Mrs Blackwell’s July Reading Log

The Bookshop Woman by Nanako Hanada

This is the story of a divorced bookseller in Tokyo who joins a dating service called ‘Perfect Strangers’. 

The service offers 30 minute meetings with strangers, without the exception that you’ll ever meet again. So an interaction, or temporary company service, as much as a dating service. 

As her party-trick to make her profile more attractive Nanako suggest that she can recommend the perfect book, tailored almost for the individual, at the end of each meeting.

I got about a third of the way through this book and put it aside. I was just finding the interactions a bit shallow and uninteresting. Then, near the end of the month this came up in conversation and to my surprise, I discovered this is not actually a work of fiction.

Realising that it’s a memoir makes the stories an entirely different thing. So I revisited it and enjoyed the last two thirds a whole lot more. It’s an interesting insight into Japanese culture and some quirky characters who live in Tokyo.

The Gentleman from Peru by André Aciman

A group of American college friends are reunited a decade after graduation when one of them makes a fortune and then makes good on a promise to rent a luxury yacht for the group.

The boat requires repairs so the group stay in a fancy hotel on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. There they meet a mysterious stranger named Raul who seems to have the power to heal with touch, as well as predict the future.

The book unfolds as a work of magical realism where it emerges that one of the key female characters has known Raul before.

This fairly short book, more a novella, and for me this was a warm, easy read that you’ll get through in just one or two sessions.

The Psalm for the Wild Build by Becky Chambers

This is my very first attempt at dipping my toe into science fiction.

Set on a fictional planet called Panga. Many years earlier robots rose up to say they wouldn’t work in factories anymore and they cut themselves off from human civilisation. 

We meet a character named Dex, who is a tea monk. They drive around dispensing tea, and providing a listening ear and some comfort to people in the different villages. Along the way Dex meets Mosscap, a robot who has come back to figure out what’s going on with humanity and what they need. 

In style, this reminded me a bit of the book ‘The Prophet’ by Kahil Gibran. It’s obvious in each chapter that a lesson is coming - a lesson about work, productivity, identity and nature - and the chapters make their point fairly quickly and simply. Mr Blackwell pointed out that The Book of Psalms is also like this, so perhaps that’s part of the name. 

For me, I just don’t need my philosophy dressed up as a work of fiction, that’s just not my taste, but the story is sensitive and easy to follow so I can see why it has been so popular and I’m sure many more readers will enjoy it.

Stay True by Hua Hsu 

This book has been on my to-be-read for a while but came back to my attention after I saw it on the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

This covers Hua Hsu’s college years, in 1990s Berkeley and Northern California. He’s making zines and discovering all kinds of new music and generally making the most of his university/college experience.

He makes friends with Ken - who is generally more popular, more outgoing and more mainstream but they bond over cigarettes and conversation. 

One evening after a party, Ken is kidnapped and murdered. 

The second half of the memoir details the loss and dealing with the aftermath and the memories. Written with an incredible eye for detail and the author seems to sees himself with genuine clarity. 

There is No Ethan by Anna Akbari

Over on LibroFM I listened to the true story about a group of women who are catfished by the same online marauder named Ethan. They eventually track each other down and then coordinate to figure out who Ethan is - in a twist I did not see coming! That’s There is No Ethan by Anna Akbari on Libro FM.