Kana de Manga Special Edition, a Book Review

Kana de Manga Special Edition: Japanese Sound FX is a delightful read by Glenn Kardy and Chihiro Hattori. Not only is is cute and engaging, but it really helped advance both my Japanese language study and my understanding of the Japanese culture. The book is sort of a follow-up to the original Kana de Manga book, so if you haven't read that one you should probably start there (unless, like me, you already have a basic grasp of both hiragana and katakana).

The book is divided into five sections with different categories of sound effects (animal, human, mechanical, nature, and other) which makes it handy to search for a specific sound effect (if for some reason you need to know it). I also thought that the layout of the book made it easy to make your own flashcards of sounds that you want to learn or work on (which I did).

As a reference for fun sound effects or a motivator to practice, practice, practice your Nihongo, this book is great! A great gift idea for anyone interested in Japanese language or manga/anime (and yes, that is a hint to my family and friends ^_^).

Common Sense, a Book Review

Common Sense by Thomas Paine is--for those of you that don't know--an important piece of American history. A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine, it was released in 1776 (an important date, for those of you who don't know your history and/or live under a rock). While the pamphlet dealt with the immediate issue of revolt from England, Paine expresses thoughts about government that--while in some ways based on antiquated ideas--can still bear contemplating today. Paine also gives us a glimpse into some of the thoughts, feelings, and ideas of the time, invaluable from a historian's perspective (or so I would assume, though I make no claims to be a historian).

Paine's work can be a little daunting at first. Even though the work is short, the language is more formal and older than what we are used to reading today, and while for some it may seem like a lot of hard work, I found it got easier as I got into it. Paine eloquently expresses thoughts about freedom, liberty, and government that many of us will find easy to identify with still.

On the other hand, some of his thoughts on government did not make as much sense to me, although that may be because I am not particularly well read on political theories. Paine was a man who advocated for a system of government very like the one we have to this day with electors choosing a president. While the system has worked I don't think I agree with the theory behind the practice, which is that the masses do not know enough about what is good for them to be trusted with the direct responsibility of choosing a president.

But if one only ever read books that one agreed entirely with, one would never have expanding horizons or increased knowledge. So why not give it a try? I read it on my kindle and it was only 100 pages on my kindle (and normally the kindle breaks one page into two or three or more) so it's a pretty short read. I recommend it especially to anyone interested in American history, government, or politics.

Misogyny; The World's Oldest Prejudice (A Review)

Misogyny by Jack Holland was for me, a riveting read, made all the more riveting because it was written by a man with the same vehement passions against misogyny that I myself feel. While there are clearly expressed points of judgment against or in favor of certain actions taken in history by misogynists, I felt that the author in general was able to take a step back and place the actions within the greater framework of history (in a way that I myself probably would not have been able to do). For that alone, I applaud the author of this book.

But equally as impressive was the author's commitment to the facts, as plainly evidenced by the mountains of research done to compile such a complete, if somewhat abridged, history of his subject. I found myself jotting down the names of numerous sources, intrigued by the references he gave and curious to find out more than the abridged history he was able to fit in 300 pages. This is one of the few reads that compelled me to go through the entire "For Further Reading" section to find some more good reads.

What I valued most out of this book, though, was the compassion of the author and the hope that he gave that we can do something about this. Even though the author did not attempt to lay out any clear course of action for the future, examining closely the phenomena of misogynistic practices in our world puts us that much closer to a day without prejudice, hatred, or fear. Excellent book!