A thousand years ago, a Japanese lady-in-waiting kept a journal. Incredibly, it's still with us. It's called The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, and in it she describes not only life in a tenth-century Japanese court, but also her personal thoughts and attitudes, many of which, remarkably, still ring true these many centuries later. While large chunks of the book detail goings-on in the court, other parts are composed of fascinating lists: Things that Give an Unclean Feeling, Adorable Things, Presumptuous Things, People Who Seem to Suffer, and so on.

Now its time for our Pillow Book.