Dōmo Arigatō

Today is my birthday. And the best thing about your birthday is you can do just about whatever you please.

It pleases me to read. It pleases me to indulge in a Cinnamon Dolce latte when normally I would choose a tall cappuccino. It pleases me to have chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for dessert, buy a new lipstick, and, like Bilbo Baggins on his birthday, give presents to others. Presents in the form of prizes.

For today is also the day that the Japanese Literature Challenge 3 comes to a close. This year has been the most successful year for the Japanese Literature Challenge yet. There have been approximately 101 participants. There have been 241 reviews. And, for me, the reading in this genre gets more exciting every year because I find out from your reviews all the books I'd like to add to my "Must Read" list.

As promised, I have prizes to give out. There is the set of Japanese screen cards, brochure and magnet from the Art Institute of Chicago:



There is the hardcover copy of Good-bye Madame Butterfly:



as well as Kuhaku, both from Chin Music Press:



There is a poster of Do Not Disturb! which looks like a watercolor:



and a set of Hello Kitty! items including pencils, notebooks, stickers and two giant Pez Dispensers (only one pictured here):



There's a new, paperback copy of Haruki Murakami's novel South of the Border, West of The Sun:


and finally, a hardback copy of Eat Sleep Sit, thanks to Kodansha Press:



So, how can you be entered into the drawing? First, leave a comment of your favorite read (or two, or three, or more) for the challenge. I will add these to the list of suggested titles if they're not already there. Secondly, tell me which prize you would like to be considered for. I will announce the prizes one week from today, on February 6. I wish I could give one to everybody...however, there will be a Japanese Literature Challenge 4. The time frame for this challenge is always July 30 until January 30, so you may want to mark that in your calendar.

It has been my great joy to host this challenge. Thank you, どうもありがとう, dōmo arigatō for all you've given.