Summer reading list!

Since I’m on a literary journey around the world, it felt like a great opportunity to choose books based on my destinations. I read The dinner by Herman koch and Anne Franks while in Amsterdam in may and this summer I’m headed to Korea and since they have a deep complicated history with Japan, I decided to do Japan and Korea for the summer months of June and July.

The lines aren’t always clear on which book should belong to which country – like “A river in darkness” by Ishikawa Masaji, the author is Japanese but tells a story about escaping from North Korea.

Or Pachinko – where the author is Korean and telling a story of generations of Koreans emigrating to Japan. Pachinko was recently recommended reading by Barack Obama, and so far I’ve enjoyed many of the books that he recommends. So I’m looking forward to digging into that one.

I also found six four by Yokohama Hideo, The vegetarian by Han Kang, The Island of sea women, Acorn by Yoko Ono, and The Makioka sisters by Tanizaki Junichiro.

Not to mention the revolutionary minimalist/tidying books Goodbye, things by Sasaki Fuio and The life changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo.

It’s all a wonderful mix of crime, generational tales, true stories and self exploration.