I read a lot. But I rarely read novels more than once – unless, like Climber’s High (or Seventeen as it was translated into English) for example, it’s related to my research. Novels are, by definition, meant to be novel, new. Part of the reasoning for not reading a book more than once is that…
Tag: Novel
Book Review: “The Hollows” by Mark Edwards – a Confliction Novel
I have just finished reading a review copy of The Hollows, the latest book from Mark Edwards. This is definitely one of my favourites of his – possibly even my favourite. I tend to say The Retreat is my favourite – largely because that it was the first one of his that I read and…
EBooks of “Tokyo 20/20 Vision” and “FOUR” Free for a Limited Time
This weekend I turn 50 and although my Japan influence (amongst other reasons) says that 60 is a more significant milestone, 50 is (apparently) a ‘big one’. So you can join in with my celebrations, the eBooks of my novels Tokyo 20/20 Vision and FOUR are FREE from 30 April to 4 May (2021) (starting/ending…
Kashiwa Sushi: From Favourite Sushi Restaurant to Memorialising it in a Novel
I have done a number of posts about places that have featured in my novels – all of them can be found listed on the pages about the respective novels, listed here. Sometimes when I am planning the novel, I already have locations in mind – although I may still go there (again) to double…
Book Review: “Follow You Home” by Mark Edwards
If I were asked to provide a list of my favourite books, there would be quite a few in that list by Mark Edwards. Follow You Home would certainly make the list. Thanks to a Facebook video event that Mark hosted yesterday (24 March 2021) and that I was going to be given the opportunity…
Giri/Haji – Not Your Average Japan-related Drama
While Giri/Haji (‘Duty/Shame’) was first released on BBC, it is also available via Netflix. Although I had heard some good things about it, I resisted watching it. I’m not sure why exactly – probably as I feared that it could be yet another series that would play up on exoticising Japan in some way (and…
Reflecting on the Closure of the Azumazeki-Beya
Over the weekend it was announced that the Azumazeki-beya (東関部屋, Azumazeki Stable) is closing, merging with the Hakkaku-beya (八角, Hakkaku Stable). In amongst the stories about this closure, I also discovered that its former Oyakata (stable master), who had previously fought under the name of Ushiomaru (潮丸, real name Motoyasu Sano), had died at the…
Book Review: “Lies We Bury” by Elle Marr
After reading The Missing Sister, I was looking forward to reading Lies We Bury. It didn’t disappoint. They often say that the second novel can be the hardest one to write (and similarly about musical acts and their second album) as if the first one was excellent, people have raised expectations about the next one….
End the Movie-isation of World Book Day
Today is World Book Day. For last year’s World Book Day, I wrote about how we should focus on supporting independent authors rather than constantly turning to the well known authors. My post this year makes a similar appeal and builds on the problems with World Book Day that tend to stem from primary schools…
“FOUR” and its Swedish Links
In my third novel, FOUR, there are some Swedish links – this post says a bit more about this. If you look through the chapter listing you will see that one of the chapter titles is ‘Jag Älskar’. This, strictly speaking means ‘I love’ and is the title of a track on Bag of Trix…
Aokigahara in Manga – And Does Aokigahara Still Have a Place in Academic Writing?
I have done a few posts recently about manga, starting with one about my favourite manga Kurosagi Shitai Takuhaibin. As a manga that deals with mysterious deaths, it should be no surprise that Aokigahara features in some of the stories. Indeed, the image below is the very first image to appear in the first volume…
Working Titles
Although when I start writing I have an overall idea for a book, I don’t always know exactly how the book will come together. This is true of both my academic books and novels. While with academic books there will be a more formal book proposal that will include a planned contents list and structure,…
Christopher P. Hood 