1/30/2007

Reading Lizard, a collection of short stories, by the Japanese author, Banana Yoshimoto. One of her favorite books is Asleep, by the same author. Her style is simple, concise and filled with stories with elements of magical realism....like an old man on the subway being transformed into a beautiful woman.

Her sister recommended the author to her and she is drawn to the books not only because of the style, but also for the element of Asian culture--she likes it when she reads about a noodle kiosk instead of a hot dog stand.

Her favorite book of all time is The Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison. She liked it because it was absolutely crazy. The first time she read it was seven years ago and she tried to read it again recently, but it was too intense. She said she could tell that a lot had happened in her life since she'd read it for the first time. One way that she could relate to it--it's about minorities and, though she isn't black, she said there was common ground.