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Absolutely loving Baldwin’s writing; his writing is gorgeous but incisive and clear, making the depth of his arguments that much more stunning. I struggle, though, a bit with despair when I read this work. Much of what is in this book comes from his writings from the late-50s onwards, yet if you would have placed the text in front of me without an author name or the publication date, I would believe this was by a contemporary writer. So much of what he calls for, so much of what he describes is the same. The endless repetition of history is something I struggle with; most of what I write about is using “old” literature to make sense of our current moment and, in many ways, that is a comforting move for me. It makes me feel better to know that the frustration I feel about our current moment is not a singular blip in history—most of the time my own tiny thoughts are part of a longer lineage of people feeling that so many things were wrong with the world and wrote about them. While Baldwin’s work made me pause a bit over how little has changed for so many people in the United States, I am glad to learn from him and to take what he says as another boost towards a better future. Yes, things are not where they need to be in the slightest. But, as he writes: “It is only out of our hands if we don’t want to pick it up.” // #bookstagram #igreads #jamesbaldwin #読者 #撮影 #本

Creep-shots, but focused on our dogs 🖤// #bookstagram #igreads #dogsofinstagram #読者 #撮影 #いぬ

So excited to actually start my first Baldwin in a long time! I mentioned this before, but Baldwin is a writer that I am ashamed to say I haven’t really read aside from a few articles/pieces here and there—and everything I’ve come across was stunning. Thankfully IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK has been all over the place and prompted me to finally jump into his works. I’m so ready to learn from the master 🙏🏻 // #jamesbaldwin #bookstagram #igreads #bookish #読書 #読者 #撮影 #本 #betterlatethannever

Pooh Bear had a vet appointment for an allergy shot, which happened to be on a day of freezing ice rain. We live within walking distance of the vet we take Popcorn and Pooh Bear, but it took 30 minutes to get there and back on treacherous sidewalks. Between the awful weather and getting a shot, Pooh was deeply unimpressed by the day thus far. // #bookstagram #bookish #igreads #読書 #読者 #本屋 #撮影

Early birthday gifts: two purchased for me by my partner and the third a lucky find in a used book store. I’m ashamed to say how little of Baldwin I’ve read and I aim to remedy that ASAP. Lonely City by Olivia Laing is something I’ve seen crop up periodically and, after downloading the sample chapter on Kindle, caught my attention because of the prose. Finally, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Protest Music After Fukushima by Noriko Manabe was an incredibly good find (and in great condition!) that I wasn’t necessarily looking for but was stoked when I found it. Post-Fukushima protest/resistance/activism movements have been intriguing to me since the tragedy happened. Although it’s far from what I usually look at, I end up drifting to talks on the topic at conferences or reading articles that cross my inbox for some reason. I believe I saw Manabe give a talk on this topic a number or years ago and remember being moved by her scholarship, so I was so excited to see her book at such an insanely good price. Happy early birthday, indeed 💜 // #bookstagram #igreads #bookish #jamesbaldwin #japan #読書 #撮影 #読者 #本 #diversereads #readtheworld

I was cleaning out my computer and found some old Japan photos tucked away. These must have been taken on one of those clunky digital cameras from the mid-2000s. I pulled them out as a little inspiration for something else I’m writing and it’s a stark contrast here: the Japan most people are familiar with is the first photo, taken during the 祇園祭 (Gion Festival) in Kyoto with my family. It was a beautiful celebration and it’s one of my favorite—but also most humid oh my god Kyoto is a valley!—memories. The second is of the Japan I came to be more familiar with: the downtown area of Nagoya, where my grandparents eventually settled. Although my family is from Osaka, where I was born, and whose dialect infuses my Japanese, I am most familiar with Nagoya’s cityscape. I’m taking my mother to New York first as she has good memories of being in NYC when my grandfather was VP of Toyota North America, but next I want to travel to Japan with her as I haven’t been able to go since 2017. It’ll be fun to go back to Osaka and hear people speak like we do. For now, Tanizaki’s later novels suffice. // #japan #撮影 #日本 #bookstagram #igreads

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