4 Easy Reading Recommendations

4 books to read this holiday season.

Here are 4 books I would recommend for this holiday season. If you’d like to read more, these should help you get started.

1: The City and Its Uncertain Walls, by Haruki Murakami

Review: Murakami’s latest follows a young man who’s female friend disappears mysteriously from his life. His search for her leads him to a magical city, a mysterious library, and into the depths of his unconscious. The main theme is that reality is not always what it seems to be, and that it often only takes a slight switch for things to appear completely different. This is vintage Murakami. Beautiful, mysterious, soothing and yet stimulating.

2: The Diaries of Count Harry Kessler

Review: This 900 page book contains selections from one of the greatest diaries ever written. Following the life of Count Harry Kessler, it paints a vibrant picture of late nineteenth century European culture and politics. Kessler somehow appears to be everywhere. Whether it’s at the ailing Nietzsche’s bedside, crash-landing a balloon into Russia, or traveling through Mexico. At 900 pages it’s quite lengthy, but you can pick up any page at random and find yourself transported to a completely different time.

3: The Book of Disquiet, Fernando Pessoa.

Review: The Book of Disquiet is a collection of dairy entries, maxims, and reflections by Fernando Pessoa’s most well-known heteronym Bernando Soares. It’s not really a book in the traditional sense, but a fragmentary work that reveals new depths with every successive reading. Indeed, Pessoa is not only one of Portugal’s greatest writers, but also arguably one the greatest modernist authors. It’s difficult to describe this book in under 50 words, but it’s very readable, relatable, and deeply impactful. I’m sure that if you read it you’ll join the cult surrounding Pessoa.

4: Inspector Imanishi Investigates, by Seicho Mutsumoto

Review: Tokyo, 1960. A man’s body is found on the railway tracks. With no clues other than a mysterious accent and the word ‘kameda’, Inspector Imanishi is called to investigate. This Japanese neo-noir detective novel is set against the backdrop of the rapid social and artistic change gripping Japan in the 1960s. It’s deeply cinematic, and an absolute page-turner. Would highly recommend.

Happy Reading!

Julian