He‘s always a Nw York poet to me

My heart is still there.

Shinjuku Takashimaya Kinokuniya Book store foreign books sales staff pose with free tote bag if you buy the book💝🌟great t-shirts too!

Great interview with Attica Locke on her new book, Heaven, My Home: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/07/attica-locke-heaven-my-home-books-...

Here‘s a link to a great Stephen King interview! https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/07/stephen-king-interview-the-institu...

Here‘s a link to an exclusive excerpt! https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/04/the-testaments-by-margaret-atwood-...

Christmas in August dog days、 but needed this miraculous and lovely book of short stories to shake off the blues. Recipes (very British comfort food) included. Exquisite style and grace.

Alternate history (Jewish refugees settle in Sitka region of Alaska-Israel does not exist); mystery (murdered messiah); and love and family angst to work through. Re-reading in memory of my dad who loved it because chess, essential for the soul and life. You must think several moves ahead.

Desperate chase to recover US military CID ID in gritty 1970‘s South Korea. Fast action noir and excellent portrayal of time and place. My dad had many TDY (temporary duty) there and I visited a few times; the US military presence is so different from tourist experience. Sueno and his partner in Tarantino territory!

Boy in the bubble x suburban London teen angst x Wizard of Oz❗️= another brilliant Scarlett Thomas novel. Yep, I‘m a fan.

English language bestsellers in Tokyo!

RIP Toni Morrison

Went to the library for the first time in weeks; here‘s my stack!

Been away but I‘m back after a pretty bad first half of 2019; last Thursday was devastating. Rin-Rin, our rescue pup and diva with the heart of a samurai princess, fought like a warrior (brain tumor) but the meds stopped working, and we had to make a hard decision. She slipped away peacefully surrounded by love. Still cry at odd moments, but going to the library for quiet respite. Honoring book chewing diva on here🐾❤️

Here it is! The Booker prize long list! Link:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/24/handmaids-tale-sequel-2019-booker-...

Read this and weep: Adrian McKinty writes the Sean Duffy police procedural which I love and recommend without reservation. Critical acclaim didn‘t pay the bills. He worked as an Uber driver, he and his family got evicted. How can this be？ Agent stepped in and persuaded him to write The Chain; got a 7 figure movie deal. Believe. https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/08/adrian-mckinty-interview-crime-nov...

Happy birthday Frank Kafka！
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/social-security-denies-gregor-samsas-disabil...

How did I miss the extract? Here you go! https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/10/philip-pullman-secret-commonwealth...

Here‘s an interesting link for upcoming summer books translated from the Japanese、
Link: https://savvytokyo.com/6-japanese-books-to-enjoy-this-summer/

Bookstores and libraries are such beacons of light and art and truth. Sacred ground!

Big win! https://bookmarks.reviews/emily-ruskovich-wins-e100000-international-dublin-lite...

Haven‘t posted lately on Litsy due to a veritable sh*tstorm on all fronts (work, caregiving, health, and last but not least my dog go‘s senility issues) but have been able to escape overthinking during reading breaks. Will be posting reviews soon. In the meantime a little illustration 😎 of my state of mind...

Here‘s an elegantly done new mystery by the author ofMy Bloody Project, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize. There is a fatal car crash on the A35 near a small town in France. The dead driver is a very proper, conservative lawyer, and absolutely nothing indicates foul play. Inspector Gorski is bothered by one question: where was the victim driving home from? And that, my friends, is the hook that unveils a hot mess. Literate fun!

Marshal Guarnaccia is Sicilian working class, and feels he can‘t compete against Firenze‘s hot shot murder squad,politics, and is uncomfortable with the upper classes. If you like Maigret, you will love the marshal. He‘s self deprecating and a bit inarticulate, but he instinctively has a grasp of human nature. A famous writer is found dead in her bath, and he‘s reluctantly thrust into the world of the rich and famous. Very grumpy: strict diet!

One of my favorite writers. Freeling is British, but has an understated and cool European sensibility. Here Van der Valk, Amsterdam policeman, is roped into a private search for a missing golden boy businessman that takes him into Germany and Spain. This one won an Edgar.

Get ready for summer reading❣️Here‘s a great 🌟list to plan around: https://crimereads.com/the-most-anticipated-crime-books-of-summer/hickleberrypun...

The Japanese countryside is where a lot of strange superstitions, myths, and legends proliferate. This tells the story of 3 generations of the strong, strange matriarchs of the Akakuchiba family, owners of ironworks that dominate the mountain region. Their story is told in tandem with the social/cultural changes in Japan mixed with touches of magic realism. Who wouldn‘t love a mother who could be a seer, a daughter leading a motorcycle gang?

Shortlist for Arthur C. Clarke 2019 awards link: https://www.tor.com/2019/05/09/announcing-the-2019-arthur-c-clarke-award-shortli...

This is a great thing: garbage collectors save books to create library: http://forreadingaddicts.co.uk/news/turkish-garbage-collectors-open-library-full...

Great discovery today: dropped by the bookstore and found the Japanese translation!

Cormac Reilly is finally given the chance to escape from cold cases, to take over a new homicide investigation. His partner Emma discovers the victim of a fatal hit and run,whose father is the head of a big pharma company which is funding Emma‘s research research. Cormac has enemies, powerful interests dictating the investigation parameters, and for a dreadful time he begins to doubt Emma. Excellent follow up to The Ruin;fast and fun.

I re-read this after many years and it still makes me feel hollow. Van Der Valk is bored. A young man is hired by a jewelry /antique boutique by chance. Something doesn‘t seem right so he goes to the police for advice and help. It‘s not a case, no overt crime,but Van Der Valk is curious as a cat, and begins to investigate on his own; all quite unofficial. It goes all wrong, and it is devastating.

My dad and I would devour anything by Freeling. He has an unique voice and the coolest understated style. Van der Valk is a detective in the French police, and he is handed a case where a financier points to adultery and murder, which his wife has, naturally,nothing to do with. Like Maigret, Van Der Valk is an astute observer and instinctively aware of human psychology. French cool.

I don‘t read too much YA, but glad that I picked this up at the library. London (and other cities) are on the move, gobbling up smaller cities and towns over devastated ground. There are other cities that are static, high in the mountains protected by a Great Wall;there are airship pirates, lethal undying cyborgs, a boy engineer and a girl who wants revenge in this fast steampunk fantasy. And I have a mad crush on the pirate/spy/assassin Anna Fang

Today is the end of 10 day Japanese national holiday week (the Heisei emperor abdicated and the Crown Prince has ascended the throne.) So nice surprise to find the watchmaker is Japanese in this wondrous mashup of historical fiction and fantasy set in Victorian London! All I will say is I need the clockwork octopus, and there is a very sweet gay romance as well. Enjoy!

I loved this as a kid! Link to information about the author: https://crimereads.com/encyclopedia-brown-and-the-case-of-the-mysterious-author/

Beyond Black is a brilliant portrayal of a damaged psychic, Allison, who has a grubby petty criminal as her spirit guide. She works the suburban circuits outside of London, in gatherings at what in the US would be strip malls along highways, hotels, and pubs. The world is permeable; the dead are restless and the living as well. She takes on an assistant/manager who hopes to make money from a tell all book and begins to tape conversations.

Gorgeous university press book cover designs...I‘d buy them just for the art; reading an added bonus! Link: https://lithub.com/these-are-the-best-university-press-book-designs-of-2018/

Darkly funny and it is designed so pages are laid out like very long footnotes. I‘ve done translation work, and have friends who do. The frustrations are very real, and at times ‘what fresh hell is this?‘ Great style and development, twist ending where the real life translator of the novel makes an appearance!

It hasn‘t stopped raining in Ireland for decades. Forget the dystopian hopelessness and brutish violence; this is a heartbreaking love story at its core. Beautifully written.

Perfectly done police procedural that encompasses all the detailed meetings and daily slog to find the culprits. Hits all the social problem checklists (still relevant now) and happily shows strong and loving family for Huss. Didn‘t connect somehow: felt it would make a great tv series as actors would bring that plus alpha emotional weight and je ne sais quoi to it. I‘m sure other readers will like it. And great cover photo!

It‘s coming to TV、 possibly up to 8 episodes！Link: https://deadline.com/2019/04/simon-pegg-nick-frost-rivers-of-london-1202602550/

Women‘s Prize for Fiction short list link！ https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/reading-room/news/revealing-the-2019-wom...

Conviction continues the story begun in Garnethill. Great interview with the author: https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/27/denise-mina-no-such-thing-apolitic...

Yes, sometimes I‘m seduced by cover designs, for vinyl albums and books alike; one way to discover what you would never find otherwise. Had high hopes for this one as it followed Babylon Berlin which was made into a acclaimed series. Louche detective kicked out of Berlin and into Cologne works as a PI and treats his police duties as a side job. Movie star killed by falling light, silent vs talkie studios wars, rising Nazi party, blackmail, and

Edgar Award nominees and winners! Link: https://crimereads.com/announcing-the-2019-edgar-award-winners/

Read Bluebird, Bluebird and became a fan immediately. This is her first book, and it‘s equally impressive. Ex-radical activist turned community lawyer is just trying to make a living, and is sucked onto a whirlpool of political and corporate corruption during Houston‘s oil boom. He and his pregnant wife are witnesses to a murder, and he is reluctantly drawn into an union strike. Evocative of the city and the times; racism and betrayal the same.

Insidiously slow creeping horror in isolated rural community; you know something horrible is coming but you just don‘t know in what brutal form. Made worse by revealing by degrees the unreliability of the narrator (wtf!) The isolation and resulting superstitions and customs true all over the world I think. Beautifully written, and reinforces why my boots will not leave concrete. Note: the book description on Litsy is incorrect.

Prince memoir coming, Link: https://www.spin.com/2019/04/prince-memoir-the-beautiful-ones-to-be-released-thi...

A sort of backward discovery: found a feel good indie movie on Netflix starring Alfre Woodard (l‘m a fan) titled Juanita. saw in the credits that it was based on the tagged book so will have to read it now! Juanita leaves Columbus, Ohio on a journey to find herself and it‘s a sweet and hopeful story. Just the thing to put a smile on your face.