Download or read book Coffee Life in Japan written by Merry White and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2012-05 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating book—part ethnography, part memoir—traces Japan’s vibrant café society over one hundred and thirty years. Merry White traces Japan’s coffee craze from the turn of the twentieth century, when Japan helped to launch the Brazilian coffee industry, to the present day, as uniquely Japanese ways with coffee surface in Europe and America. White’s book takes up themes as diverse as gender, privacy, perfectionism, and urbanism. She shows how coffee and coffee spaces have been central to the formation of Japanese notions about the uses of public space, social change, modernity, and pleasure. White describes how the café in Japan, from its start in 1888, has been a place to encounter new ideas and experiments in thought, behavior, sexuality , dress, and taste. It is where a person can be socially, artistically, or philosophically engaged or politically vocal. It is also, importantly, an urban oasis, where one can be private in public.

Download or read book Boys Love Manga and Beyond written by Mark McLelland and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2015-01-28 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Boys Love Manga and Beyond looks at a range of literary, artistic and other cultural products that celebrate the beauty of adolescent boys and young men. In Japan, depiction of the “beautiful boy” has long been a romantic and sexualized trope for both sexes and commands a high degree of cultural visibility today across a range of genres from pop music to animation. In recent decades, “Boys Love” (or simply BL) has emerged as a mainstream genre in manga, anime, and games for girls and young women. This genre was first developed in Japan in the early 1970s by a group of female artists who went on to establish themselves as major figures in Japan's manga industry. By the late 1970s many amateur women fans were getting involved in the BL phenomenon by creating and self-publishing homoerotic parodies of established male manga characters and popular media figures. The popularity of these fan-made products, sold and circulated at huge conventions, has led to an increase in the number of commercial titles available. Today, a wide range of products produced both by professionals and amateurs are brought together under the general rubric of “boys love,” and are rapidly gaining an audience throughout Asia and globally. This collection provides the first comprehensive overview in English of the BL phenomenon in Japan, its history and various subgenres and introduces translations of some key Japanese scholarship not otherwise available. Some chapters detail the historical and cultural contexts that helped BL emerge as a significant part of girls' culture in Japan. Others offer important case studies of BL production, consumption, and circulation and explain why BL has become a controversial topic in contemporary Japan.

Download or read book Final Fantasy and Philosophy written by Jason P. Blahuta and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-09-22 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An unauthorized look behind one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, Final Fantasy The Final Fantasy universe is packed with compelling characters and incredible storylines. In this book, you'll take a fascinating look at the deeper issues that Final Fantasy forces players to think about while trying to battle their way to the next level, such as: Does Cloud really exist (or should we really care)? Is Kefka really insane? Are Moogles part of a socialist conspiracy? Does the end of the game justify the means? As Mages, Moogles, fiends, and Kefka are mashed together with the likes of Machiavelli, Marx, Foucault, and Kafka, you'll delve into crucial topics such as madness, nihilism, environmental ethics, Shintoism, the purpose of life, and much more. Examines the philosophical issues behind one of the world's oldest and most popular video-game series Offers new perspectives on Final Fantasy characters and themes Gives you a psychological advantage--or at least a philosophical one--against your Final Fantasy enemies Allows you to apply the wisdom of centuries of philosophy to any game in the series, including Final Fantasy XIII Guaranteed to add a new dimension to your understanding of the Final Fantasy universe, this book is the ultimate companion to the ultimate video-game series.

Download or read book The Mongol in Our Midst written by Francis Graham Crookshank and published by . This book was released on 1924 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Brenda s Beaver Needs a Barber written by Bimisi Tayanita and published by . This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sumguyen has always had a thick mane of hair, in the summer of 2016 he decided to grow a beard. Deep into month three he started to look like an armpit with eyeballs.It was a sultry August night in Old Town Scottsdale as Bimisi and Sumguyen made their way from one bar to another. They took pause to to enjoy the rhythms of a homeless crooner who was soulfully picking his guitar. When Sumguyen threw a five into his tip jar the artist looked up, thanked him with a nod and said, "That is a beautiful beard. My friend Brenda has a beard just like that, but hers doesn't talk."A fair amount of beer sprayed from Bimisi's nose...and just like that they had their subject matter for the final book of season one. Brenda's Beaver Needs a Barber is the fifth of five books that make up Reach Around Books Season One.

Download or read book This Is Pleasure written by Mary Gaitskill and published by Pantheon. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Starting with Bad Behavior in the 1980s, Mary Gaitskill has been writing about gender relations with searing, even prophetic honesty. In This Is Pleasure, she considers our present moment through the lens of a particular #MeToo incident. The effervescent, well-dressed Quin, a successful book editor and fixture on the New York arts scene, has been accused of repeated unforgivable transgressions toward women in his orbit. But are they unforgivable? And who has the right to forgive him? To Quin’s friend Margot, the wrongdoing is less clear. Alternating Quin’s and Margot’s voices and perspectives, Gaitskill creates a nuanced tragicomedy, one that reveals her characters as whole persons—hurtful and hurting, infuriating and touching, and always deeply recognizable. Gaitskill has said that fiction is the only way that she could approach this subject because it is too emotionally faceted to treat in the more rational essay form. Her compliment to her characters—and to her readers—is that they are unvarnished and real. Her belief in our ability to understand them, even when we don’t always admire them, is a gesture of humanity from one of our greatest contemporary writers.

Download or read book Japanese Favorites written by Periplus and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Drawing Manga Animals Chibis and Other Adorable Creatures written by J.C. Amberlyn and published by Watson-Guptill. This book was released on 2009-11-17 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn the Tricks of the Trade for Drawing Irresistibly Cute Manga-Style Animals and Chibis! The world of manga is filled with strange creatures and adorable sidekicks. Just about every manga hero and heroine has an animal mascot, and all the most popular ones have a cute "chibi" form. This book teaches aspiring manga artists how to create the funny critters that populate girls' manga and the more gritty, gothic creatures found in boys' manga. It starts with the basics of creating manga-style characters—everything from drawing heads and faces to eyes and expressions, to creating incredibly cute chibis. Part two features a valuable reference section on the mythological and real animals that have shaped Japanese artwork and stories. The final section has step-by-step demonstrations on using computer programs such as Photoshop and Corel Painter to create manga art and comics. So whether you're just starting out and want to draw a cute, simple mascot, or would like to try something more complex like an Asian dragon, or are ready to create your own otherworldly adventure, this book has something for you no matter what your skill level.

Download or read book JoJo s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood Vol 3 written by Hirohiko Araki and published by VIZ Media LLC. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The conclusion of the Phantom Blood Arc! Jonathan Joestar and his mentor Zeppelli continue their pursuit of the villainous vampire, Dio! But to get to him, they must first face down his murderous henchmen! In battle after bloody battle, JoJo and Zeppeli are pushed to their limits and beyond! -- VIZ Media

Download or read book The Things They Carried written by Tim O'Brien and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. Taught everywhere—from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing—it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing. The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Download or read book Warcraft War of the Ancients 2 The Demon Soul written by Richard A. Knaak and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-05-01 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE BURNING LEGION HAS COME. Led by the mighty Archimonde, scores of demonic soldiers now march across the lands of Kalimdor, leaving a trail of death and devastation in their wake. At the heart of the fiery invasion stands the mystic Well of Eternity -- once the source of the night elves' arcane power. But now the Well's energies have been defiled and twisted, for Queen Azshara and her Highborne will stop at nothing to commune with their newfound god: the fiery Lord of the Burning Legion...Sargeras. The night elf defenders, led by the young druid, Malfurion Stormrage, and the wizard, Krasus, fight a desperate battle to hold back the Legion's terrible onslaught. Though only embers of hope remain, an ancient power has risen to aid the world in its darkest hour. The dragons -- led by the powerful Aspect, Neltharion -- have forged a weapon of incalculable power: the Dragon Soul, an artifact capable of driving the Legion from the world forever. But its use may cost far more than any could have foreseen. The second novel in an original trilogy of magic, warfare, and heroism based on the bestselling, award-winning electronic game series from Blizzard Entertainment.

Download or read book No Longer Human written by 太宰治 and published by New Directions Publishing. This book was released on 1958 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A young man describes his torment as he struggles to reconcile the diverse influences of Western culture and the traditions of his own Japanese heritage.

Download or read book Tokyo Geek s Guide written by Gianni Simone and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-11 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tokyo is ground zero for Japan's famous "geek" or otaku culture--a phenomenon that has now swept across the globe. This is the most comprehensive Japan travel guide ever produced which features Tokyo's geeky underworld. It provides a comprehensive run-down of each major Tokyo district where geeks congregate, shop, play and hang out--from hi-tech Akihabara and trendy Harajuku to newer and lesser-known haunts like chic Shimo-Kita and working-class Ikebukuro. Dozens of iconic shops, restaurants, cafes and clubs in each area are described in loving detail with precise directions to get to each location. Maps, URLs, opening hours and over 400 fascinating color photographs bring you around Tokyo on an unforgettable trip to the centers of Japanese manga, anime and geek culture. Interviews with local otaku experts and people on the street let you see the world from their perspective and provide insights into Tokyo and Japanese culture, which will only continue to spread around the globe. Japanese pop culture, in its myriad forms, is more widespread today than ever before--with J-Pop artists playing through speakers everywhere, Japanese manga filling every bookstore; anime cartoons on TV; and toys and video games, like Pokemon Go, played by tens of millions of people. Swarms of visitors come to Tokyo each year on a personal quest to soak in all the otaku-related sights and enjoy Japanese manga, anime, gaming and idol culture at its very source. This is the go-to resource for those planning a trip, or simply dreaming of visiting one day!

Download or read book Now You re One of Us written by Asa Nonami and published by Vertical. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Newlywed Noriko begins to suspect that her new in-laws charming eccentricities may in fact contain hints of something more sinister. As she probes deeper into their secrets and past, she begins to see shadows around every corner, in this stunning tour de force of psychological suspense.

Download or read book Seven Deadly Shadows written by Courtney Alameda and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thrilling YA retelling of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai features a girl tasked with saving the world from eternal darkness. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows and Marie Lu. Seventeen-year-old Kira Fujikawa has never had it easy. She’s bullied by the popular girls in school. Her parents ignore her. And she’s also plagued with a secret: She can see yokai, the ghosts and demons that haunt the streets of Kyoto. But things accelerate from bad to worse when she learns that Shuten-doji, the demon king, will rise at the next blood moon to hunt down an ancient relic and bring the world to a catastrophic end. Not exactly skilled at fighting anything, much less the dead, Kira enlists the aid of seven powerful death gods to help her slay Shuten-doji. They include Shiro, a kitsune with boy-band looks who is more flirtatious than helpful, and O-bei, a regal demon courtier with reasons of her own for getting involved. As the confrontation with Shuten-doji draws nearer, the fate of Japan hangs in the balance. Can Kira save humankind? Or will the demon king succeed in bringing eternal darkness upon the world?

Download or read book Cosplay in America written by Ejen Chuang and published by Optiknerve. This book was released on 2017-12-05 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Cosplay in America V2 takes a reader on a visual journey through the culture of cosplay in the United States. Photographer Ejen Chuang spent three years visiting twenty cities to gather images for this book combining portraits of cosplayers taken at fandom conventions with documentary photographers of people making costumes at home and gathering at events. Along the way, cosplayers talk about their experience in cosplay. Featuring essays from Liz Ohanesian and Dr. Andrea Letamendi"--Publisher's website.

Download or read book Robotech Voltron written by Tommy Yune and published by Dynamite Entertainment. This book was released on 2015-10-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ancient force threatens the Earth as well as worlds on the far side of the universe.