Dear readers,
You know by now that I always start my posts this way—dear readers—because if you’re following Tokyo Calling, chances are you love reading. And so do I. Obsessively. On trains, in cafés, at home, between classes… if there’s a spare moment, I’ve probably got a book in my hands.
Summer reading feels different, though. The pace slows. There’s time to sprawl out, breathe, and pick up something special.
This year, my “something special” is a gorgeous biography of Robert Wyatt—one of my all-time favorite musicians. I fell for Soft Machine back in high school and have been following Wyatt’s career with near-religious devotion ever since.
This comic book wasn’t even on my radar—I found it by accident while hunting for a completely different comic. It has the spirit of Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style: the same tiny story—a few sketched panels—told in 99 different ways. I’m devouring it partly for pleasure, partly as research for a new, slightly unhinged project. (Details coming later.)
Speaking of comics, I just closed the last page of another gem: the manga classic Kacho Shima Kosaku Vol. 1 (Section Chief Shima Kosaku Vol. 1) (1985).
When I first came to Japan, the economic bubble had just burst, and the country was entering a long recession. This story, however, starts before that.
This manga vividly depicts Japan’s economic trends from the mid-growth period (stable growth) of the early 1980s, through the bubble economy of the late 1980s, to the eve of the “Lost 30 Years” in the early 1990s. It portrays corporate rivalry between major companies, factional struggles within large corporations, and the lives of rank-and-file salarymen—particularly those of the baby boomer generation.
The story’s protagonist, Shima Kosaku, belongs to that generation and works for a major electronics manufacturer.
What about you? What are you reading this summer? Fiction, non-fiction, comics, whatever. Anything goes, with or without cover. And of course it doesn’t have to be Japan-related. Please let me know in the comment section or reply directly to this email.
The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1789 -- Robert Darnton.
Hi Gianni.
Now that Amazon has changed its policy to sell only 'rights' to Kindle books, I am making heavy use of Anna's Archives in anticipation of tightening restrictions of speech (and narrative) as is now being legislated in England and Australia.
Some of my recent downloads I hope to read (or at least scan) soon, though a bit on the grim-to-dry side of pattern recognition, and not likely to inspire happy conversations ...
— Siliconned - How the tech industry solves fake problems, -- Maggiori, Emmanuel
— Grassroots fascism: The war experience of the Japanese -- Yoshimi Yoshiaki, Ethan Mark
— The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, -- Peck, M. Scott
— Harrison Bergeron -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr
— Democracy in America -- Volumes 1 and 2 -- Alexis de Tocqueville
— The Open Society and Its Enemies -- Karl Popper & E. H. Gombrich
(I have long read about Popper, and read excerpts, but haven't directly tackled the book.)
— The Prophets of Doom -- Neema Parvini
— The Evil Twins of Technocracy and Transhumanism -- Patrick Wood
(sigh) Gonna be a long, hot summer. But will spice it up with cool drinks, and cooler jazz.
Speaking of music, this intriguing guitarist (can't make out if she is Japanese — by appearance or Chinese — by name) popped up in my feed ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzn4nyp58-k
Cheers!