Most Read This Week In Japan

[close] Book Options for Japan Research Project All of the books on our bookshelf are available to read on Big Universe, Amazon e-reader, or Epic! Please refer to one of those apps or websites once you have chosen a book!

[close] A group for people who enjoy literature written by Japanese authors, the arts, culture, and history of Japan. Mar 2026: Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi Apr 2026: Hooked: A Novel of Obsession by Asako Yuzuki May 2026: Dragon Palace by Hiromi Kawakami We have monthly fiction, non-fiction group and buddy reads —the conversation is in English, but read along in any language!

[close] This group aims to bring people together that are interested in reading about Japan in English. This includes reading Japanese authors, non-fiction about Japan, and any other books that are based in Japan or around Japanese ideas. The goal is to read some books that might otherwise stay off our "to read" list and especially to read more Japanese authors - though we all know that we are reading the translators words when it comes to that aspect of the reading. Ideally, we will be reading one book per month and have a mixture of the three main groups lists above, with less non-fiction due to potential expenses. Please note that the point of this book club is NOT to provide a free reading list. If you are uninterested in participating in the discussions or polls, please reconsider joining.

[close] A group to discuss my forthcoming novel, Speaking to No. 4 (New Europe Books, Nov. 29). The book is available for pre-order, and bookstores can already get it in early November, but shipping for individuals will start at the end of November. Where is Alma? A future husband—No. 4—is desperately seeking his fiancée, who has disappeared. To locate her, he is interviewing her three former husbands, her sister, and ex sister-in-law. Could she be hiding in a French monastery? A Japanese shukubo (temple lodging)? Or maybe she is the victim of a belief in a Balkan creation myth? From America to France and Eastern Europe to Japan, this quest for a woman who has disappeared is both a psychological mystery and a meditation on our notions of space and architectural design. As husband No. 3, the Architect, says to husband-to-be No. 4, “Think of Japanese space as a novel in which the main character is absent.”