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Aravien
Journal — reading the cultural index
Salons · groups · readers in residence

The .reading room.

A dedicated space — salons, groups, and passages from the room's shelves. The side of the Journal where the index becomes something you read alongside a community of resident readers.

resident readers 47
open salons 3
reading groups 4
In the Mood for Love Wong Kar-wai Norwegian Wood Murakami Blue Joni Mitchell Tokyo Story Ozu Chungking Express Wong Kar-wai Strange Weather in Tokyo Kawakami Perfect Blue Kon Burning Lee Chang-dong Before Sunrise Linklater A Personal Matter Ōe In the Mood for Love Wong Kar-wai Norwegian Wood Murakami Blue Joni Mitchell Tokyo Story Ozu Chungking Express Wong Kar-wai Strange Weather in Tokyo Kawakami Perfect Blue Kon Burning Lee Chang-dong Before Sunrise Linklater A Personal Matter Ōe

Readers in residence · 10

This issue
Mira M.A.
today

Strange Weather in Tokyo

NovelHiromi Kawakami · 2001

An older man and a younger woman share a bottle of sake in late autumn.
Tokyo
42%
Tiana T.O.
reading note

Blue

AlbumJoni Mitchell · 1971

On side B for the seventh time this week.
Los Angeles
61%
Sahil S.V.
field note

In the Mood for Love

FilmWong Kar-wai · 2000

The corridor scene. Again.
Hong Kong
78%
Aanya Reader
salon note

Norwegian Wood

NovelHaruki Murakami · 1987

Tokyo
28%
Lukas Reader
resident note

Tokyo Story

FilmYasujirō Ozu · 1953

Tokyo
55%
Aoife Reader
today

South of the Border, West of the Sun

NovelHaruki Murakami · 1992

First time. Read on a slow train through Wales.
Tokyo
18%
Kavi Reader
today

Chungking Express

FilmWong Kar-wai · 1994

Hong Kong
92%
Saoirse Reader
today

A Personal Matter

NovelKenzaburō Ōe · 1964

Began this morning.
Tokyo
8%
Bilal Reader
recent note

Persepolis 2.0

ComicsM. Satrapi (re-read) · 2004

Tehran
66%
Hae-jin Reader
recent note

Burning

FilmLee Chang-dong · 2018

Seoul
34%

Reading groups · 4

This season
Group № 1
In session

Tokyo Slow

Novel Strange Weather in Tokyo · Hiromi Kawakami · 2001
Position Chapter 4 · The mushroom hunt
Meets Sundays, 19:00 GMT
M.A.A.K.S.O.L.D.H.J. +1
5 passages dropped
  • Aiko Page 47 — He liked the kind of quiet that arrives by itself — the way a teacup cools without anyone watching.
  • Selma Page 51 — Did anyone else read the mushroom passage as a kind of second confession?
  • Mira Page 52 — I keep thinking about how she lays the words down — softly, like she’s afraid of waking the page.
  • Hannah Page 53 — The temperature drops in this chapter. You can feel it before she says anything.
  • Leon Page 56 — Sensei. Every time it’s spoken it sounds older.
Group № 2
In session

Hong Kong neon

Film In the Mood for Love + Chungking Express · Wong Kar-wai · paired viewing
Position Scene 18 · The corridor
Meets Fridays, 22:00 HKT
S.V.K.M.T.W.B.L. +2
3 passages dropped
  • Kit 00:42 — She passes him on the stairs and the whole film says almost.
  • Sophia 00:44 — The slow motion does the talking. Nobody is allowed to finish a sentence.
  • Beatriz 00:46 — The wallpaper is a character. I will die on this hill.
Group № 3
Reserved

Boom letters

Novel Hopscotch · Julio Cortázar · 1963
Position Next: chapter 73, then the table of instructions
Meets Wednesdays, 20:00 ART
A.G.M.R.F.S.C.N. +2
Group № 4
In session

The long album

Music Blue / For Emma, Forever Ago / Pink Moon · A slow-listening rotation
Position Side B · second pass
Meets Tuesdays, dawn
T.O.J.E.P.M. +3
2 passages dropped
  • June B2 · 0:34 — The piano is alone in the room. We are the room.
  • Paolo B3 · 1:12 — Listen to what she does with the word sorrow. It rises before it lands.

Slow reading chairs

6 chairs
Chair IV Norwegian Wood Haruki Murakami ● taken
Chair VI Burning Lee Chang-dong ● taken

The shelf

34 titles
34 titles on the shelf Scroll to browse →

Channels · 10