Pillow Book
While questing for a picture to illustrate what I'm reading for comfort and relaxation lately, I discovered, to my delight, that I'm not the only huge fan of Sei Shonagon's Blog From Another World, otherwise known as the Pillow Book. (Evidently there's manga and YouTube versions of her!). It really is like reading a blog from another planet - 10th-century Japan is so alien, and Sei Shonagon's voice (at least in Ivan Morris's excellent translation) is so real and present. Accounts of court ceremonies and conversations (and exorcisms, which were apparently pretty commonplace) interspersed with her opinions: the proper circumstances under which to meet one's lover (summer, and PLEASE no whining about how awful your life is!); lists of subjects for poems (lawns; hail; bamboo grass). Lists of things that give one a nice clean feeling, or elegant things (shaved ice mixed with liana syrup and put in a new silver bowl - presumably a 10th-century slushie), or unsui