dear reader. i hope this message finds you well. if you stumble across this page, you may be looking for book recommendations, or simply to just learn more. depending on your background, you may be a reader, a non-reader, a watcher of anime / television / film, or maybe theatre or visual novels, illustration or other mediums. likely, you feel a certain amount of friction from transitioning from those mediums to literary ones. and this is valid! oft from poor school experiences, where readers are tasked with dismantling cannonized works of literature and tested for their "understanding" of them, in a process akin to trickle down economics: it doesn't work. this page serves as both a recommendation list for works of literature that have personal value to me, or i believe you, dear reader, will enjoy (as opposed to because the text is important to the canon) but also as a manifesto for my view of reading, learning and the future of literary art.

the canon is something readers and prospective writers should be cognizant of, but personal relation to the canon can vary wildly. i encourage interested readers to explore the canon, but it should not be out of obligation, but out of interest; learning should be from the ground up instead of trickling down from the canon. maybe you are interested in cinema, and seek to learn more about the works that influenced it. or television, like shelley referenced in breaking bad. or sartre in mr. robot. maybe you enjoy of asian culture or aesthetic, or want to learn more about a friend from a foreign culture. literature should be something that helps and broadens understanding, of others in the past as well as from other places in the world from the home and life you know personally.

reading is also just difficult. the world today, tomorrow moreso, still moreso 'til the day you read this, is increasingly complex and fast paced and stimulus driven. short bursts, lights and action, pyrotechnics and overwhelming information. reading requires a focus and trance. zen. attention spans are short. like many, i am struck by this symptom of modern life too: what theorist han byung-chul described as the neurological infarctions of the incipient 21st century. it is immensely difficult for me to read, despite the amount i do read. there is no shame in this; it may take some practice, and remember to take things at your own speed. and have fun with it!

as the purpose of this page is to suggest books to readers and non-readers alike, of all interests, ages, and walks of life, it will be split into multiple sections, but as my personal philosophy is aligned against rigid categorization, the sections may not be as specific as one may want. i encourage all readers of this page to navigate this as if it were an exploration of a mysterious place, rather than just jumping to immediate interests; i think you may discover things that catch your eye, despite lacking prior interest. on the other hand, i do understand that it may be frustrating to be innundated with unnecessary information, so i will provide navigation options.