04 - A book set in Japan (host of the 2020 Olympics)

[Kristin]

I read Warcross for LitRPG last year, and have already borrowed Wildcard from the library for this prompt.

[Mac]

I'll be reading The Graveyard Apartment for this one

[Xena]

Wooo Japan 2020! I am reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden. It tells the story of a girl working as a geisha in Kyoto, Japan. I was so intimidated to read this book in the past and I don't know why. I was young then haha.

[Tracy]

Xena wrote: "Wooo Japan 2020! I am reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden. It tells the story of a girl working as a geisha in Kyoto, Japan. I was so intimidated to read this book in the past .."

such a great story, and an easy read. It's one of my favorites :-)

[Brenna]

I read My Year of Meats, which is split between Japan and the mid-western United States. I enjoyed it much more than I expected and it touched on so many interesting topics that are not common in novels - antibiotics in meats, American consumerism, contrast between the "American housewife" and typical "Japanese housewife," infertility, domestic abuse, the list goes on! This book was an unexpected gem.

[hunzberger]

I would recommend No Longer Human!

[Katy]

I'm reading Memoirs of a Geisha for this. It has a 4.11 average rating, so I feel like this is just me, but ugh. It's such a slog.

[Julia]

There's no such thing like too many books about cats, so I picked 2 for this prompt.

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

It's calm and describes lots of everyday life. It was a nice read, but I won't read it again. Focus was on the main human characters and the cat to me felt like - as the title says - only a guest.

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

Also a calm book, not that much about cats, I liked it a bit better than the first one. Strong message, though I'll probably won't read it again.

Not set in Japan, but as I'm listing cat books here, I'm also going to read Cleo: How an Uppity Cat Helped Heal a Family by Helen Brown.


And also not set in Japan, but I highly recommend A Street Cat Named Bob: How One Man and His Cat Found Hope on the Streets by James Bowen. It deals with topics like being homeless and heroin addiction.

[Megan]

Laura Joh Rowland has a series of historical fiction mysteries set in Japan; the first is Shinju. She is also a woman of color, so I may end up reading one of the series for that and one for Japan!

[Holly]

I finished The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa and loved it! I listened to the audiobook and like that the book is narrated not only by the human, but also by the cat. I have an almost 17 year old cat and know what it's like to love and adore a cat and be loved and adored by said cat. By the end of the book I was crying and have been recommending it to everyone.

[Lilith]

Love Poems from the Japanese was gorgeous and uplifting. A lot of writing by women in this collection from 7th - 10th century Japan. Place is really important in these poems, so yes, it all takes place in Japan. Kenneth Rexroth is one of my favorite translators.

[Evil Secret]

I read 1Q84

[Ruth]

Now that there aren't going to be any 2020 Olympics, is this prompt going to change?

Is it "A book set in Japan, where the 2020 Olympics were supposed to be held"

or " A book set in a fictional or non-Earth world, where the 2020 Olympics are actually taking place?"

or "Skip this prompt. Read an imaginary book where the imaginary Olympics are being held."?

And I just want to add that I'm INCREDIBLY frustrated that I can't access books from my library right now, since they're closed (ebooks don't work for me.) And I don't exactly have the budget to actually PURCHASE books right now either! I may not be able to finish this years reading challenge at all.

[Leona]

You can download free books on Amazon but do not need a Kindle. I have a Kindle but they will go to your computer. Try winning some books on Goodreads, LibraryThing and Fresh Fiction for some.

[Nadine in NY]

Ruth wrote: "Now that there aren't going to be any 2020 Olympics, is this prompt going to change?

Is it "A book set in Japan, where the 2020 Olympics were supposed to be held"

or " A book set in a fictional o..."


The way I see it, the prompt is "a book set in Japan" and the parenthetical "host of the 2020 Olympics" is there just to explain why this prompt was grouped with all of the prompts that involve "20." Japan is still the host, it's just postponed (so far), and I don't know if they will be changing the title of these Olympics to be "2021" or not.

So this prompt does not change, it is still to read a book set in Japan.

[Tracy]

New prompt name is "read a book set in Japan ( host of the 2020 olympics which have now been rescheduled to 2021 thanks to the Rona) " Get to reading everyone. We have time :/

[Jackie]

If reading on a computer screen doesn't work for you as an ebook alternative, try looking online for nearby little free libraries. They seem to be flourishing right now.

[Ruth]

I'm not having too much trouble finding ENOUGH books to read, but I'm not able to have much control over what books are available to me. Normally, I'd skim through Goodreads to find books that fit the prompt that interest me, and have my library website open in another tab, and reserve the books that sound good (or, select something else if my library doesn't have it.)

The past few years, I've finished the challenge by August. That clearly isn't going to happen this year, though I should probably continue to reserve books for prompts so that if my library only reopens for a short time, I'll get that stack of books to complete the challenge in a fairly short time. I'll turn to ebooks only if I can't access enough paper books by November or so. I may also change my mind about "only ticking off one challenge per book" if I find that it makes a difference when time is running short.

[Leona]

Ruth wrote: "I'm not having too much trouble finding ENOUGH books to read, but I'm not able to have much control over what books are available to me. Normally, I'd skim through Goodreads to find books that fit ..."

I have turned to e-books because my library is also closed.

[Emily]

I read Seven Deadly Shadows s for this prompt. I can't say it was my favorite, but I think for people who are manga/anime fans, this one might be a good fit.

[Yoo]

by Keiichiro Hirano is currently part of Amazon Kindle First read deals. I was unsure what to read for this prompt so was pleased when this offer came through. It's the first book of Hirano's to be translated into English. I enjoyed the story, especially the Japanese culture and politics within it.

[Thomas]

Nadine wrote: "Ruth wrote: "Now that there aren't going to be any 2020 Olympics, is this prompt going to change?

Is it "A book set in Japan, where the 2020 Olympics were supposed to be held"

or " A book set in ..."
With you the prompt is still a book set in Japan. A prompt im finding hard to fill

[Robin H-R]

Are you a historical mystery fan? Here's the one I picked. Sounds good, but haven't read it yet.

Shadows of Tokyo

[Heather]

I had a hard time finding a book for this prompt that caught my interest. Now that I've read Malice I can highly recommend it. It's crime fiction that is well-written and fairly short. Unfortunately, it's the only book in this series translated into English, but it does work as a standalone.

[Shazana]

Does Manga count? Like Tokyo Ghoul for example?

[Doni]

I don't see why not.

[Britany]

Finished Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Camilla]

Pachinko

This book opens in Korea but the majority of it is set in Japan!

[Darlene]

If you don't mind gratuitous violence, I highly recommend Battle Royale which was the inspiration for The Hunger Games. Great survival story, fight to the death.

[Sneha]

Does the The Memory Police count? Its set in an unnamed island but clearly the setting felt like it was in Japan.

[Nadine in NY]

Sneha wrote: "Does the The Memory Police count? Its set in an unnamed island but clearly the setting felt like it was in Japan."


I think that's up to you.

[Cassandra]

I just started reading The Book of Tea and am enjoying it so far.

[Mirel]

Brooke wrote: "Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
A book that focuses on the female body & revolves around the stories of three women in Japan.
Will be published April 17, 2020"

I just finished this book for this prompt, and while I enjoyed the much of it, I think I would have enjoyed it more if I were more familiar with Japanese mythology. I found it hard to keep the various terms straight and was constantly checking the glossary, which I found much harder to do on my kindle. In a paperback, all I have to do is stick a bookmark in it, and then it's easy to switch back and forth.

I did download the sequel, maybe the different terms will be less confusing second-time around...

[Solenn]

I read The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa... Such a beautiful book, I'm not even a cat person but I cried ugly tears at the end...

[Kristine]

I just got the book, . By Stephanie Scott

It sounds really interesting. Can’t wait to read it.

[Barbara]

I read Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 1 by Yuto Tsukuda. I...didn't like it. Somehow they managed to pencil in gratuitous panty shots a couple of times.

[Tamara]

I read "American Fuji" by Sara Backer.

[Jessica]

I am going to read “Hiroshima.” I am picking it up at the library tomorrow 😁

[Heather L]

I have a couple of the books mentioned here in Mount TBR, but as they are weightier, more serious tomes, I haven’t been in the mood for them. Then I was browsing the contents of an anthology of children’s books that I have and found Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki, a collection of 22 stories. Perfect! There is also an Audible version, which for some reason omits two of the stories.

[Alicja]

Convenience Store Woman was excellent! Short but powerful book set in Japan. I loved it on audio and would recommend it in that format.

[Virginia]

I'm trying to read books I already own, so I read Brilliance of the Moon by Lian Hearn; it is set in a fictionalized Japan.