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pdotb@wyrms.de

Joined 3 years, 8 months ago

Bookish version of pdotb@todon.eu

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Success! pdotb has read 119 of 52 books.

Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin: Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories (Paperback, 2019, Penguin Classics) No rating

"This fantastically varied and exciting collection celebrates the great Japanese short story, from its modern …

This, then, was the scene that had lived in the fondest part of my memory for so many years. In none of its details had I found anything to wonder at. And then one day -- in fact, just two or three days ago -- as I was gazing blankly at the view from my window, it struck me with such force that, for a moment, I was unable to breathe. Peaches in the winter? Frogs and mud snails in the winter? How could I have failed to notice that until now? And, stranger still, what had inspired me -- possessed me -- at this one moment to seize upon the vital clue? For it was this that lay bare the hoax that memory had played on me year after year. Now, for the first time, I saw the wildly impossible connection that memory had made: carting a load of peaches on a cold winter night! Nowadays, perhaps. But back then? Unthinkable.

Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories by , (Page 193)

Wonderful reflection on the nature of memory, by Abe Akira

Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin: Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories (Paperback, 2019, Penguin Classics) No rating

"This fantastically varied and exciting collection celebrates the great Japanese short story, from its modern …

For his part, my father would have found it a stain on the family honour were his son to become known as a reporter or a clerk or a servant or some other lowly worker. 'Fortunately we have a spare room,' he said, 'and food. You can just live here quietly and keep to yourself.' With that, he brought the discussion to a close.

Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories by , (Page 70)

Living the dream...

David Loye: Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis (2019, Wisdom Publications) 4 stars

How can we respond urgently and effectively to the ecological crisis—and stay sane doing it? …

Lots to like, but with reservations

4 stars

Content warning climate crisis

David Loye: Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis (2019, Wisdom Publications) 4 stars

How can we respond urgently and effectively to the ecological crisis—and stay sane doing it? …

Content warning ableism

Vincent Bevins: If We Burn (Hardcover, 2023, PublicAffairs) 4 stars

The story of the recent uprisings that sought to change the world — and what …

Interesting account of the last decade's protests

4 stars

Really good as a journalistic account of the major protests of the 2010s, combining historical background with chronologies of the protests and lots of interviews with those involved. Significantly skewed towards Brazil, where the author lived for a number of years. Somewhat weaker on analysis, besides the impression that leaderless horizontalism can lead to a protest 'succeeding', but then just opening up space for someone more organized (and, often, more right-wing and/or authoritarian) to sweep in. Apparently I need to read Rodrigo Nunes next :)