If you live in Japan, you may wonder why so many books are published with the theme of "My Year in Japan."
Indeed, we've all read such books about someone who spent a year here, returned to their country and wrote a book that proceeded to be picked up by a major publisher. Unfortunately, too many of these books slide into the perilous territory of overgeneralization, mistranslation and even, sometimes, self-righteousness. After all, how much can one know about a country in just one year?
If well done, however, this genre can be a real eye-opener and offer intriguing glimpses into a different culture with disparate values, and such books can prove to be an extremely worthwhile read.