Covers for Spring 2006 titles

Here are some of the covers for the Spring 2006 titles from Stone Bridge!

A String of Flowers, Untied... reviewed at New Hope International Review

New Hope International Review has reposted its review of A String of Flowers, Untied... Love Poems from "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu, trans. by Jane Reichhold with Hatsue Kawamura.

Photographer/Designer Markuz Wernli Saito to speak at Good Day Books, FCCJ in January

Markuz Wernli Saito, photographer and designer of Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing the Japanese Garden, will be presenting "Integrating Image & Word" at Good Day Books in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo on January 22.

He will also be presenting at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on January 24 as part of FCCJ's Book Breaks programming in Tokyo.

The Inland Sea featured in Japan Close-up

Donald Richie's The Inland Sea is featured in "The Japan that Foreign Writers Saw" starting on page 14 in Japan Close-up. Reviewer Colin Joyce writes, "It is difficult to overstate the influence of Richie's 1971 classic The Inland Sea... [Its] strength is that it is a profoundly personal story."

The Inland Sea was brought back into print by Stone Bridge Press in 2002 and is available in paperback.

Author Fred Patten to be Guest of Honor at Loscon 33

Loscon has announced that Fred Patten, author of Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews, will be the Fan Guest of Honor for the 33rd gathering. Loscon 33 is November 24-26, 2006.

Watching Anime, Reading Manga and Cruising the Anime City reviewed in Skyward

Japan Airline's Skyward Magazine reviews both Fred Patten's Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews and Cruising the Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo from Patrick Macias and Tomohiro Machiyama.

Watching Anime, Reading Manga: "...For fans looking for an in-depth understanding of how anime became established in the US, Patten’s writings are valuable material."

Cruising the Anime City: "...A whirlwind tour through the otaku universe of Tokyo, indispensable for fans fresh off the plane."

70 Japanese Gestures recommended at Anime.com

See Anime.com's recommendations here

Way of Taiko author to perform at NorCal schools

Heidi Varian, author of The Way of Taiko, will be performing and discussing taiko with the students at various schools in Northern California:

January 10 at K.R. Smith School in San Jose
January 13 at Leroy Greene Middle School in Sacramento
January 19 at Slater Elementary in Mountain View
February 2 at Fernando Rivera Middle School in Daly City
February 3 at Hellyer School in San Jose
February 15 at Hayes Elementary School in San Jose
March 3 at San Rafael High School
March 21 at East Union High School in Manteca
April 5 at Gordon Lau School in San Francisco

Author Patrick Macias to guest star on TV show in Japan

Patrick Macias, co-author of Cruising the Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo, will guest star on Eigo de Shabera Night on January 2. Patrick is the one on the right. Click here to see more pictures.

UPDATE: See how the episode went!

Author Jina Bacarr gives geisha tips to Italy's Glamour.com

Glamour.com in Italy offers tips from geisha provided by Jina Bacarr, author of The Japanese Art of Sex.

Read the tips (in Italian) starting here

The Japan Journals reviewed in The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph's travel section recommends Donald Richie's The Japan Journals: 1947-2004, writing "The strength of his writing lies in its intimacy, for he is more concerned with the details of daily life than big public events, and his views are affectionate but never sentimental."

Read the review and extract

Japanzine reviews three SBP titles in books issue

Japanzine's December issue covers books relating to Japan, and reviews The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film, 70 Japanese Gestures: No Language Communication, and Cruising the Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo.

About The Midnight Eye Guide: "...Essential reading for anyone with a shred of interest in the movers and shakers on this country's movie scene."

Read the 70 Japanese Gestures review

Read the Cruising the Anime City review

Anime Companion 2 and Midnight Eye Guide reviewed at Sequential Tart

Sequential Tart reviews both The Anime Companion 2: More What's Japanese in Japanese Animation? and The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film.

Read The Anime Companion 2 review
Read The Midnight Eye Guide review