Today's #WITMonth post looks at Birgit Vanderbeke's 'Ich freue mich, dass ich geboren bin' (available in Jamie Bulloch's translation from Peirene Press as 'You Would Have Missed Me'): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/08/10/i...

Catching up with reviews, so today for #WITMonth it was a reread of Banana Yoshimoto's collection 'Lizard' (translated by Ann Sherif). A bit hit-and-miss - see my 2013 review here :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/l...

Review number two for #WITMonth sees us staying in Japan with Chiyo Uno's 'The Story of a Single Woman' (tr. Rebecca Copeland, now published by Pushkin Press): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/08/06/t...

More Natsume Sōseki on the blog - en français... My review of 'Une journée de début d’automne' (tr. Elisabeth Suetsugu), a collection of seven entertaining short pieces by the great man :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/07/30/u...

Anyone for knights, giants and various magical animals? Then take a look at my latest review, on the collection of Welsh stories/myths that is 'The Mabinogion' (translated by Sioned Davies): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/07/27/t...

As we move ever closer to the end of the Tamakazura saga, today's chapter of 'The Tale of Genji' has me examining a few conversations - and a strangely loose translation... tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/07/23/t...

Just finished a reread of Augusto Higa Oshiro's 'The Enlightenment of Katzuo Nakamatsu' (tr. Jennifer Shyue: Archipelago Books), a wonderful story of a Peruvian man's rapid decline (told in a leisurely manner) into old age - see my 2023 review here :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2023/05/11/t...

A review of a lovely book of short fiction and poetry by a J-Lit giant - my take on Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's 'Hell of Solitude' (translated by Ryan Choi, courtesy of Prototype Publishings): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/07/20/h...

Another Genji-themed post today, but with a twist - my review of Lynne K. Miyake's 'The Tale of Genji through Contemporary Manga', courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/07/17/t...

Another review from the Dalkey Archive Press and LTI Korea Library of Korean Literature today, as I take a look at Song Sokze's 'The Amusing Life' (translated by Se-Un Kim) - more than forty short pieces that examine the lighter side of life :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/07/13/t...

Just enjoyed a leisurely reread of Kamal Ben Hamada's 'La compagnie des Tripolitaines' (available from Peirene Press as 'Under The Tripoli Sky' in Adriana Hunter's translation).

Time for a look at Chapter 29 of 'The Tale of Genji', 'Miyuki', in which we have a royal procession, a coming-of-age ceremony and a spot of daytime drinking with two old friends ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/07/09/t...

Around a month ago, I enjoyed a leisurely reread of Anri Yasuda's excellent 'Beauty Matters: Modern Japanese Literature and the Question of Aesthetics, 1890-1930' (link to my review in the comments).

No pigeons were harmed during the writing of this book - Can Xue's 'The Enchanting Lives of Others' (translated by Annelise Finegan, courtesy of Yale University Press), a story of love and literature ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/07/06/t...

Another evening spent perusing the latest copy of @ltikorea.bsky.social's Korean Literature Now magazine, with a focus on folk tales. Lots of enjoyable essays, reviews and original content.

Always nice when you shoot off a hopeful email, get no reply, and are then surprised by a book landing in your letterbox! Here's today's arrival, Lynne K. Miyake's 'The Tale of Genji through Contemporary Manga' (courtesy of Bloomsbury Australia), one I hope to get to before too long :)

A fun tale about (wo)man's best friend - see my review of Virginia Woolf's 'Flush', two biographies in one, and a whole lot more :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/06/22/f...

My latest review looks at this year's International Booker Prize winner, Yáng Shuāng-zǐ’s 'Taiwan Travelogue' (translated by Lin King, review copy courtesy of Scribe Publications), a book which is not entirely as it seems :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/06/15/t...

Next week, Biblioasis are publishing the North American edition of Jón Kalman Stefánsson's 'The Heart of Man' (tr. Philip Roughton), and I've used the occasion as an excuse to reread, and reflect (at great length!) on the whole trilogy :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/06/11/j...

My latest review takes a look at Han Kang's 'Light and Thread' (tr. Maya West, e.yaewon & Paige Aniyah-Morris), a collection that brings the writer's Nobel Prize speech with a selection of other texts :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/06/08/l...

Something a little more niche today on the blog as I take a look at Paul Gordon Schalow's 'A Poetics of Courtly Male Friendship in Heian Japan' (from @UHPRESSNEWS) - let's hear it for the boys ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/06/01/a...

My final review for the month is of Shūsaku Endō's early novel 'The Sea and Poison', (translated by Michael Gallagher, published by Pushkin Press) a book that examines a doctor's involvement with some very dark acts during the Second World War... tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/29/t...

Something a little different for today's post as I take a deep dive into 'The Confucius Chronicles' (translated and edited by Wai-yee Li, courtesy of Columbia University Press): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/t...

Seven stories about space, the future and human nature - Kim Choyeop's 'If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light' (translated by Anton Hur, courtesy of MacLehose Press): tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/07/i...

Another football-themed post as I take a look at Nicholas M. Watanabe's 'The Beautiful Game?' (courtesy of Bloomsbury Australia), a series of essays about, well, the beautiful game ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/05/04/t...

It's Chapter 26, 'Tokonatsu', of 'The Tale of Genji' on the blog today, in which we meet an interesting new character. But what's with the dice, you ask? Well, read the post, and find out ;) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/30/t...

Just enjoyed a reread of Peter Stamm's 1999 collection 'Blitzeis' ('Black Ice'), a selection of interesting stories set both home and away - very tempted to continue with rereads of his other collections... See my 2016 review here: tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2016/11/10/b...

What would you do if your partner suddenly turned into a walking cash machine? That's the premise of Emma Tholozan's 'Self-Worth', translated by Emma Ramadan, published by Scribe Publications - see my review here :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/28/s...

Feeling rather poorly and miserable today, so what better way to cheer myself up than with a reread of Thomas Bernhard's 'Ja'? (No, I did not think that through clearly, thank you very much...). tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2022/11/03/j...

Two poets for the price of one - Nina Kossman translates the poetry of Marina Tsvetaeva, and adds some of her own for good measure, in 'Other Shepherds' :) tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2026/04/23/o...