Why not discover a new story this summer?
I wonder when I started to be able to read books. I liked manga but I wasn't good at reading printed text, so I was the type of person who would read out of necessity during reading time at school. Then, in my third year of high school, I got hooked on a TV drama that was based on a novel, and I started reading a book. It was so interesting, even though it was told only through words, that I would read the next chapter whenever I had a free moment. I think that book was the turning point that made me no longer resistant to reading books.
Then, in the spring of 2020, when I was a senior in college, the COVID-19 pandemic canceled my classes and part-time jobs, and I couldn't go out and have fun, so I went to the only bookstore open nearby. I bought about five books, either ones I had my eye on beforehand or ones that caught my eye because they were stacked up, and read one every day.
Sometimes I would try making a dish that appeared in a story, or something I read recently had such an impact that I couldn't read another book for a week afterwards... Looking back, being able to read books made my self-isolation life much more fulfilling. I can still remember my favorite lines from the novels I read during that time, and even though I didn't meet anyone, I feel like I encountered many new things.
This issue of "Bungei Brutus" features 16 stories, including original Japanese works and foreign works being translated into Japanese for the first time. We hope this book will be the gateway to new reading for you.
This summer, I recommend reading in a cool room while eating ice cream.
