Recent reads I have enjoyed. Clearly slanted to the Japanese cozy fiction sub-genre:

Feb 2025 – The Restaurant of Lost Recipes, by Hisashi Kashiwai - so fun and makes you want to go ask them to cook for you. They are food detectives who help you get lost experiences back in the most delicious ways.

Dec 2024 – Before Your Memory Fades, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - part of the series.

Oct 2024 - I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy - not as harsh as the title might suggest. A very honest account of a child actress and how she was "mothered."

Oct 2024 – Inside Out, by Demi Moore - there's more to her than what we all know. Intense, difficult childhood. 

Oct 2024 - Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata - she's an outlier who finds peace in her work.

Oct 2024 - Strange Weather in Tokyo, by Hiromi Kawakami - a sweet love story.

Sept 2024 - What You Are Looking For is in the Library, by Michiko Aoyama - more magic; the main character, Sayuri, is a large, calm, and perceptive woman who creates felted trinkets.

July 2024 - A Quitter's Paradise: A Novel, by Elysha Chang - a professional woman who didn't want what everyone expected her to want.

Nov 2024 - Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner - I hung on every word. So good, and you can almost smell the bubbling soups she describes.

Nov 2024 – Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto - more delicious food descriptions, and a great story.

Nov 2023 – Before the Coffee Gets Cold, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - magical, about time travel. It's part of the series. I read them all.