Sunday, May 14, 2017

Upcoming Events & Openings: June 2017

Sunday, June 4, 10am-5pm
Momijigaoka Bunka Center 

Presentation: “Bulgaria” 
by Makayla at 3pm


Sunday, June 18, 10am-5pm
at Momijigaoka 2-8-13-605


Wednesday Crafting Circle
at Momijigaoka 2-8-13-605

 
June 14 and 28, 10am-12pm

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

May Updates

Book Ideas has moved out of its current location and will be “in transit” until a new permanent home has been found!

In the meantime, Book Ideas will be held at Momijigaoka Bunka Center once a month and at our apartment, also once a month:

Sunday, May 7, from 10am to 5pm 
at Momijigaoka Bunka Center
Moldova": a presentation by Evgeny at 3pm
 
 

Sunday, May 21, from 10am to 5pm at our apartment

Sometime in June 2017 we plan to host a talk on “Bulgaria”, presented by Makayla. 
Details about this event will be announced at a later date! 

Crafting Circle will meet at Momijigaoka 2-8-13-605
every second Wednesday morning:
- May 17, 10am-12pm
- May 31, 10am-12pm

We will be closed for summer vacation in July and August.

While we are on the move this blog will be temporarily “under construction” and only updated periodically. We apologize for the inconvenience this might cause.
However, we will continue to send emails about events and openings through our email address, book_ideas@hotmail.com. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with us and/or request to be added to our mailing list!

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Reminder of Upcoming Events & Openings: April 2017

We'd like to remind you about the exciting events and openings at Book Ideas coming up in the next few weeks!

On Sunday, April 9, at 3pm Mandy will give a talk on "Australia“, her home country.
We will also welcome Ros, who is visiting from Australia, and whom some of you already met at Book Ideas. Our opening times will be 10am-5pm.

Join us on Sunday, April 16 at 3pm for Easter egg painting and dyeing.
Crafting materials and hardboiled eggs will be provided at a small cost. Please note that on this day Book Ideas will be open from 3pm until late, not from 10am-5pm as usual!

Sunday, April 23 is our last opening at the current location: join us for a book sale from 10am-5pm
We look forward to celebrating the experiences we've already shared with you and the long road still ahead of us.

Our used books will be on sale at each opening mentioned above (10-100yen per book); we will also be giving away many books for free! Please come to browse and add to your collection. 

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Upcoming Events & Openings: April 2017

Sunday, April 2, 10am-5pm

Sunday, April 9, 10am-5pm
“Mandy from Australia”: a talk at 3pm
& special visitor Ros

Sunday, April 16, 3pm-late
Easter egg painting

Sunday, April 23, 10am-5pm
Farewell & book sale

Wednesday Crafting Circle

April 12, 19 
10am-12pm

Please note:
Crafting Circle will not meet on April 5!

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Change at Book Ideas: a letter to our users

Book Ideas is changing once again! We have decided to find a better location for our service, one that is still accessible to our long-term users and also inviting to new users.

After our last opening on April 23, 2017 we will be moving out of our current location at Momijigaoka 1-39-2. We are still waiting for final confirmation and a move-in date at the new location, and will notify users as we receive more information.
Until then, we have an exciting schedule of events and openings planned at the current location. The Wednesday Crafting Circle will also meet as usual.

Last events & openings at our current location:

Sunday, April 2, 10am-5pm

Sunday, April 9, 10am-5pm
“Mandy from Australia”: a talk at 3pm
& special visitor Ros

Sunday, April 16, 3pm-late
Easter egg painting at 3pm

Sunday, April 23, 10am-5pm
Farewell & book sale

Wednesday Crafting Circle: April 5, 12, 19 from 10am-12pm 

What comes next?
On Sunday, May 7 we will be open as usual from 10am to 5pm at the Momijigaoka Bunka Center on the 3rd floor next to the library. Tentatively, there will be a talk about “Sierra Leone” at 3pm.  
The Wednesday Crafting Circle will meet at our apartment every two weeks from 10am-12pm.

We are excited for the future and hope to continue sharing Book Ideas in all of its stages of change and growth with you!

Friday, March 10, 2017

"Living with a Nigerian family": a talk by Nao on Sunday, March 12, 2017

Please join us for

"Living with a Nigerian family"
a talk by Nao Nakatani 
on Sunday, March 12 at 3pm



Nao, who spoke at Book Ideas about "African cooking" in 2010, recently returned to Japan from Nigeria. She will be sharing her experiences of that country with us and open to taking questions about her life there!

Upcoming Events & Openings: March 2017

Events & Openings

Sunday, March 5, 10am-5pm 

Sunday, March 12, 10am-5pm
"Living with a Nigerian family":
a talk by Nao Nakatani at 3pm 

Sunday, March 19, 10am-5pm

Sunday, March 26, 10am-5pm 

Wednesday Crafting Circle 

March 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29 
10am-12pm



Friday, January 27, 2017

"Many Voices": A bilingual read-aloud session on Sunday, February 12, 2017

Many Voices 
A bilingual read-aloud session 
in English and Japanese at 3pm

Reading aloud is a pleasure 
for children and adults alike! 

Birgit will read the Shel Silverstein classic, "The Giving Tree" and Akiko Hishiyama will read two different Japanese translations of the same book. 

They will also read a Japanese version and an English translation of “Issunboshi”.


If you are interested in practicing your English or Japanese comprehension, or in comparing how the same story and its message are conveyed in different languages and translations, please join us for this special event.

Upcoming Events & Openings: February 2017

Events & Openings

Sunday, February 5, 10am-5pm

Sunday, February 12, 10am-5pm 
Many Voices 
A bilingual read-aloud session 
in English and Japanese at 3pm 

Sunday, February 19, 10am-5pm
Sunday, February 26, 10am-5pm

Wednesday Crafting Circle

February 1, February 8, February 15 
10am-12pm 

Note: Crafting Circle will NOT meet 
on Wednesday, February 22


Sunday, January 1, 2017

Updated Book List

After adding almost 200 new titles, there are now 2,907 books and other media in our library! We have also added a new category: "Graded Readers". 

Please click on the link called "Complete Book List (updated January 1, 2017)" under the "Important Pages" tab on the right-hand side of the screen to browse the collection. The list is organized alphabetically by author and by category. We will be updating the list regularly.

Upcoming Events & Openings: January 2017

Events & Openings

Saturday, January 7, 10am-5pm 
Living in Berlin 
A talk by Mine Serizawa at 3pm 

Image by Martin Schwartz

Sunday, January 15, 10am-5pm 
Sunday, January 22, 10am-5pm 
Sunday, January 29, 10am-5pm 

Wednesday Crafting Circle

January 11, January 18, January 25 
10am-12pm

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Christmas Cheer & New Year 2017

Thank you to everyone who attended our "Christmas Cheer" event on Friday, December 23!

Every year we celebrate German Christmas with a real tree, ornaments and decorations, and traditional treats. It was a great opportunity to get together and learn more about the holiday and each other.


Book Ideas is now closed for Winter Break.

Our first opening after the break will be on Saturday, January 7, 2017
The first Crafting Circle after the break will be on Wednesday, January 11, 2017

We wish all our users a Happy New Year and a peaceful start to 2017!

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Upcoming Events & Openings: December 2016

Openings & Events

Sunday, December 4, 10am-5pm
Saturday, December 10, 10am-5pm 
Holiday Ornaments 
with Naoko Kikuchi at 3pm


Sunday, December 18, 10am-5pm 
Friday, December 23, 10am-5pm 
Christmas Cheer 
Our annual all-day holiday celebration 

Closed for Winter Break until Saturday, January 7, 2017 

Wednesday Crafting Circle 
December 7, December 14 and December 21, 10am-12pm
Closed for Winter Break until Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Note: Change to schedule of openings & Events of interest

Book Ideas will not be open on Saturday, November 26 as announced!
Instead, we will be open on Sunday, November 27 from 10am-5pm

We'd also like to share two events that might be of interest to our users:

The German church in Gotanda will hold its annual "Adventsbasar" on Saturday, November 26 from 1pm (http://www.kreuzkirche-tokyo.jp/basar-e.html)

The American School in Japan will hold its annual "Winterfest" on Saturday, December 3 from 10am-3pm

Monday, November 7, 2016

Upcoming Events & Openings: November 2016

Sunday, November 6 
10am-5pm 

Saturday, November 12
10am-5pm 

Sunday, November 20 
10am-5pm 

Holiday wreath-making 
with Hiroko Maekawa at 3pm 

Saturday, November 26 
10am-5pm 

Wednesday, November 16, 
November 23 and November 30 
10am-12pm 

Crafting Circle

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

"Crafting Circle": introducing a new service at Book Ideas

Crafting Circle
Sewing, knitting, stitching, 
crafting and chatting in English

From November 16, 2016
Every Wednesday morning from 10am-12pm

Bring along your craft project
Work in our comfortable space
Enjoy the company of others
Join in on the conversation--in English!

You do not need to join the group or attend regularly. There is no fee, but participants are asked to buy a drink.




At the 8th Annual General Meeting in February 2016 many of you used the questionnaire to give me feedback about Book Ideas: how you feel about the changes that have taken place since we started; your suggestions for what services we could provide in the future; and who we could “become” as an organization. 

For many years Book Ideas has been a neighborhood institution offering a place to check out books and chat in English. At our location in the Momijigaoka Bunka Center people felt comfortable coming in for a look, a chat, even sitting down and reading or letting the kids play, all on their way to the “regular” Japanese library next door. That feeling of a low-commitment, easily accessible public space has changed since we moved into our rented premises, which are tucked away in a side street off Hitomi Kaido. Now, a visit to Book Ideas requires more of an effort and is no longer a little side trip on the way to somewhere else.


Our clientele at the Bunka Center was very diverse. Sometimes unaccompanied kids attracted by our toys and games would peek in; young parents with young children stopped by; some college-aged students and many middle-aged women were curious about us; while us more “mature” women, with a sprinkling of men of all ages, constituted most of our customers. There were casual visitors who just came for the books and maybe a chat with me, but over time a group of regulars developed and many of us got to know each other personally. Since we moved to the new premises we seem to have kept many of those regulars, while the others are mostly staying away. And the occasional newcomer does still find their way to Book Ideas but the numbers are going down. 


Reflecting on these facts and your feedback from the questionnaire has inspired us to expand our services at Book Ideas. Every weekend will still be “open house” where anyone can come to talk, read, and check out books. We will still have monthly presentations on a variety of topics. However, in addition to these services, we are introducing new offerings for various age and interest groups!