Ep. 338 Ishikawa Coptic

Bookbinding

This week we’re looking at a 100-page, A6-size, coptic-bound notebook with lines on the recto (right) side and nothing on the verso (left) side. The main difference between this notebook and others is that this book has a collage cover.

I spent several hours combing through a pile of fliers I get in my mailbox, otherwise known as throwaways or direct mail, to find designs, colors, shapes that I can use in the cover. I glued the resulting cutouts to the book board and added a fixative to keep everything in place.

If you check out the Making of Ishikawa Coptic (TDGB 83) on my channel over on YouTube, you can see the page numbers in the middle of the fore-edge, the lines, the finished collage, and the red thread holding it all together. 

By the way, on the cover with the black and white horse, in the lower right hand corner is a partial photo of the symbol of the Kanazawa train station; the Tsuzumi-mon Gate (drum gate).

Fiction

The novel formerly known as The Russian, has taken on a new title to disuse people from thinking it is pro-Russian or anti-Ukrainian. The main character, Dmitry, is neither pro nor anti anything except poverty and hunger; specifically his poverty and his hunger. He’s a scavenger. He finds scraps, bits and pieces, and discarded junk and sells them. 

The novel’s new name is Dmitry, Our Kusuya-san. Or maybe without the Our. There are many words for scavenger in Japanese, few of them polite and most meaning something like ‘he’s garbage.’ Kusu is like crumbs or small things you don’t want; Kusuya is a derogatory word similar to ‘he’s garbage.’ But adding San (Mr or Ms) makes it more polite. Kusuya-san is a scavenger in a nice way.

Dmitry scrounges around until he has enough to trade for a truck-load of vodka which he trades, along with the truck it came in, for a free trip to someplace.

Talkies

First, the video for the making of TDGB 83 The Making of Ishikawa Coptic is up and running on YouTube. 

Second, the casing in of TDGB 77 The Battered Briefcase Case is also up for your view pleasure, as are many other bookbinding videos. Feel free to browse.

Books

The Lonely Izakaya Down a Quiet Street is available on Apple Books for your reading pleasure. A retired Japanese teacher and one of his former high school students meet in Shibuya, Kawasaki, on trains, in coffee shops, and in izakaya where they discuss life, toilets, saké, and the difference between Japanese society’s expectations of men and women. 

It is told in 12 chapters each chapter related to a Japanese national holiday. Except June and December which don’t have any national holidays. Each chapter is divided into two parts: First, the thoughts and ideas of the former Japanese teacher until he runs into the former female high school student (now 36 years old). When that happens, the second part concentrates on the female’s thoughts and ideas; it is longer and covers the two main characters’ conversation.

The Battered Briefcase Case: a Marsh Mystery is also available on Apple Books.

A wealthy Seattlite has been arrested for his wife’s murder. He asks Joe Marsh to investigate, hoping to clear his name. Marsh’s investigation leads him to Xativa, Spain where he discovers both the killer and the love of his life (different people).

All this in 45 action-packed, literary pages.