Yesterday I discovered myself writing more and more in Japanese. I don’t intentionally pick which language to blog on a particular day. Words just come naturally in either language, and I put them down.
So it means I think more in Japanese than in English these days. With my previous job, 90% of my colleagues were Japanese, but emails and documents were mostly in English. Right now, all my colleagues and clients are Japanese and, it’s basically a Japanese company under an American franchise.
Tonight, I intentionally chose to write in English. I am fully aware that my English is far from perfection, but it’s also a big part of who I am. The other day someone asked me how come I speak English so fluently. My reply was, “because I‘ve been speaking it for 30 years”. From a certain perspective, I am better at communicating in English than in Japanese, especially in business circumstances. Business customs in the Japanese context sometimes feel alien to me.
I like myself better when I speak in English.
Anyway, due to this circumstance, I am blogging in English today and I chose to read in English too.
A Life in Letters by John Steinbeck
Many of you may have come across this book through Brainpickings like I did. It’s a great read – full of sense of humor and love. It makes me want to become a better writer. I heard that Kazuo Ishiguro, a famous Japanese novelist lives in the UK, is said to write better than most British writers. That is my ideal. Perhaps I should study English literature from now on.
The Startup Playbook: Secrets of the Fastest-Growing Startups from their Founding Entrepreneurs
This book I am reading in Japanese. It is a collection of interviews with 41 startup business owners, those people who have tons of ideas and life lessons under their belts. It’s a great source for studying about leadership and management skills. Highly recommended.
I’ve also read Beautiful Creatures, kind of out of obligation, because the movie is in theaters right now and I intend to watch it. It was a good read, although I have no intention of reading its sequel. The better read yet was a series by a German young adult novelist, titled Ruby Red, Emerald Green, and Sapphire Blue. It’s a time travel story, very gripping and fast paced. Perhaps one day they will make a film out of it (in addition to the existing german version).
OK, I should get back to work now. Talk to you soon.