Thoughts on Papyrus

Japanese Cooking [1980/2007] – ★★★★1/2 November is a non-fiction reading month, and I thought I would review something from a non-fiction genre I have hardly touched – food non-fiction. Japanese food may bring to mind certain stereotypical images, such as a conveyor belt sushi or raw seafood. However, Japanese food is so much more than …

Daphne du Maurier’s novels are moody, haunting, and psychologically suspenseful – making them perfect for autumn reading. So, while thinking about her novels recently, I came up with this ranking of her books. This list reflects my personal preferences and only includes those novels I have read so far – seven in total, excluding her …

I love delving into mystical, dark-themed artworks come Halloween season, and, this time around, decided to talk about the painting The Conjurer by Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450-1516). In it, he presents an arresting scene: a street magician, dressed in a scarlet robe and reminiscent of the Magician from the Tarot deck, has gathered a crowd of …

Fortress Besieged [1947] by Qian Zhongshu Qian Zhongshu (1910-1998) was a talented literary scholar, researcher and polyglot. He published his novel Fortress Besieged in 1947, but it received its due attention only in the 1980s. It is now considered “one of the masterpieces of twentieth century Chinese literature”. Set on the eve of the Sino-Japanese …