Ciarán K

Seeming as everyone else appears to be doing a 2025 wrap up, I thought I'd do a mini one. I've spent more time with friends and meeting new people more this past year than I have in a long time and I really appreciate that. But obviously the biggest take away from this year was my trip to Japan, I honestly never thought I'd be able to do something like this. Those of you who know me know I get pretty bad travel anxiety, so this was like the largest step I've ever taken with it, especially as I went alone. I suppose it was more of a leap than a step, but thanks to everyone who supported me and helped with planning, and kept me company with messaging while I was out there. I'm already looking at going back as I feel more comfortable with the idea since I've been once now, and I'd like to go further from Tokyo, to explore a bit more of the less visited places. So here's to 2026!

It's kind of weird thinking that this time last month I was on the other side of the world for the first time. Now I find myself sitting at my desk reminiscing, thinking about some of my most memorable moments were ones I just stumbled into. For example, the above video being one of them, I had only planned to go to the Science and Nature museum in Ueno, I had no idea there was a festival going on. I decided to stick around enjoying the atmosphere and energy. Scalded my mouth with takoyaki, and overdosed on fried chicken, but I still kind of regret not getting the big flat fried chicken 🥲 I'll probably post some more photos or videos here and there of the trip and I try to get over the post Japan depression I didn't think I'd get. Guess I'll have to book another trip. #japan #japantrip #solotravel #ueno #japanfestival

We return to the wildly weird works created by Bora Chung, in this installment (actually released prior to Your Utopia) we're dealing with stories with more of a horror focus. It might be because I read Your Utopia first but for me I think the stories in that have a bit more staying power than those found here. Though I did find some a bit reminiscent of the hit Irish TV show Podge and Rodge: A scare at bedtime, specifically the first story about the creature made from things being flushed down the toilet, really gave me vibes of "Plughole" from season 3. (Also as an aside unless you want your kids to be traumatized maybe don't let them watch A scare at bedtime when they're like 10 years old). Overall the stories were good, I think I've kinda picked up on Bora's style, as there always seems to be a bit of a twist at the end, sometimes you see it coming other times you don't which I think is a good medium. Though sometimes you're also left with the feeling of "wait do I actually have any idea what just happened" which can be good from a discussion point of view if you happen to know anyone else who reads weird books. Sorry if this is all a bit low energy, I'm currently typing this while in bed, all this doing stuff this past week really takes it out of you, where do people find the energy. Anyway another strong entry from Bora Chung, more for the horror/fantasy fans out there but still a good choice if you're looking for something different. . . . #bookrecommendations #bookreview #reviews #books #reading #korean #koreanbook #bookstagram

Yummy yummy I eat this up. Your Utopia by Bora Chung is my kind of weird, a taste of "original" golden age like science-fiction with modern flavours. Another group of short stories, though these are a bit more fleshed than those in An Empty Room, they all skew into science-fiction but in different levels, pure abandoned planet with only robots, to "wait is this science-fiction? It feels a little too real". It was hard for me to not blast through this entire book, I wanted to enjoy each story after I finished them, but each one was so compelling I just wanted to start the next. The stand outs for me were: The End of the Voyage, a space fairing story from the perspective of a linguist on a ship sent away from earth to find a cure for "the disease". While you feel like you know where it's going, you still devour the pages wanting to know more. A Song for Sleep, this is the one I felt like we're getting a bit close to, an unusual perspective this one, it's an AI elevator in an apartment block. An old lady moves in and for the elevator to do its job (how it views its job at least) it talks with the appliances within the new residences apartment in order to learn more about her, including finding out the only song she listens to, and that she does washing so it plays washing adverts for her when she rides. If you like books like The Cabinet by Un-Su Kim I reckon you'll also enjoy this, both are highly recommended by me 👍 . . . #bookrecommendations #bookstagram #books #reviews #bookreview #translatedfiction

Ok ok so I haven't actually finished reading An Empty Room yet, but I think that kind of speaks to the type of book it is. It's a series of short stories written by Mu Xin while they were living in exile. Oooh what fun you may think, well guess what! Fun isn't on the menu, what is in the menu are a number of stories I may brain may be too smooth to grasp the deeper meaning of, or if there even is a deeper meaning. They honestly read a bit like anecdotes provided by various people who were interviewed, where the interviewer asked them to tell a story of their regrets, or curiosity. I find it a bit hard to discuss short stories really in this manner, because there's so much you can cover, it's almost like to get the most out of a review I'd need to review each individually, because each is individual, and as mentioned above feels like each has their own voice. I need to stop saying each, Hey Google, what's a synonym for each? When reading short stories like this I feel it's best to digest one at a time, not reading the book as per a "normal" book/story, read one take a break, have another wafer thin story, perhaps read another book, just dip in and out. I don't think these stories would be for everyone but if you want to try something different I'd say give it a shot, what's the worst that could happen? . . . #bookrecommendations #reviews #bookreview #books #translatedfiction

This one goes out to the night owls out there 👏 a new contender for the comfy vibes championships, Goodnight Tokyo produces an unusual romantic yearning for the life during the small hours of the night. Maybe it's just not something I'm overly familiar with in the UK as someone who has only lived in villages and towns, but there's an allure to the constant activity depicted in Japanese media for their large cities. Those of you familiar with the series Tokyo Diner might know what I'm talking about: cafes, izakayas, diners, etc etc either staying open late into the night or specifically opening late to provide refuge for those working late. In the UK unless it's a pub or a kebab shop it's rare it's going to be open late, finding a cafe that's open till 8pm is a rare treat. Anyway I'm really digressing here. You won't believe it but this is another multiple point of view book, crazy I know, it follows the stories of those who choose to work the witching hours, and those who are kinda forced into it due to the aspects of their jobs (demanding bosses am I right?). While it feels like each story is somewhat disconnected as the book progresses they interweave, dipping into aspects of "fate". Unusual circumstances bring these fellow denizens of the night together, it's quirky and fun, doesn't take itself overly seriously, doesn't outstay it's welcome, and makes you yearn for the warmth of neon lights on a gloomy night on the streets of Tokyo. I'm also curious as to what makes the ham and egg set so good. . . . #books #reviews #bookrecommendations #bookstagram #bookreview

Ok I'm skipping out on the previews now because I feel like it's kind of hard to write a preview after I've already started because I've got no self control. The New Seoul Park Jelly Massacre is a multi perspective story about surprise surprise a massacre at New Seoul park, now this isn't any old massacre no sir, this is a jelly massacre. Now you might be thinking of a Mr Blobby type psychopath going around murdering people at a theme park, and that's partly what I had in mind when I picked it up. You know other than the jelly face melting onto someone else's, kinda gives the game away a bit. So what we've actually got is a jelly themed body horror mystery, why are people turning to jelly? (I know why but you don't get to know yet, get to reading), how are people turning to jelly? are they all the same flavour? If I was jelly would I have fruit floating inside me? Does eating human jelly count as cannibalism? So yeah, it's a hot day in Seoul, and strange things are afoot, I found the story to be quite engaging, and as you might expect a bit strange. But it's paced out quite well and continues to introduce new characters who you get to see their relevance to the weirdness going on and layer after layer of the jelly mystery is revealed. It's like an onion if an onion was made out of jelly, and if inside this onion there was an ageless cat. Long story short, good book if you like weird, and if you don't like weird the cover is banging to look at. #bookreview #books #reviews #bookstagram

I went to Wytham Woods the other day, it was quite nice, though I think I only managed to take like 1 good photo 💀 #photography #macrophotography #macro #insectsofinstagram #insect #wildbritain #wildlife #wildlifephotography #invertebrate #ladybird #beetle #nature #naturephotography

The word of the week is INTROSPECTION, and that's kinda what I pulled from Dead-end Memories, at least in some form, I'm not sure you can introspect how to not eat poison curry. As previously mentioned (if you saw the preview) in this book we're following the stories of 5 women, going through trials and tribulations of their lives, learning about themselves, taking more care of themselves, realising their beloved is a massive c**t, normal things you know. I did like how in each story there's a nod to one of the previous, it's just a small thing but reminds you that in a way they're all connected. As with Banana's other work I've read I found it to be very engaging and easy to just blast through, but I held back I've hit self control, I'm an adult don't ya know. I think the best way to go about reading this is to take each story at a time (hurr of course that's how reading works), but take a break to digest each of the characters tales, they vary in length so it's a bit of a light lunch Vs roast dinner kinda digestive comparison. Some of the stories & characters stick with you a bit more than others I would think, for me the poison curry story is probably the one that has stuck with me the most, not just because of the absurdity of the plot, the curry just kicks things off. It's more to do with giving yourself time to heal, taking a step back etc etc unless I completely misunderstood which is entirely possible. There's also a character that stuck with me but more for the wrong reasons, and they're in the first story so it could potentially put some people off. The character in question is the love interest of the first storyteller, and they're a guy who believes guys only see women as "holes", the main character doesn't seem overly fussed about it so I guess that makes them an ok couple, but just the description used, I would quote it but I hit the character limit when trying to. Long story short, I think it's a good book, definitely worth a go, lovely cover, you could finish it in a couple hours or not it's up to you I'm not your boss.

PRE-READ REVIEW I'm not entirely sure what I expected when I picked up Banana Yoshimotos' newest book. I've only read one of her other books, The Premonition, so perhaps with that lingering in my mind I figured they'd probably be along the same vein. Or the real reason was I thought the cover looked very pretty, and I'm a simple magpie who likes the pretty things. Though her books do seem very easy to read so that's a bonus, so fingers crossed this one is the same because everyday my attention span shrinks. Anyway, unlike The Premonition, Dead-end Memories is 5 short stories, the blurb doesn't really go into too much depth, the stories are about finding solace and blissful moments in everyday life. NOW this makes it a bit of a gamble, I noticed my reading habits as of late seemed to learn more towards the depressing, because apparently that's what happens when you pick up books willynilly, so will this be a potentially heart rendering, soul shaking, bowel quivering? (Does that work?) work of fiction or is it just going to make me sad inside like a forgotten orange at the bottom of a fruit bowl. I mean hopefully it's not too sad, the cover refers to melancholy a lot and I feel like I get enough of that without the help of books. But if there's any take away it's that the cover is nice, but there is a creepy lady hiding behind the tree so maybe I shouldn't go walking in the woods alone. . . . #reviews #books #bookreview #bookstagram #translatedfiction

I'm not late with the book review, you are! Ok so I finished Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum a few days ago now, and I've been jumping in and out of stewing in my thoughts about it. I shall preface this by referring back to how I thought this book might turn me into Bernard Black, and I still kinda want to but it's much less romanticised in this book compared to others. Comparing this to a recent favourite of mine Days at Morisaki Bookshop, in Morisaki the bookshop in question has been a family run business for generations, it's always there somehow supported by the regulars coming to visit, the shelves are filled with rare books, and the days are filled by reading while waiting for customers. Hyunam-dong on the other hand is a new bookshop, born from the childhood dreams of Yeongju pushed to her limit by adult life, she rediscovered her love of reading and jumps in feet first. (This is where all the work involved in running a bookshop comes into play, just trying to stay afloat, Yeongjus' original plan was to just keep the shop running for two years) Throughout the book it's not just the bookshop which develops, each character has their own struggles and trauma they navigate, all brought together through the bookshop they help and support each other, sometimes without even realising. There's a lot in the book to unpack in terms of self reflection, and finding yourself, a number of the characters issues stem from the rat race of life, the grind of pushing to find and keep successful jobs, successful relationships, etc etc and pressure from parents or loved ones. Now that I've read the book I'm finding it difficult to crack jokes and be amusing (my energy level is also pretty low), because when it comes down to it the book is a very sweet story, certainly one of the happier books I've read in recent times. I think it's worth checking out as it may make you reflect on your own life and thoughts a bit (wooOoOoo scary I know), but you know maybe one day we can all run a bookshop and have wine bottle ice lollies. . . . #review #books #bookrecommendations #bookreview #reviews

MOVIE REVIEW I'm mixing it up, I was going to do a book retrospective but seeming as I just watched Alien Romulus this past weekend I thought I'd throw caution to the wind! Now what I'm about to say might seem a bit crazy, but please hold your space horses before calling me a madman. I've not actually seen the original Alien movies, I was always more of a Predator fan, not that I'm saying you can only watch one side, it's more that I never really got around to it. Saying that though I do know about the movies, I've seen clips, images, I know the story, and I watched the Angry Alien 30 second animation so that's practically the same thing. ANYWAY this is where I might sound a bit crazy, as I've not seen the original but Romulus gives a lot of vibes of the original: ignoring the CG the sets really give you the late 70s/80s practical effect feel, the claustrophobic environments aboard the space station, and the tension (though not tense enough to stop me from needing to pee). I don't want to talk tooooooo much about plot points as I found it quite engaging going in without much knowledge of it, but what I can say is one of the characters really needs to get the stick out of his arse. But yeah, I've not seen the originals but I quite enjoyed it, if you like the originals I think you'll also have a good time. (Though I think some aspects are partly retconned, so depending on how much of a diehard fan you are, it could be a bit like comparing Star wars episode 4 and episode 7) I give it a Neat/10 . . . #review #movie #moviereview #alien