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Willow Heath

Will predominantly writes about the books of Books and Bao, examining the literature of a place and how the authors have used the art of storytelling to reflect the world and the culture around them.

Representation saves lives. For non-cisgender people, finding fiction and nonfiction that speaks to our feelings and lived experiences is important, uplifting, and validating. As a non-binary reader and writer, feeling seen and inspired by non-binary books has changed everything for me, and it can do the same for you. Essential Non-Binary Books to Read What …

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Every bookworm — every passionate and voracious reader — dreams of the perfect home library. What obstructs this dream is the reality that we all have different homes and different living situations. However, you can craft your own home library with the best bookshelves for you. You just need to work with the space you …

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If there’s one nation that loves its cats, it’s… well, probably Ancient Egypt, but they’re gone. So, now, it’s Japan. Japan and cats go together like Murakami and Kafka. In Japanese culture and mythology, cats have been revered for centuries. The most famous example of this is the maneki-neko or beckoning cat — a statue, often …

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Women writers are at the forefront of historical fiction today. The best contemporary historical novels are being written by incredible women authors. Some of these are historical romance novels; others are gothic fiction; others still are supernatural horror stories. One thing they all have in common, however, is that they’re written by varied and talented …

Read More about 33 Must-Read Historical Novels (by Women)

If you’re wondering where to start with Japanese literature, these are the best Japanese books across sci-fi, mystery, literary fiction, and more. Japanese literature is everywhere. The nation’s stories and novels get turned into manga, anime, and movies. Their authors are as famous and legendary as Hollywood’s actors and directors. And Japanese literature is big …

Read More about 57 Best Japanese Books (In 13 Genres)

Reading international literature has its obvious benefits. The biggest and boldest of them being a lesson in empathy: learning how other cultures approach life, make their art, and tell their stories. We often think about international literature in terms of literary fiction; books that are grounded within the culture they come from. But what about …

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We all know that China is the nation on everyone’s lips this century. Whether you’re into politics, trade, economics, cinema, travel, history, fashion, whatever your passion, China is a colossal talking point. China is also flourishing in the realm of literature in translation. Chinese novels in translation are some of the most ground-breaking and exciting …

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Beastars is translated from the Japanese by Tomoko Kimura and Annette Roman The 2020 Netflix anime Beastars turned a lot of heads upon its release. Created by the animation studio Orange, Beastars stood out as being, arguably, the first great 3D animated anime series. Beastars also utilised experimental voice recording and sound engineering, a stunning …

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Queerness comes in all shapes and sizes, and encapsulates a spectrum of human experiences. To celebrate all the facets of queerness, here are some of our favourite LGBTQ books from all around the world. From South America to Japan and everywhere in-between, these queer novels speak for a range of expereinces across the queer spectrum. …

Read More about 22 Best LGBTQ Books (From Around the World)