Switching things up from digital to analogue (well, unless you have an ebook reader), here, our latest column titled The Regular Read which can range from sentimental to existential. Writer Bryce W. Merkl Sasaki picks sleuth out both classic and contemporary greats, all connected by how they make one really think.
Here, a compilation of reads by writer Bryce W. Merkl Sasaki that pick your brains with emotional brevity, intellectual curiosity, and the unexpected.
Red Earth and Pouring Rain, Vikram Chandra
This book winds Indian history, myth, and modern road-tripping into a nesting doll of stories-within-stories in a way that will blow your mind. One of my top suggestions for any reader.
The Book of Five Rings, Miyamoto Musashi
An undefeated swordsman shares his philosophy on conflict – whether that’s at the edge of a katana, in the midst of the board room, or deep within yourself. The translation by Thomas Cleary is solid.
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
A classic of Russian lit with an iceberg of meaning hidden beneath the surface. I prefer the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation, edited and translated by Ken Liu
If you like fresh and provocative science fiction, this short story collection from writers across China is for you.
No Longer at Ease, Chinua Achebe
A tale about homecoming, youth, and idealism vs. corruption in Nigeria. Achebe’s second novel is one of his best.
Heaven’s Net Is Wide, Lian Hearn
Perfect for fantasy readers looking to get off the beaten track of European settings, this is a stunning start to the Tales of the Otori series based in an alternate feudal Japan.
Great at Work, Morten Hansen
For non-fiction readers, this is a universal pick: No matter if you’re a CEO or a sushi chef, this book helps you succeed at your current job and boost your long-term career.
The Winter’s Tale, William Shakespeare
A hidden gem in the Shakespeare canon, this play mixes tragedy, comedy, romance, and whimsy. It’s bittersweet ending illustrates how true happiness is tempered.
Wise Blood, Flannery O’Connor
A modern novel featuring the truly strange. O’Connor’s fusion of cynicism and symbolism, the weird and the wild, and the haunting shadows of religion make this a roller coaster of a read.
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
This postcolonial critique of Western values withering in Congolese soil – and how each character later finds themselves again – still hits me hard even years later.
Bryan W. Merkyl Sasaki’s work is featured in SAMPAN, the first anthology of writing published by LASALLE’s MA Creative Writing programme.
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