Essential viewing for the (aspiring) ski nut
Many are called but few are chosen to join the canon of truly great ski films. The following are essential…
Travels around Japan
During my 6 months, I travelled far and wide throughout the country. There are many more places I’d like to…
The English Understand Wool
Stop what you’re doing and bury yourself in the 60 enticing pages of Helen DeWitt’s latest, The English Understand Wool.…
LBB 13 – Keats’ The Eve of St Agnes (and other poems)
I was first introduced to The Eve of St Agnes by my English teacher, Angus Graham-Campbell. A formidable scholar and…
Japan: a reading list
‘Fun and slightly informative’ Shogun by James Clavell One of my favourite books, this is a gripping epic set in…
Travels around Japan: near Tokyo
There are plenty of easy trips to take from Tokyo. Most can be done in either a day or a…
Three top things to do in Tokyo
1. Matcha tea ceremony at the Nezu museum You want to arrive at the museum at about 11am. When you…
The Best Food in Japan
Disclaimer: there are (almost) no bad restaurants in Japan. These are my personal favourites: Ramen There are several famous ramen…
6 Months later: Small things about Japan
There are lots of things about Japan which make it a uniquely quirky, and lovely, place to live in. (PS -…
6 months later: Learning Japanese
I’ve been consistently working away at learning Japanese over the past 6 months. For how to get started yourself, see…
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About Me
Hi, I’m Rupert. Here you’ll find literary book reviews and some hopefully useful materials about studying English and Law at University. I have also written two study series, one on writing a Dissertation and one on Anki flashcards, and a series about living in Japan.
I’m currently doing a series of reviews for the 80-book Penguin Little Black Classics set.
I hope you enjoy and do let me know if there’s anything else you’d particularly like to see!
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Rupert Swallow 