====== What? ======
My notes regarding some books with Japan/Japanese relation.

   * **Giles Murray: "Breaking into Japanese Literature-Seven Modern Classics in Parallel Text"**
     * ISBN-13: 9784770028990
     * A great book for reading 7 interesting parts of Japanese Literature. Below each Japanese part English translation, also English translations for the Kanji are available. I still find the texts more readable online using the rikaichan/rikaisama plugins, that's more fluent for me.
   * **Janet Ashby: "Read Real Japanese All You Need to enjoy eight contemporary writers"** 
     * ISBN: 4-7700-2936-51
     * Another book with Japanese literature and English translations, haven yet read it.
   * **Ruth Benedict: "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword"**
     * ISBN-13: 978-0618619597
     * Quite interesting read on Japanese live and thinking. This was created when WW2 started, trying to grasp Japanese spirit without beeing able to visit the country any more directla.
   * Nihon Keizai Shinposha: "Manga Nihon Keizai Zeminaru", Manga version (ISBN-13: 978-4532087579)
   * van Wolferen: "The Enigma of Japanese Power" (ISBN-13: 978-0679728023)
   * John W. Dower: "Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II" (ISBN-13: 978-0393320275)
   * John Benson: "Eyewitness Travel Guide. Japan", 15€, (ISBN-13: 978-1405339131)
   * Jan Dodd: "The Rough Guide to Japan 4", 15€, (ISBN-13: 978-1843539193)
   * 星新一: ボッコちゃん (新潮文庫)
   * 吉本ばなな
   * 赤川次郎「記念写真」：短編集で、とてもいい作品が入っています。最初の話「記念写真」はもう読んだことがあります
   * 川上弘美「パスタマシーンの幽霊」：短編集で、読みやすいです
   * 山田詠美「ぼくは勉強ができない」：とてもいい日本の現代小説です
   * 「おとなのための小学校国語の教科書傑作集」：日本人はみんな知っているので、いいトピックになります
   * 「迷える者の禅修行　ドイツ人僧侶が見た日本仏教」：すごく面白かったですが、ちょっと難しいかもしれません。
   * 村上春樹：スプートニクの恋人 (Haruki Murakami: Sputnik sweetheart)
   * Ian Buruma: Wages of Guilt, on german and japanese views on the war. [[https://www.preining.info/blog/2016/01/ian-buruma-wages-of-guilt/|comments from Norbert Preining]]

====== links ======
* https://www.aozora.gr.jp/ -- Aozora, project to offer free Japanese texts. Very nice, android app exists