A Fistful of Fun: Five books you should read this month

 

You might be skimming through this month’s issue while sitting at your desk, slightly sweating (are they ever going to turn on the air conditioning?) and bored out off your mind, wondering why in the world you have to be at school during the students’ summer vacation. It is a good question, especially for those JETs just joining us, but searching for the answer is a practice in futility. Instead, ask yourself what you can be doing to keep yourself entertained. Finished lesson planning? Already studied your Japanese for the day? Have you devoured your lunch simply because it was something to do? Well luckily there is a solution to your boredom. Below are five literary recommendations that will not only kill some time, but offer genuine insight regarding your time here in Japan. They include topics ranging from classroom management and language to Japanese anime and history. However, if you are a little hesitant to pull out a book at your desk because you aren’t really able to pretend that it is work, I suggest upgrading to an e-reader. Their sleek tablet-like appearance is much more official. Add a furrowed brow and serious eyes at different intervals during your reading and no one will question the importance of what you are actually doing.

 

All the Light You Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

 

            Of course, there is always room on the recommendation list to do a shameless plug for the Hyogo AJET Book Club. Besides enjoying a captivating World War II tale about a the relationship between blind Parisian named Marie-Laure and Werner, a young German boy involved with the Hitler Youth, you will simultaneously be able to experience wonderful discussions and refreshments in the Sannomiya-Motomachi area. The Book Club will be held next month on Sunday, September 22 at 2:00p.m. The link to the event is here and we hope to see you there!

 

The Craft of the Classroom: A Survival Guide to Classroom Management in the Secondary School by Michael Marland

 

            This book is small enough to be carried around in your back pocket and pulled out whenever you need a helpful reminder in classroom management. Though older than many of the other teaching guides currently in stores, Michael Marland’s advice is still relevant in today’s classrooms. Using largely his own experience and common sense (one sense frequently forgotten about), Marland preaches organization, consistent discipline that is fair, yet firm, and an appropriate, but strong relationship with the students. Although his techniques are a little harder to apply as an Assistant Language Teacher, most are valuable, even more so if you see yourself in the educational field after the JET program.

 

The Rising Sun: The Decline & Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-45 by John Toland

           

            Winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1971, The Rising Sun is one of three Pulitzer Prize winning books for general fiction on Japan that will be recommended over the next few months. Author John Toland has been praised over the years for providing a book that weaves a broad historical account of Japan from 1936 to 1945 with intimate personal stories of those living in the period. He provides the reader a look into the hearts and minds of decision-makers and those responsible for carrying out their orders. A number of important events are covered in this manner including Japanese expansion into China and Southeast Asia, the debate on attacking the United States, World War II’s Pacific theater, and finally the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A must read for anyone interested in modern Japanese history with the added bonuses of providing potential conversation topics with your colleagues.

 

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker

 

            “Huh, I never thought about it that way,” “Wow, is that true?” or “I can’t believe I am actually understanding this,” are just a few of the thoughts that may cross your mind while reading The Stuff of Thought by Steven Pinker. Language and human nature, two areas that will put the usual layman to sleep (you probably got a little drowsy simply reading the title), are transformed by Pinker, a cognitive scientist and psychologist, into an intriguing and vibrant topic. At its core, the book attempts to show how language helps explain who we are,, arguing that language expresses our innate human nature. It also offers a better understanding of why we say the things we do at the times we do. Plus, what more could you ask for than to be able to discuss obscene words dealing with sex, swearing, and the digestive process and sound intelligent about it.

 

Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation by Yoshiyuki Tomino, translated by Frederik L. Schodt

 

If you were not aware, 2014 marks the 35^th Anniversary of機動戦士ガンダムor Mobile Suit Gundam in English. To celebrate, both Osaka and Tokyo are holding art exhibitions displaying Gundam works throughout the years (read more about the Osaka exhibition, ending August 31, in this month’s issue). Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation is the novelization of the original anime series by creator and director Yoshiyuki Tomino. The story follows a deadly war in the Universal Century year 0079 between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation. The Principality of Zeon with its tactical superiority attacks a colony and a recently landed warship at the colony to pick up the Federation’s new secret weapon. The ensuing destruction leads the protagonist Amuro Ray to find the weapon, RX-78 Gundam, and fend off the attackers. So begins the series. First appearing on Japanese television in 1979, Tomino expanded upon his mobile suit universe in literary form that same year. However, if your Japanese reading skills are not at the manga-reading level, you can pick up the translated edition by Frederick L. Schodt instead.

 

There you have it, this month’s fistful of fun recommendations. Keep sane, keep busy, and keep reading JETs.

 

 

Sean Mulvihill