Kate Shanahan's Blog - Posts Tagged "japan"
Audiobook Now Available
I tried syncing my author blog here but the format just didn't work, so I'm starting again. Anyway, maybe I'll start posting snippets from my blog to this space with a link for readers to continue reading on my website.
But the big news is: The audiobook version of Tangled Spirits is now available! The narrator is Anne Marie Lewis, and she does a wonderful narration that does the book justice. See below for a bit about her. The audiobook is available just about everywhere audiobooks are found, including Audible, Libro.fm (and you can support your local bookstore if you use them!), Spotify, and many more. If you enjoy it, please consider reviewing the narration as well as the story.
Working as an audiobook narrator since 2018, Anne Marie’s performances draw from a deep knowledge of the classics, facility with languages and dialects, her Filipino-Irish heritage and over twenty-five years’ stage experience. She has recorded for Audiobook Empire, Spoken Realms, The Talking Book, Twin Flames Studios, Monster Ivy, Pink Flamingo, and Learning Ally.
Anne Marie lived and worked in Japan, sang opera, and lives in the Chicago area.
But the big news is: The audiobook version of Tangled Spirits is now available! The narrator is Anne Marie Lewis, and she does a wonderful narration that does the book justice. See below for a bit about her. The audiobook is available just about everywhere audiobooks are found, including Audible, Libro.fm (and you can support your local bookstore if you use them!), Spotify, and many more. If you enjoy it, please consider reviewing the narration as well as the story.
Working as an audiobook narrator since 2018, Anne Marie’s performances draw from a deep knowledge of the classics, facility with languages and dialects, her Filipino-Irish heritage and over twenty-five years’ stage experience. She has recorded for Audiobook Empire, Spoken Realms, The Talking Book, Twin Flames Studios, Monster Ivy, Pink Flamingo, and Learning Ally.
Anne Marie lived and worked in Japan, sang opera, and lives in the Chicago area.
Review: Folk Tales of Japan
For the full review - which includes what the intro to this book and the author's note in my book have something in common - see my website blog post here:
https://kvshanahan.com/blog/f/review-...
Most of the tales in Ko’s book are short, and several are familiar to me from other collections such as Royall Tyler’s Japanese Tales. It’s an easy book to pick up, read one story and its commentary, and put down. One can take a bite of culture and history, chew on it, and take another bite later if you're still hungry.
Ko’s commentary frames each story in light of Japanese philosophy and culture, which makes this book stand out among other books in English with Japanese folktales. The commentary is frequently as long as the tale it explains, partly because Ko shares tidbits that don’t always bear directly on the tale. In the first story, Mother-Rid Hill, he tells the reader that Shibuya Station in Tokyo is on the floor of a valley, which might be why it’s called Shibuya. Ko tells the reader Shibuya means “bitter valley.” He theorizes it was called bitter because of the high level of iron in the water. He does address the cultural background of the story of Mother-Rid Hill, but it’s fun to get those other facts and speculations along the way.
This nice mix of culture and history written in a casual, friendly style makes this book a worthy read. I highly recommend it, and don’t skip the commentaries - that’s the best part!
https://kvshanahan.com/blog/f/review-...
Most of the tales in Ko’s book are short, and several are familiar to me from other collections such as Royall Tyler’s Japanese Tales. It’s an easy book to pick up, read one story and its commentary, and put down. One can take a bite of culture and history, chew on it, and take another bite later if you're still hungry.
Ko’s commentary frames each story in light of Japanese philosophy and culture, which makes this book stand out among other books in English with Japanese folktales. The commentary is frequently as long as the tale it explains, partly because Ko shares tidbits that don’t always bear directly on the tale. In the first story, Mother-Rid Hill, he tells the reader that Shibuya Station in Tokyo is on the floor of a valley, which might be why it’s called Shibuya. Ko tells the reader Shibuya means “bitter valley.” He theorizes it was called bitter because of the high level of iron in the water. He does address the cultural background of the story of Mother-Rid Hill, but it’s fun to get those other facts and speculations along the way.
This nice mix of culture and history written in a casual, friendly style makes this book a worthy read. I highly recommend it, and don’t skip the commentaries - that’s the best part!
