Transcript:
Hello.
Today’s vlog is a short little read with me session.
There are 3 books that I’ve been reading recently. I jump from book to book depending on my mood. And I usually read on my iPhone while I’m commuting.
Nothing beats good music and a good read while commuting.
Anyway, the title of this book I’m currently reading is How to Live Japanese by Yutaka Yazawa. There’s a little of everything, from geography to culture and arts. Pretty fascinating read, if you’re interested in Japan.
I don’t read much fiction these days. I only read fiction in Chinese and Korean partly because I find that fiction sounds more poetic in East Asian languages. And partly because I’m not a native speaker in both languages so it does feel like more work when I’m reading non-fiction in either Chinese or Korean.
The app that I use to read ebooks is Libby. As long as you’ve an NLB account, you can borrow ebooks and magazines for free.
A pity they don’t have much selection for Chinese books. Would love to improve my reading speed for Chinese texts.
I recently downloaded Readmoo, which is supposedly Taiwan’s largest ebook store. I’m still looking for an app to download Korean ebooks. AFAIK, I can get Korean ebooks from Kyobo, one of the largest bookstores in South Korea. But it doesn’t seem as user-friendly as Libby.
I used to prefer physical books. But in recent years, I feel like I read more ever since I started using Libby, because I can read it anywhere and anytime I find myself having some time to spare. It’s also less of a burden for me when I travel.
(Anyone else finds it hard to read without highlighting and annotating? 🙋🏻♀️)
This title of this other book I’m reading is Kintsugi Wellness: The Japanese Art of Nourishing Mind, Body, and Spirit by Candice Kumai.
There are a few other books that talk about kintsugi, a Japanese concept of embracing imperfections. But I started with this because it seems like it’s an easy read with a lot of Japanese recipes in one of the chapters.
According to the author, it took her over three years to produce, write and take photographs for the book.
It seems like books on Japanese philosophy and ways of life have been getting increasingly popular. And I can see why. It encourages a sort of quiet resilience.
I also want to talk about this other book, Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing by Jamie Holmes.
I like that it challenges the way we look at things. Although I’m not done with the book, it seems like the author is encouraging readers to embrace uncertainty.
Not a bad read at a time like this, when the pandemic has thrown all predictability out of the universe.
I’ve a lot more books to share and talk about. But it’s just too much to talk about in one vlog. If you’re interested to know what I read, you can join my Telegram channel, where I share stuff that I read and come across on the internet.
That’s all for today. See you next Saturday :)