Welcome to Litsy!

A comfort read, for sure. Each chapter works as its own story, so it was easy to pick up, read a story, and come back later when I wanted to spend more time with Nagare, Koishi, and the various customers of the diner/detective agency (and Drowsy the cat!). It really hit on how food is tied to our memories and how comforting that nostalgia is, even if the memories themselves are often complicated/not completely happy.

Having a little bite to eat outside before work

Starting this next!🕊️

This book reads like YA fiction, which isn‘t bad, but not what I have come to expect from translated Japanese. It‘s simple writing, but it is absolutely charming and I almost want a copy for myself just for the recipes.

This novel is beautiful but will break your heart. It is a beautiful story of survival, of love, loss and memory.

I searched this out after spotting it in Bullet Train. While the plot and various aspects were decent, overall I found it tried too hard to be overly intelligent. Hel also ends up more super hero than man, and the aspect which got to me the most was the authors infatuation with race - particularly attributing stereotypes and the appalling way Arabs were portrayed. It wrapped up decently and wasn‘t the worst read but not one I‘d recommend.

Murder and mayhem in Japan tonight…

A brutal, unflinching dive into the psyche of a teenage boy unraveling amid the violence and neglect of Yokohama‘s slum. Stark and relentless, it‘s a haunting portrait of innocence lost and a society in decay, and pretty well written too.

Not what I was expecting but found this very interesting. Thought provoking on feminism, misogyny & self-acceptance in particular. And it made me bloody starving 😆