Makura no Sôshi is one of my favorite books. Much like Everything2, it is a compilation of stories, poetry and random thoughts by its author, Sei Shonagon. I was thrilled to finally reach a point with my Japanese where I could read it, first in modern Japanese, and then in the original. Her lists are full of things that still hold true: pine trees listed as things that are more beautiful when painted; a child eating a strawberry listed under adorable things. She goes on about a dog that lived at court, a trip to a shrine, a vague description of a lover's visit. She makes lists and little commentaries about everyday things. I was in high school the first time I read her book, tho in English, and remember being struck by her very short write-up on oxen. I do not remember her exact preferences in oxen, but the blurb went something like, "An ox should be black, with white feet and forehead, a white spot on the back and a white tip to the tail." For a while I wondered why she would spend time writing even that much about an ox, or why it should matter what an ox looked like at all. With a bit of imagination, though, I realized that oxen pulled carts in her world, so her comments could well be figuratively translated to read, "A car should be bright red, with a black leather interior and aluminium wheels." It became a challenge, from that point on, to read more figuratively, but without too much inference.