The Liar [1950] – ★★★★1/2 You say the most important thing as indirectly as possible in your story, and that is how you truly capture the attention and interest of your reader. In this classic novel by Danish author Martin A. Hansen (1909-1955), our narrator is schoolmaster Johannes Vig (Lye) living on one very small Danish island of ..read more

Antidote to Venom [1938] – ★★★★ “…of the Good in you I can speak, but not of the Evil. For what is Evil but not Good tortured by its own hunger and thirst? When Good is hungry, it seeks food, even in dark caves, and when it thirsts, it drinks even of dead waters” (The ..read more

One Hundred Famous Views of Edo [1856-1858] is a popular, highly influential series of ukiyo-e prints of Edo (now Tokyo)’s environs produced by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858). They offer views of Edo’s landscapes, temples, bridges, tea-houses, busy streets and people, often during seasonal festivities. They showcased unique for that time perspectives and offered unexpected insights, such ..read more

Happy International Women’s Day! Today, 8th of March, the world celebrates women, as well as their contributions, so I thought I would focus on women authors, highlighting the achievements of women authors from Latin America in particular. The list below presents 10 female authors (in no particular order) from Latin America worth reading. I. Maria ..read more

This is painting Scene at Yushima by 19th century Japanese artist Ogura Ryūson. I do not know exactly why, but I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. There is something eerie and mysterious about it, and this feeling has probably something to do with Ogura’s effective shadowing, and the fact that ..read more

Last year was a great year of reading short stories for me, and below are ten best short stories I read in 2023. I have to confess that I never used to read short stories, preferring lengthy novels and huge tomes of “substance” over short stories, but all this changed a couple of years ago ..read more

From the end of the last year I have been actively into Ukiyo-e (a genre of Japanese panting), and would like to share some of my recent discoveries. Shōtei (Hiroaki) Takahashi (1871-1945) is considered to be one of the most prominent artists of the Shin-hanga (new prints) movement, which flourished in the early 20th century ..read more

Dandelions [1964/2017] – ★★★★ “Dandelions cover the banks of Ikuta River. They are an expression of the town’s character – Ikuta is like springtime, when the dandelions bloom. Three hundred and ninety four of its thirty five thousand residents are over eighty years old…Only one thing seems out of place in this town: the madhouse” [Kawabata/Emmerich, Penguin ..read more

I would like to wish all my followers a very Happy New Year! ✨ – let the year 2024 bring only joy, happiness and the fulfilment of all your wishes! Below is my list of 7 best books I read in 2023 (the best books I tend to read happen to be classics, and I ..read more

The novels of Charles Dickens are characterised by gripping plots, complex characters, and wondrous descriptions. But, what are some of the contemporary authors who also tried approaching their books in a Dickensian mode? Below are ten great books by contemporary authors who were either directly inspired by Dickens, imitating his plot structure or tone, or ..read more