Reading in Translation: Library Reviews

 

Along with my regular reading and reviewing here on the blog, I've also read a number of women in translation for my professional work. These were reviews for Library Journal, and so I can't really talk in depth about them here. But these are the titles I covered since last August. 

Dams / Irene Sola
trans. from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem

The Friday Bookshop / Sawako Natori
trans. from the Japanese by Yui Kajita

Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic / Syou Ishida
trans. from the Japanese by E. Madison Shimoda

Beautiful Distance / Nao-Cola Yamazaki
trans. from the Japanese by Charlotte Goff

Mount Verity / Therese Bohman
trans. from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy

Reading in Translation: More Books Read since last year!

I did read and review a few books from languages other than Japanese or Korean over the last year, too! These are the handful I got reviewed. Lots more coming this month!

Brightly Shining / Ingvild Rishoi

Fair Play / Tove Jansson 

Forgotten on Sunday / Valerie Perrin 

Reading in Translation Month: Japanese & Korean Books read since August 2025

I have been attempting to read more women in translation year round, ever since I started participating in #WITMonth way back in 2015. Some years I get a lot read and reviewed, sometimes I don't get much read, sometimes I read a fair bit but don't review! 

This year I've read a lot of Japanese and Korean books - here are the ones written by women that I've both read and reviewed since last August. Some of my unreviewed titles will be showing up this month as well :)

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat / Syou Ishida

The Lantern of Lost Memories / Sanaka Hiiragi 

Dinner at the Night Library / Hika Harada 

Every Day I Read / Hwang Bo-Reum

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop / Mai Mochizuki

Women in Translation Month is here!

 

August brings one of my favourite reading celebrations of the year -- Women in Translation Month. All the info on how this project started & the stats behind it can be found on the Women in Translation website. But this year, most of what's happening can be found on Instagram, under the @readwit account.

For readers, though, the essential joy of this month is reading more books by women that have been translated from any language that isn't English. And of course sharing your encounters with said books. It's a wonderful summertime reading project.

Some years I read a lot, and review something every day but it is absolutely fine to read just one book this month, you are still participating. I will have more to share on both my plans and the last year's readings this week.  Happy Women in Translation Month!

This Book Made Me Think of You

 

This Book Made Me Think of You / Libby Page
New York : Berkley, 2026.
407 p.

A novel about reading and how it saves the life of a young widow, this was light and serious at the same time - and unfortunately, a little sentimental, a risk I see in many of these reads. 

But, there were some engaging things, too, and any bookish reader will be interested in finding out which books play a role in the storyline! The plot is as follows: Tilly Nightingale is a new widow; it's been a few months since her beloved Joe died. But for her birthday in January, she gets a call from a bookshop nearby - there's a gift for her there, from Joe. Before he passed away, he'd arranged with the bookshop's owner, Alfie, to give Tille a book each month for a year, with a message for her included. He is trying to get her to live again. 

At first Tillie resists this but as the books continue monthly, she is pushed to expand her life again, to return to books, to cooking, to travel, and to making new friends -- the employees (and cat) at Book Lane. Joe has thoughtfully chosen a series of books to get her moving back into life. 

There is a lot of grief talk in this book (spouses dying is one of the hardest things for me to read) but it's leavened with hope and forward movement, and some romance as well. That's the part that I was kind of "eh" about but I see where she was going with it. 

I was a bit so-so on the sentimental bits (a bit heavy in parts), but enjoyed the story of the trajectory of Tillie's return to life -- and of course, the books, and the bookshop. The author has a list of all the books mentioned in this novel at her website - both the books that Tillie is given monthly, and all the other titles mentioned in between. It's quite a bookish read! 

Every Day I Read, by Hwang Bo-Reum

 

Every Day I Read / Hwang Bo-Reum
trans. from the Korean by Shanna Tan
London: Bloomsbury, 2025, c2021
240 p.

This is a beautiful book on reading, by a Korean writer. It is a series of small essays on a wide variety of topics related to reading - choosing books, paying attention, finding time to read and so on. The chapter headings are like prompts that she starts from, writing a short essay on each -- some more effective than others, but I enjoyed them.

I really liked this. It felt really simple but her love of the act of reading came through. It would be a great choice to read as a group project: there are 53 chapters, so you could read the intro and then read one a week for an entire year. I would do this as a reread! I'd love to hear people's individual responses on each theme in the book. 

I found it engaging, even with the sometimes overly serious statements about reading hard, important books. The author is just 30, and most of us who read regularly will have thoughts about these issues. The short chapters were perfect for listening to as an audiobook, which I did, although I want to reread it in book format as well, to go over the chapters a little more slowly. I felt like I was listening to a fellow reader who was reaffirming the joys of a reading life - nothing new but lots to nod along to, and nice to hear the thoughts of someone who was deliberately investigating their own reading life. There are also reading suggestions sprinkled throughout, but some of them aren't available in English so you'll have to pick and choose there!

It's light but satisfying. I would suggest it, when you are in just the right mood for some reading about reading. 

Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading

Bibliotherapy: the Healing Power of Reading / Bijal Shah
Piatkus, c2024.
320 p.

Long time readers may know that I have been interested in bibliotherapy for a long while. I used to run workshops using this technique alongside journaling and meditative arts, at least a decade ago now. But it's still a topic that fascinates me! I have been following Bijal Shah online for a long time also, and when I saw that she wrote a book I knew I had to have it. 

This is a compilation of her expertise on the subject, more than just a list of books to read. It starts out by explaining literature as therapy, how it is applied, and the various other modalities than can be incoporated into bibliotherapy, like journaling, letter writing or other narrative responses. Shah is a therapist as well as a book lover, and she uses this therapeutic technique from that perspective. It is really informative for those of us who are not therapists, but maybe just librarians or readers, who believe in the power of literature to develop empathy and meet us in a time of life crisis or transition. 

She uses case studies to demonstrate how to use books in this way, from romantic issues to dyslexia and beyond. And then the book concludes with a large section of lists of suggested reads for topics running from A-Z, and suggestions on how to build your own list for yourself. It's useful and encouraging, and I really appreciated the professional tone and expertise behind this book, which was still an engaging read. It's the starting point for a lot more exploration.