me to keep him updated. But I think it's fun.
That's so kewl that you host your server. I was going to do that, too but then realized I didn't wanna be concerned about security. I think I have enough to deal with it at work. (-_-;)
Thanks for your help offer! It's very thoughtful to say that. Happy Saturday!
Shigeki
Posted by: Shigeki at July 2, 2005 09:22 PM