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balkeyeston

bookseller who’s into spec and literary fiction.

379 points

0% overlap
Level 3
Classic Literature from the United States
Japanese Literary Fiction
My Taste
A Little Life
Babel
Cloud Atlas
The Secret History
The Naming Song
Reading...
Field Notes From an Extinction
63%
This Story Might Save Your Life: A Novel
2%
Midnight Sun (The Twilight Saga, #5)
33%
A Place Both Wonderful and Strange: The Extraordinary Untold History of Twin Peaks
0%
Thirty-Two Words for Field: Lost Words of the Irish Landscape
0%
Hemlock
0%
The Witch of Prague
51%

balkeyeston made progress on...

18h
Field Notes From an Extinction

Field Notes From an Extinction

Eoghan Walls

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18h
  • The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop
    Resources on Japanese Cosy/Cat Literature?

    Before this one, I'd read a couple of books which fell into this subgenre of Japanese cosy (cat) lit, as it's not something I tend towards, but reading this and the forum comments is making me reassess my preconceptions on what the subgenre is.

    For stories supposedly cosy, they often do touch on some pretty heavy themes, e.g. death, grief, trauma, etc. but seem to (in my opinion!) not delve too deeply into the topics (or maybe it's better to say it keeps them from becoming overwhelming? - I hope what I'm trying to say comes across). Of course, if this is what you're looking for, I can very much see how these types of story have a hopeful, cathartic, or 'healing' element to them.

    I'd be interested if anyone has any resources/articles discussing the subgenre? I've found a couple of news articles, particularly discussing its popularity in the West - mainly these bring up the (very valid!) criticism of how these books being the main type translated, because of their sales' potential, flattens Japanese (and to some extent Korean) literature & literary tradition, similar to how all Latin American fiction became classed as magical realism. I don't speak Japanese but would be interested if there's any scholarship/commentary on this from Japan itself ?

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  • balkeyeston TBR'd a book

    21h
    On the Calculation of Volume I

    On the Calculation of Volume I

    Solvej Balle

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    balkeyeston entered a giveaway...

    21h

    Sourcebooks giveaway

    How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy's Guide to Silencing Women

    How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy's Guide to Silencing Women

    Zoe Venditozzi & Claire Mitchell

    Nothing brings people together like a common enemy, and witches were the greatest enemy of all. Scotland, 1563: Crops failed. People starved. And the Devil's influence was stronger than ever—at least, that's what everyone believed. If you were a woman living in Scotland during this turbulent time, there was a very good chance that you, or someone you knew, would be tried as a witch. During the chaos of the Reformation, violence against women was codified for the first time in the Witchcraft Act—a tool of theocratic control with one chilling to root out witches and rid the land of evil. What followed was a dark and misogynistic chapter in history that fanned the flames of witch hunts across the globe, including in the United States and beyond. In How to Kill a Witch, Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell, hosts of the popular Witches of Scotland podcast, unravel the grim yet absurdly bureaucratic process of identifying, accusing, trying, and executing women as witches. With sharp wit and keen feminist insight, they reveal the inner workings of a patriarchal system designed to weaponize fear and oppress women. This captivating (and often infuriating) account, which weaves a rich tapestry of trial transcripts, witness accounts, and the documents that set the legal grounds for the witch hunts, exposes how this violent period of history mirrors today's struggles for justice and equality. How to Kill a Witch is a powerful, darkly humorous reminder of the dangers of superstition, bias, and ignorance, and a warning to never forget the past… while raising the question of whether it could ever happen again.

    print10 copiesUS & Canada

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  • George Falls Through Time
    balkeyeston
    Mar 17, 2026
    3.0
    Enjoyment: 3.0Quality: 2.5Characters: 2.5Plot: 2.0
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  • balkeyeston finished a book

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    George Falls Through Time

    George Falls Through Time

    Ryan Collett

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    balkeyeston made progress on...

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    Field Notes From an Extinction

    Field Notes From an Extinction

    Eoghan Walls

    21%
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    balkeyeston started reading...

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    Field Notes From an Extinction

    Field Notes From an Extinction

    Eoghan Walls

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    balkeyeston made progress on...

    1w
    George Falls Through Time

    George Falls Through Time

    Ryan Collett

    68%
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    balkeyeston made progress on...

    1w
    The Witch of Prague

    The Witch of Prague

    J.M. Sidorova

    51%
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    balkeyeston left a rating...

    1w
  • What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
    balkeyeston
    Mar 10, 2026
    3.5
    Enjoyment: 4.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 3.5Plot: 3.5
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  • balkeyeston made progress on...

    1w
    The Witch of Prague

    The Witch of Prague

    J.M. Sidorova

    46%
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    balkeyeston made progress on...

    1w
    This Story Might Save Your Life: A Novel

    This Story Might Save Your Life: A Novel

    Tiffany Crum

    2%
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    balkeyeston TBR'd a book

    1w
    Hooked

    Hooked

    Asako Yuzuki

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