Showing results by narrator "Brian Nishii" in All Categories

For years, we’ve been told the key to personal fulfillment lies in either happiness or meaning. But while they can provide comfort and security, the paradox of happiness and meaning is that the complacency they foster can make for an incomplete life, full of regrets, doubts and unanswered questions. So what’s the alternative? A psychologically rich life prioritises curiosity over contentment. Yes, doing something unusual and learning something new can feel frustrating and unpleasant at times. But in Life in Three Dimensions, Shige Oishi weaves his own story with original research.

A fictional writer in his thirties named Osamu Dazai has just mailed his publisher an awful manuscript, filling him with dread and shame. Wandering along a river in a nearby park in suburban Tokyo, he meets a high-school dropout and the two get into an intellectual spat. Eventually, Dazai finds himself agreeing to perform in the boy’s place that very night as the live narrator of a film screening…

From a sleepy fishing village to a samurai capital to a vibrant global metropolis, Eiko Maruko Siniawer takes readers through Tokyo's rich history, revealing four centuries of transformation deeply woven into its fabric. This accessible guide introduces a world of shoguns and kabuki theater, riots and earthquakes, wartime devastation and resilience, booms and busts, bright lights and skyscrapers, all viewed through the lived experiences of those who have inhabited and shaped a city of distinctive neighborhoods and different personalities.

Fiona Barnes has a secret. One so big she's afraid it will destroy everything she holds dear. Not even her beloved music can save her. Li Wu has fought prejudice his entire life. But he's always felt safe and protected within the fierce love of the Barnes family. If only the object of his desire were free to be his, all would be well. Will he risk everything to be with the one he loves or will societal pressures keep them apart?

Burned by napalm as an infant and adopted by the guardian spirit of a river, Numamushi spends the first years of his life catching frogs to eat and learning to shed his skin like his serpentine father. Then one day, a lonely man moves into the abandoned house next to the river, and curiosity for all things human awakens in Numamushi. This mysterious man shares Numamushi’s penchant for eating frogs but also carries the scars of war, a love of the written word, and knowledge of the secret history of the house and its river.