What We Are Reading Today: ‘Fifty Words for Rain’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Fifty Words for Rain’
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Updated 17 January 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Fifty Words for Rain’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Fifty Words for Rain’

Published in 2020, “Fifty Words for Rain” by Asha Lemmie is an invitation to explore identity, belonging, and the complexity of family dynamics in 1940s Japan.
The story takes the reader to Kyoto in Japan almost 100 years ago, following the Second World War, where Nori, a biracial girl born to a Japanese mother and an American father, struggles to find her place in a society that avoids her existence.
When Nori meets her half-brother, Akira, she forms a strong bond with him and makes him an ally despite her grandparents’ opposition to their friendship as they believe it irrevocably changes the lives they were always meant to lead.
One of the story’s strong points is its exploration of the intersection of race and gender, with Nori embodying the struggles faced by those on the margins of society.
Her journey is filled with challenges, including abuse and social rejection, yet it also shows her resilience as she hopes for a brighter future.
The author highlights the impact of the Second World War on the lives of the Japanese, creating a narrative that, while strongly rooted in a specific place and time, is universally relatable.
The story has received backlash from Japanese audiences as some consider it disrespectful to Japanese culture and history, especially where it describes Japan during the 1940s.
Overall, “Fifty Words for Rain” invites readers to reflect on themes of family relations, loss, and identity and serves as a powerful reminder of the enduring strength of the human spirit.


What We Are Reading Today: Habitats of Africa

What We Are Reading Today: Habitats of Africa
Updated 15 February 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Habitats of Africa

What We Are Reading Today: Habitats of Africa

Authors: Ken Behrens, Keith Barnes & Iain Campbell

With breathtaking wildlife and stunningly beautiful locales, Africa is a premier destination for birders, conservationists, ecotourists, and ecologists. 

This compact, easy-to-use guide provides an unparalleled treatment of the continent’s wonderfully diverse habitats. 

Incisive and up-to-date descriptions cover the unique features of each habitat, from geology and climate to soil and hydrology, and require no scientific background. Knowing the surrounding environment is essential to getting the most out of your travel experiences.


What We Are Reading Today: An Untraceable Life

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Updated 14 February 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: An Untraceable Life

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Author: Stephen J. Campbell

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) never signed a painting, and none of his supposed self-portraits can be securely ascribed to his hand. He revealed next to nothing about his life in his extensive writings, yet countless pages have been written about him that assign him an identity: genius, entrepreneur, celebrity artist, outsider.
Addressing the ethical stakes involved in studying past lives, Stephen J. Campbell shows how this invented Leonardo has invited speculation from figures ranging from art dealers and curators to scholars, scientists, and biographers, many of whom have filled in the gaps of what can be known of Leonardo’s life with claims to decode secrets, reveal mysteries of a vanished past, or discover lost masterpieces of spectacular value.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Snakes of Australia’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Snakes of Australia’
Updated 13 February 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Snakes of Australia’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Snakes of Australia’

Authors: Tie Eipper & Scott Eipper

With more than 1,000 photographs, Snakes of Australia illustrates and describes in detail all 240 of the continent’s species and subspecies—from file snakes, pythons, colubrids, and natricids to elapids, marine elapids, homalopsids, and blind snakes. It features introductions to each family, species descriptions, type locations, distribution maps, and quick-identification keys to each family and genera.

It also covers English and scientific names, appearance, range, ecology, disposition, danger level, and IUCN Red List Category.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bees of the World’ by Laurence Packer

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bees of the World’ by Laurence Packer
Updated 12 February 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bees of the World’ by Laurence Packer

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bees of the World’ by Laurence Packer

When many people think of bees, they are likely to picture the western domesticated honey bee, insects that live in large, socially complex societies inside a hive with a single queen and thousands of workers. 

But this familiar bee is just one of more than 20,000 species of bees—and almost none of the others is anything like it. In “Bees of the World,” Laurence Packer, one of the world’s foremost experts on wild bees, celebrates the amazing diversity of bees—from size and appearance to nests and social organization.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Experiments of the Mind’ by Emily Martin

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Experiments of the Mind’ by Emily Martin
Updated 11 February 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Experiments of the Mind’ by Emily Martin

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Experiments of the Mind’ by Emily Martin

Experimental cognitive psychology research is a hidden force in our online lives. We engage with it, often unknowingly, whenever we download a health app, complete a Facebook quiz, or rate our latest purchase.

How did experimental psychology come to play an outsized role in these developments?

“Experiments of the Mind” considers this question through a look at cognitive psychology laboratories.