“Ravens, Cream, solitude, sublimity”: Virginia Woolf on Literature & Inner Peace

How many of us, “congenial spirits” are left out there, as Woolf writes in The Voyage Out (1915), “feel[ing] intensely the delights of shutting oneself up in a little world of one’s own, with pictures and music and everything beautiful.” Continue reading “Ravens, Cream, solitude, sublimity”: Virginia Woolf on Literature & Inner Peace

Finding Beauty ‘In Our Times of Greatest Love and Greatest Fear’: The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

Lefteri approaches her characters’ vulnerability in such a gentle, graceful way that the novel feels heart-warming and hopeful despite the horrifying reality millions of people worldwide face today. Continue reading Finding Beauty ‘In Our Times of Greatest Love and Greatest Fear’: The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

A Season of Rest & Chaos | February-March 2021

Perhaps I’ll soon have the capacity to see the silver lining in my experiences that marked the month of March; for now, I certainly know that March has emphasized the importance of good friends and books, as well as cats of course, yet once again. Continue reading A Season of Rest & Chaos | February-March 2021

‘What is Time?’: The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali |Iran

The Stationery Shop is not merely a love story; it is part of recorded history, a cautionary tale, if you will. Continue reading ‘What is Time?’: The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali |Iran

‘A more narrowly defined culture-bond syndrome’: Folklorn (2021) by Angela Mi Young Hur

Folklorn is a contemporary origin story that seamlessly weaves Korean folklore within a narrative of identity, migration, and home. Continue reading ‘A more narrowly defined culture-bond syndrome’: Folklorn (2021) by Angela Mi Young Hur

Reading around Asia Book List | The World Bookshelf Project

My ultimate goal here as a voracious reader is to delve right into the literary scene(s) and spaces created by Asian writers–which I’ve been missing out on all these years. Continue reading Reading around Asia Book List | The World Bookshelf Project

‘Home is not a place to return to’: An I-Novel by Minae Mizumura | Japan

The original version of An I-Novel, published in 1995, mixes Japanese and English seamlessly, creating a literary work that reflects its narrator’s desire to find her true self. Continue reading ‘Home is not a place to return to’: An I-Novel by Minae Mizumura | Japan