Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Movies/TV Shows That Would Have Made Amazing Books (Submitted by Sabrina @ Notes From a Paper Plane Nomad) but I am going to do the most recent examples of where I have seen a movie or TV series based on a book or read a book associated with a series, or a couple of can't wait for the TV series.
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas - I have recently watched two French movies based on the books. They were really good adaptations
One Day by David Nicholls - I started watching this series a few weeks ago. I need to get back to it.
Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn - I am looking forward to season 3 coming out soon very soon
Masters of the Air by Donald Miller - We just finished watching this series last week.
Lessons in Chemistry - I read the book late last year and then watched the TV series
No 1 Ladies Detective Agency - I am very close to finishing my current audio book which is book no. 10000 in the series of the same name. I watched the TV adaptation many years ago and very much enjoyed it!
All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr- We watched this TV series recently.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - I have read another of Amor Towles books, but not this one yet, but I will be watching this!
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa - The movie is just called Sweet Bean
Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams - This is a bit of a curve ball because whilst I did watch this it was a play rather than on a screen!
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's them
e is Top Ten Quick Reads/Books to Read When Time is Short (Books under 150 pages, or if you’re not a novella reader maybe spin this to be books you could read in a day or a single sitting.) (Submitted by Jennifer @ FunkNFiction.com and Angela @ Reading Frenzy)
As I am participating in The Japanese Literature Challenge I am going to twist the topic this week and share ten books by Japanese authors that I have read. Many of these book actually would qualify as pretty quick reads.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - This is the first book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. I am currently listening to the third book in the series. (my review)
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa - I really loved this book, and then watched the movie adaptation as well (my review)
The Great Passage by Shion Miura - A fun book about the creation of a dictionary
What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama - This was the last book I read for the Japanese Literature Challenge.
The Kazogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai - This was a lot of fun (my review)
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - I had to go back many years to find this book! I think I read this for a bookclub back in the day.
Kitchen by Banana Yashimoto - I liked this one but still haven't read any more from Banana Yashimoto
Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa - I must say I don't remember a lot about this book!
The Restaurant of Love Regained by Ito Ogawa - (my review)
Butter by Asako Yuzuki - I just saw this on Netgalley and requested this straight away! I plan to read it this month!
I read 38 new to me authors last year. Now, I could do a Top Ten Tuesday post with 38 different books, but I decided to narrow it down a bit by only including the new to me authors who I graded as either 4.5 or 5 out of 5 reads.
Here we go:
Erin Littekin - The Lost Daughters of Ukraine was so good. I am definitely intending to go back and read her debut novel! (my review)
Pip Williams - The Book Binder of Jericho - I haven't read Dictionary of Lost Words yet but I need to get onto it as we are going to go and see the play at the end of February.
Anthea Hodgson - My first book by this author was The War Nurses. I also listened to The Drifter which was great too.
Jane Lovering - I read The Recipe for Happiness. Lucky for me there is quite a backlist available from this author (my review)
Durian Sukegawa - Sweet Bean Paste was so good! (my review)
Lauren Westwood - I loved The Little Paris Toyshop so much. (my review)
Bonnie Garmus - I was a bit late to the party when it comes to reading Lessons in Chemistry. I am supposed to be going to hear her talk soon too. Must check when that is. (review)
Rebecca Yarros - I really enjoyed Fourth Wing, and have since read Iron Flame. I am curious to read more but all of the other books she has written look completely different from these two books.
Kim Fay - Really enjoyed Love and Saffron by this author (my review)
Juliet Greenwood - The Last Train from Paris was really good and I will be trying to read more from this author's backlist as well. (my review)
Sometimes I just need a palate cleanser in my reading - something that is easy to read and just makes you feel good, and this is exactly what Sweet Bean Paste provided. Originally written in Japanese, and translated by Alison Watts, this is a book which apparently is a Book Tok favourite alongside Before the Coffee Gets Cold and the sequels which I have previously read.
Sweet Bean Paste tells the story of a man named Sentaro. He works in a dorayaki shop where he spends all day making these pancake style treats which are filled with a sweet bean paste. It's fair to say that this isn't what he thought he would be doing, but given his past he doesn't have a lot of choice. He still owes the owner of the shop money. He gets up every day, makes the batter, sells the doriyaki and then goes home and drinks too much.
Before I talk about the book I thought I would share a video to show exactly what a dorayaki is and how it would be made
One day Sentaro is at the shop when he is approached by an elderly woman to ask if she can work in the shop. The shop owner has veto over who Sentaro can hire and he knows that she would never agree to hiring the old woman, and not only because she has gnarled hands. Sentaro politely declines and offers the woman a dorayaki. She asks if he makes his own sweet bean paste, which Sentaro does not as that would be too much work.
The next day the woman, whose name is Tokue, comes back bringing with her the best tasting sweet bean paste. Sentaro agrees to let her come to the store and make the paste each morning, even though it means he has to get up earlier than normal. Soon the customers are flocking to the store each day, which pleases the owner no end. Among the regular customers is a young woman named Wakano who eventually plays an important part in the story. providing a further cross generational aspect to the story.
As Tokue works alongside Sentaro, she shares the wisdom she has learnt over the years, including the importance of taking the time to observe the natural world around him, inluding all the cherry blossom trees that line the road outside the shop. She teaches him the secrets of making the paste, of listening to it to determine when to take the next step in the process.
It isn't long though before people begin to notice Tokue's hands and suddenly the customers stop happening. It turns out that Tokue had Hansen's Disease (also known as leprosy) as a young woman and so people are afraid of her. Soon the owner notices and insists that Sentaro must send Tokue away.
There are so many reasons to love this book. The friendship between Tokue and Sentaro is beautiful. She helps Sentaro begin to deal with his past and to build an intent in him to have more belief in himself and passion for what he does! We also learn about Tokue's life. When she was diagnosed with Hansen's disease as a young woman she was institutionalised and so she has lived most of her life shut away, so for her the idea of being able to work in the little shop brings her intense joy.
This is a study of friendship, of food, of prejudice and it is a beautiful read.
This book was also made into a film back in 2015, so not long after I finished the book I watched the movie. The title of the film is An, or Sweet Bean. The movie is a lovely way to spend a couple of hours. I was surprised by the dorayaki shop and how it looked. I imagined a much darker shop, maybe similar to the cafe from Midnight Diner.
I enjoyed both reading the book and the movie and highly recommend both. I actually read and watched this movie mid last year, and wrote this post at the time, but I decided to hold onto it so I could share it for Weekend Cooking as part of the Japanese Literature Challenge hosted by Dolce Bellezza
Here's the trailer for the movie
I actually had an opportunity to try doriyaki when I visited the Japanese Gardens in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in November. It was delicious!!
I am sharing this review with the Japanese Literature Challenge, Translated Fiction Challenge and Foodies Read.
Weekly meals
Saturday - Takeaway
Sunday - Vietnamese Baked Chicken
Monday - Herbed steak and potatoes
Tuesday - Pressure cooker spaghetti bolognaise
Wednesday - Takeaway
Thursday - Rioja Beef Ribs
Friday - Away
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Books Set In X (Pick a setting and share books that are all set there. This could be a specific continent or country, a state, in outer space, underwater, on a ship or boat, at the beach, etc.) I am choosing to do books set in and around kitchens, so could feature cafe owners, cooks and more!
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - a scientist becomes a TV cooking show host. (my review)
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan - Four home cooks compete for the chance to co-host (my review)
The City Bakers Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller - A pastry chef flees Boston after a culinary disaster and finds herself in small town Vermont (my review)
Celebrations in Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen - Sandy, the main character in this book, owns a baking and catering business (my review)
Finding Family at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash - Gemma is running the local cafe in this book set in Cornwall (my review)
The Enchanted Garden Cafe by Abigail Drake - This cafe is run by a character called Fiona and is located in Pittsburgh. (my review)
Love and Saffron by Kim Fay - This is a story of inter-generational friendship that formed from a mutual love of food (my review)
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa - Another story of inter-generational friendship set in a cafe that only sells doriyaki. My review for this one will be posted in January.
Battle Royal by Lucy Parker - Two bakers compete for the opportunity to cook for a royal wedding.
Finding Love at the Christmas Market by Jo Thomas - Connie loves baking, and is looking for love online which leads her to a German Christmas market.
Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme i
s Forgotten Backlist Titles (Spread love for books that people don’t talk about much anymore!). I am going to twist the theme a little bit and make my list the last 10 books that I have read that were published prior to 2020. Here we go!
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa - published in 2013
The Red Notebook by Antoine Durain - published in 2015
The Drifter by Anthea Hodgson - published in 2016
The Martian by Andy Weir - published in 2011
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - published in 1872
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico - published in 1958
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett - published in 1996
Working Class Boy by Jimmy Barnes - published in 2016
Act Like It by Lucy Parker - published in 2015
The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer - published in 2019
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