A: You prefer e-books to printed paper books, don’t you?
B: Actually, not necessarily, it depends. For example, I’ll buy the e-book version of comics, novels, books on finance or biographies, but for intensive reading, like with language textbooks, I’ll buy the actual book.
A: Hmm, that makes sense. I’ll put several books in my bag, thinking to read them during the course of the day, and I lug them around every day, breaking my back, and it always turns out that the book I want to read I didn’t bring out with me.
Photo: Wu Pei-hua, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報記者吳佩樺
B: Ha, you like doing things the hard way, don’t you?
A: So, I’m thinking, if I had the e-book, I could bring hundreds of books with me when I go out, just like that.
B: You’re absolutely right.
A: 跟紙本書比起來，你比較偏好電子書，對不對？
B: 其實也不見得啦，看情況。比如說漫畫小說財經傳記，我就買電子書，需要精讀的，比如說語言課本，我就會買實體書。
A: 嗯，還蠻有道理的。我包包裡都會放幾本書，想說出去會看，每天帶來帶去，重得要死，偏偏最後想讀的那本書，是沒帶出來的！
B: 哈哈，你還蠻會折磨自己的嘛！
A: 所以我想說，如果是電子書，我就可以一下子把好幾百本帶出門！
B: 百分之百正確！
（Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱）
English 英文:
Chinese 中文:
If you’ve recently spotted adults parading around with cuddly toys dangling from their designer handbags, your eyes haven’t been deceiving you. The playful trend of adorning bags with cute charms has become popular among people of various ages. Plushies like Labubu and anime and manga characters such as Chiikawa have become must-have accessories that make personal statements. The practice of attaching charms to personal items has been common across cultures throughout history. In ancient civilizations, charms were often used as symbols of protection, good luck, or identity. Fast-forward to more modern times, and style icons like Jane Birkin, a
★ Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 Kevin leaned over the bubbling pot. “Hey. . . are you okay? You’ve barely touched your food.” Zoey blinked. Her face was red — not from blushing, but from the “mala” spice and the heat of the room. Her blond hair clumped to her face like strands of fine spaghetti. Her carefully applied makeup now streaked. “This isn’t what I expected,” she said softly, forcing a smile. All around them, Kevin’s friends were laughing, shouting, and tossing ingredients into the broth. The air smelled of chili oil and garlic.
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日） https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang If plushie charms are cute little nods to people’s interests, ita bags are full-on declarations. The term “ita” comes from the Japanese word itai, which means “painful” and reflects the overwhelming visual intensity of these bags. An ita bag is essentially a handbag, backpack, or tote meticulously decorated with an extensive collection of merchandise dedicated to a specific character or idol. These bags usually feature a clear plastic window to display carefully arranged pins, badges, keychains, or fan art. Both the interior and exterior may be covered in fandom memorabilia, creating an aesthetic so intense that it’s almost “painful”
Picture this: contestants are walking gracefully across a stage, competing for the highly desired title of “most beautiful.” However, these participants aren’t fashion models—they’re camels. Welcome to the extraordinary world of the Pushkar Fair, where beauty contests take on an entirely different meaning. The Pushkar Fair is held annually in the small desert town of Pushkar, India, usually in November. It began as a livestock trading event where farmers and herders gathered to buy and sell camels, horses and cattle. Over time, it has grown into a major cultural carnival that attracts thousands of tourists from around the world.
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