Something a little more niche today on the blog as I take a look at Paul Gordon Schalow's 'A Poetics of Courtly Male Friendship in Heian Japan' (from @UHPRESSNEWS) - let's hear it for the boys ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/06/01/a...

My May Wrap-Up post - a summary of a rather lean month on the blog... tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/31/m...

A business selling lingerie that helps “your spine and organs move back to where they’re supposed to be”; a girl who gets stuck in a doorway like "an uncooperative cork"; a book that starts with the end of the world; and a home flooded for a hydroelectric dam. Me on new translated fiction:

My final review for the month is of Shūsaku Endō's early novel 'The Sea and Poison', (translated by Michael Gallagher, published by Pushkin Press) a book that examines a doctor's involvement with some very dark acts during the Second World War... tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/29/t...

Some thoughts on They by Helle Helle www.stuckinabook.com/they-by-hell...

Something a little different for today's post as I take a deep dive into 'The Confucius Chronicles' (translated and edited by Wai-yee Li, courtesy of Columbia University Press): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/t...

Seven stories about space, the future and human nature - Kim Choyeop's 'If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light' (translated by Anton Hur, courtesy of MacLehose Press): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/07/i...

Another football-themed post as I take a look at Nicholas M. Watanabe's 'The Beautiful Game?' (courtesy of Bloomsbury Australia), a series of essays about, well, the beautiful game ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/04/t...

The April wrap-up post, with the usual stats and links to the month's reviews :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/02/a...

An amazing April full of good books! 😊📚 kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/05/01/a...

It's Chapter 26, 'Tokonatsu', of 'The Tale of Genji' on the blog today, in which we meet an interesting new character. But what's with the dice, you ask? Well, read the post, and find out ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/30/t...

Just enjoyed a reread of Peter Stamm's 1999 collection 'Blitzeis' ('Black Ice'), a selection of interesting stories set both home and away - very tempted to continue with rereads of his other collections... See my 2016 review here: tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2016/11/10/b...

What would you do if your partner suddenly turned into a walking cash machine? That's the premise of Emma Tholozan's 'Self-Worth', translated by Emma Ramadan, published by Scribe Publications - see my review here :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/28/s...

Feeling rather poorly and miserable today, so what better way to cheer myself up than with a reread of Thomas Bernhard's 'Ja'? (No, I did not think that through clearly, thank you very much...). tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2022/11/03/j...

Two poets for the price of one - Nina Kossman translates the poetry of Marina Tsvetaeva, and adds some of her own for good measure, in 'Other Shepherds' :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/23/o...

My latest review takes us to California, where a Korean artist seeks inspiration (along with an unusual host...): Yun Ko-eun's 'Art on Fire' (translated by Lizzie Buehler, courtesy of Scribe Publications): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/20/a...

It's back to the Rokujō Estate on the blog today, and in Chapter 25, 'Hotaru', we have some illuminating (or illuminated) flirting plus some literary criticism, Genji-style ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/17/t...

A bit of J-Lit rereading today, in the form of Natsume Sōseki's 'Spring Miscellany and London Essays' (translated by Sammy I. Tsunematsu), a collection of short stories and essays, many related to the great man's extended stay in London :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2022/06/27/s...

Always fun to try lesser-known works by famous writers, and today sees me taking a look at Yasunari Kawabata's 'The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa' (translated by Alisa Freedman), a fun stroll around the bright lights of 1930s Tokyo :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/13/t...

Another enjoyable evening spent perusing Korean Literature Now, with lots to enjoy in the latest edition - essays, interviews and stories, and all available online, too :) klwave.or.kr/klw/magazine...

A new addition to my Han Kang collection is 'Light and Thread' (translated by Maya West, e. yaewon & Paige Aniyah Morris), bringing together a variety of texts, including Han's Nobel Prize Essay :)

Something a little different on the blog today - Clemente A. Lisi's 'The World Cup' (courtesy of Bloomsbury Australia), all about the beautiful game's big event :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/09/t...

You might want to google - The Scofield Kobo Abe. (also @causticcovercritic.bsky.social and @m-lemoine-drake.bsky.social might too.)

More J-Lit today, with a reread of Hiromi Kawakami's 'Record of a Night Too Brief' (translated by Lucy North, published by Pushkin Press), a collection of three longish stories/novellas - see my 2017 review: tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2017/02/23/r...

After last week's positive review of Kōbō Abe's 'The Traitor' (translated by Mark Gibeau), it's no surprise that when I popped into Paperback Bookshop today, this is what I left with - 'The Ruined Map' (translated by E. Dale Saunders) a book several commentors recommended :)

My latest review looks at Elisa Shua Dusapin's 'The Old Fire' (translated by Aneesa Abbas Higgins, courtesy of Scribe Publications), a slow-burning story of a woman returning to her childhood home - to empty it... tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/06/t...

My latest review looks at Kōbō Abe's 'The Traitor' (translated by Marc Gibeau, courtesy of Columbia University Press), a fascinating historical novel in which the nature of loyalty is examined against the backdrop of war: tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/02/t...

My monthly wrap-up post for March, with links to all my posts :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/01/m...

'Sisters in Yellow' (translated by Laurel Taylor and Hitomi Yoshio) joins my Mieko Kawakami collection, so if you want to know more about the new kid on the Kawakami block... tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/31/s...

Out today (in Australia!), Mieko Kawakami's 'Sisters in Yellow' (translated by Laurel Taylor & Hitomi Yoshio, review copy courtesy of Picador Australia) - see what I made of it in my review :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/31/s...

It's Royall Tyler's translation today, as we look at Chapter 24 of 'The Tale of Genji', 'Kochō’ (‘Butterflies’). Sounds nice, no? Well, it is, to start with - find out why it gets rather darker by reading my recap... tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/27/t...

My latest arrival is this intriguing book, Yun Ko-eun's 'Art on Fire' (translated by Lizzie Buehler, review copy courteys of Scribe Publications), in which a Korean artist in California battles inspiration and wildfires!

My latest review looks at Nelio Biedermann's 'Lázár' (translated by Jamie Bulloch, courtesy of MacLehose Press), a family saga set against the backdrop of early-twentieth-century Hungary :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/23/l...

My latest review sees me exploring Bora Chung's ' The Midnight Timetable' (translated by Anton Hur, courtesy of Scribe Publications), seen here joining the rest of the gang ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/19/t...

Another recent arrival I need to make time for, this time from Columbia University Press - Kōbō Abe's historical novel 'The Traitor' (translated by Marc Gibeau), which - in Tanizaki-like style - has a mysterious manuscript playing a key role. Anyone out there looking forward to this one?

Another step closer to completing the Dalkey Archive Press/ LTI Korea Library of Korean Literature - here's my review of Kim Junghyuk's collection 'The Library of Musical Instruments' (translated by Kim So-young): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/16/t...

I took a sunny Sunday afternoon drive to the uni library to drop off some books - and to choose some more, of course! Which of these appeal?

Two recent arrivals (both translations from the French) from Scribe Publications: Emma Tholozan's 'Self-Worth' (tr. Emma Ramadan) and Elisa Shua Dusapin's 'The Old Fire' (tr. Aneesa Abbas Higgins) - now to find spots in my schedule for them ;)

It's New Year's at the Rokujō Estate, and Genji's a very busy boy, what with all the visits he needs to pay (mainly to his many women...). Drop in for a while with my take on 'Hatsune', Chapter 23 of 'The Tale of Genji' :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/12/t...

My latest review is of Giada Scodellaro's 'Ruins, Child', the latest winner of 'The Novel Prize' :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/09/r...

A book of lectures about a book about a film about a book - or something like that... Peter Stamm's 'Eine Fantasie der Zeit' ('A Fantasy of Time'): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/05/e...

My latest review looks at Hanna Johansson's 'Body Double' (translated by Kira Josefsson, courtesy of Scribe Publications), a Swedish thriller where all is definitely not as it seems... tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/03/b...

My monthly wrap-up post for February: tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/03/01/f...

Part Two of my look at Chapter 22 of 'The Tale of Genji', 'Tamakazura', sees what becomes of our new heroine now she's back in the Capital, as well as exploring a theory about the possible origins of the chapter, and of the whole Tamakazura sequence... tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/02/27/t...

My latest review looks at Shūsaku Endō's 'The Final Martyrs' (translated by Van C. Gessel), a collection of stories with themes both personal and historical (my thirteenth Endō review!): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/02/23/t...

Not content to just live blog my umpteenth reread of 'The Tale of Genji', I'm slowly (very slowly...) taking a second look at 'À la recherche du temps perdu', with this one arriving a few days back, allowing me to spend this afternoon at the dinner table with M. du Norpois ;)

Fair play - that's quite a burn ;)

I'm up to Chapter 22, 'Tamakazura', on my chapter-by-chapter stroll through 'The Tale of Genji, with today's passage taking us far away from the big city to meet a woman we've met before (albeit long, long ago...): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/02/19/t...

Today's review looks at Helle Helle's 'They' (translated by Martin Aitken, courtesy of Giramondo Publishing), the first in a trilogy of books about a young Danish woman and her ailing mother: tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/02/16/t...

My latest review, for Reading Independent Publishers Month (#ReadIndies), looks at Alta Ifland's 'Voix de Glace / Voice of Ice' (courtesy of Punctum Books), a bilingual work of prose-poems that may or not tell us all about the writer :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/02/12/v...