Independent Bookstore Day
Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day event held for independent bookstores, primarily in the United States, to recognize and celebrate the uniqueness and importance of independent bookstores. It has been held every year on the last Saturday of April since 2013. On this occasion, I will show you the independent bookstores I have visited so far: Bestsellers Bookshop The Bestsellers bookstore opened in Budapest in September 1992. For nine years from 1995, it was a bookstore specializing in the social sciences field, and then in 2004, the original shop was expanded, and since then, customers have been offered a huge selection of classic and contemporary books. Their motto: „Through books to knowledge and dreams”. Massolit Budapest – Bookstore & Café The Massolit Budapest bookstore was founded in 2010 by David Miller, modeled after the Massolit in Krakow. In 2012, Massolit in Budapest became independent from the one in Krakow, and…
The morning sun in the sky
Ying Chang Compestine: Morning Sun in Wuhan (Reggeli napfény Wuhanban* Clarion Books 2022) When everybody adds wood, the flames rise high. (Chinese proverb) January 19, 2020, evening: more and more people are coughing, and hospitals are beginning to fill up in Wuhan. January 23, 2020, early morning: the public safety alert announces that the city will be placed under a complete lockdown, you cannot travel in or out, schools, offices, restaurants and shops will be closed. Mei’s father works in a hospital and hasn’t been able to go home for days, there are so many patients waiting to be cared for. Individual residential communities in the city are also closed, only those who live there can enter. Volunteers help distribute limited resources. In this situation, Mei and her friends want to help. The little girl utilizes her talent in what she is best at: cooking. The city operates emergency kitchens…
The beautiful country
Jane Kuo: In the Beautiful Country (Quill Tree Books 2022) When Ai Shi was born, her father also gave her an American name: Anna. This is how he expressed his longing for the beautiful country – America’s name is the beautiful country in Chinese. Ai Shi is now 11 years old and counting the days until she and her mother can travel to the United States from Taiwan to her father who arrived earlier. She will miss her relatives and friends, but she is also looking forward to the big adventure. According to their family, they are the lucky ones. However, when they arrive in Los Angeles, they face several difficulties. They have a single-room rental apartment instead of their big old house and run a restaurant with little success. In addition, Ai Shi is not welcomed by the students at school either: they make fun of her because of…
The Japanese Mind
Roger J. Daies – Osamu Ikeno: The Japanese Mind (Tuttle Publishing 2002) Many thanks to Pallas Athéné Könyvkiadó for sending me the book! Japan has always seemed mystical and exotic to European people or even other places of the world. Due to its status as an island and its historical characteristics, a unique culture and society developed in its territory. In this book, we can read 28 essays, which were written over several years by the graduate students at Ehime University in the city of Matsuyama during their intercultural communication course. Each chapter discusses key concepts defining Japanese culture and ends with discussions that examine the changing nature of Japanese society from the perspective of intercultural communication. The essays follow each other in alphabetical order from aimai, the obscure or ambiguous Japanese expression, to zoutou, the Japanese gift-giving customs. Among them we find familiar ones such as wabi-sabi, the Japanese…