Sunday
Jan312010
The 2010 Murakami Haruki Challenge
Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 9:14AM
One of my resolutions for this new year has been to read more. Lately, it seems like all I ever do read are blog posts and excerpts from IT publications.
That said, I've decided to combine this task with the ability for me to further pontificate on all things Japan by establishing the semi-official, Giant Enemy Crab 2010 Murakami Haruki Challenge.
This year, I will attempt to read or re-read all of the Murakami Haruki paperbacks I own that have been sitting on my bookshelf, gathering dust for a number of years.
I'll post a summary and review of each novel as I finish them. In no particular order, I'm going to attempt to run the gauntlet of the following books:
Noticeably absent from this list is Norwegian Wood, Murakami's most well known and acclaimed work to date. I've had far too many people recommend this book to me and unfortunately, due to that fact alone, I won't be reading it at this time. I know it sounds weird or contrarian but when I decide to sample an author's work - particularly one who has written as much as Murakami, I tend to read a bunch of their other books before diving into what the collective consciousness regards as their magnum opus.
For the bonus round of the 2010 Murakami Challenge, I will either attempt to track down an English translation of Pinball 1973 or just go buy a copy of Sputnik Sweetheart from Amazon.
And for those asking, "Who is Murakami Haruki?", here you go: [wikipedia.org]
That said, I've decided to combine this task with the ability for me to further pontificate on all things Japan by establishing the semi-official, Giant Enemy Crab 2010 Murakami Haruki Challenge.
This year, I will attempt to read or re-read all of the Murakami Haruki paperbacks I own that have been sitting on my bookshelf, gathering dust for a number of years.
I'll post a summary and review of each novel as I finish them. In no particular order, I'm going to attempt to run the gauntlet of the following books:
Noticeably absent from this list is Norwegian Wood, Murakami's most well known and acclaimed work to date. I've had far too many people recommend this book to me and unfortunately, due to that fact alone, I won't be reading it at this time. I know it sounds weird or contrarian but when I decide to sample an author's work - particularly one who has written as much as Murakami, I tend to read a bunch of their other books before diving into what the collective consciousness regards as their magnum opus.
For the bonus round of the 2010 Murakami Challenge, I will either attempt to track down an English translation of Pinball 1973 or just go buy a copy of Sputnik Sweetheart from Amazon.
And for those asking, "Who is Murakami Haruki?", here you go: [wikipedia.org]
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