College Students! discussion

I discovered him with After Dark a few months ago and instantly was awestruck. I have since read every one of his novels that was published in English. Highly, highly, recommend him. Has anyone else read his work?

I've only read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle which I loved. It's one of my all-time favorite books now.

Books of his that are now on my TBR list are:

Kafka on the Shore
Sputnik Sweetheart
A Wild Sheep Chase
After the Quake

I can't wait to start reading more of him. I just need to find the time...

How did you like After Dark? I haven't heard anything about it.

I liked After Dark, it spawned my admiration for him. It's just a good story rife with philosophy and incredibly well paced. If you want my recommendation though, Kafka on the Shore is far and away my favorite.

Considering you've read all of his books, maybe you could help me pick out a book to give my brother? He's never read Murakami, and I would really like him to give him a try. I'm trying to pick a shorter book, though, b/c I'm afraid if I give him a long book he might not pick it up for a while (that's how it is for me anyway-if I buy a book over 500 pages, it'll be sitting on my shelf for at least a year before I finally pick it up).

I was considering Sputnik Sweetheart for his first Murakami book, or possibly After Dark since that's a shorter book of his too.

Could you give me a little information about your brother? How old is he? What are some of his interests? What books has he loved?

He's 27. He's going to graduate school in California to get his M.A. in English. He loves books/magazines on business and finance as well as anything by Augusten Burroughs. In high school, he was really into fantasy/sci-fi books.

Definitely Sputnik Sweetheart with a recommendation of Dance Dance Dance if he likes it (he will).

Thanks Matthew!!

No worries

I love his Norwegian Wood! That is the only book by him I read. I am hoping to read more. Any suggestions?

I've read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and his memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. WUBC left me really unsettled for days, almost disturbed, so I haven't picked up one of his novels since then. HIs memoir is fantastic, though, even for non-runners.

I started The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but I haven't been able to get into it yet. I took a break and read a couple other (much shorter and quicker) books, so I suppose I'll go back to it now. I loved Norwegian Wood and also enjoyed Kafka on the Shore, so I feel like I will like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle once I get into it. It's just a bit slow at the beginning, I guess...

My two favorites by him are Kafka on the Shore and Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. I really loved Norwegian Wood, but it didn't contain the magical elements that drew me in with his other stories. Next on my list by him is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and then After Dark!

I loved The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I was intimidated at first by the size, but it was actually a really fast read and so far my favorite Murakami. I've also read South of the Border, West of the Sun and After the Quake. I'm not really a fan of his short stories. I feel like he needs more space for the weirdness to actually create a compelling story. I can't wait for 1Q84 (his newest book) to come out in English.

So I never managed to get through The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle last summer (see my post above, #12)...I'm not sure why, but it just didn't click with me. BUT now I'm reading Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and am loving it. Hopefully I'll be able to read all of TWUBC at some point. It's not that there was anything I didn't like, but it just wasn't holding my attention very well. :(

I have read one or two books by this author. I will not read another. In relationships with Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, I couldn't finish it. but, I didn't want to give in to the temptation to use the book as firewood (I don't have a fireplace, irl) so I started reading from the end and just met up where I originally left off.

During that time, I was the most interested as I had been the entire time.

I´ve always wanted to read some books by this author but so far I haven´t managed to find them anywhere.... they don´t have them in the library and I´ve also talked to the biggest bookshop that we have in Austria but they said that they just don´t have the books :-(

KatyO wrote: "I´ve always wanted to read some books by this author but so far I haven´t managed to find them anywhere.... they don´t have them in the library and I´ve also talked to the biggest bookshop that we ..."
Which of his novels would you like to read? I only read Norwegian Wood but today I am about to get my other 4 book package delivery at noon for his other books. I am surprised that the bookshop doesn't have them...I mean, Australia is pretty close to Asia.:D

not Australia, but Austria ;-) That´s quite far from Asia... ;-)

KatyO wrote: "not Australia, but Austria ;-) That´s quite far from Asia... ;-)"
Ha! oops. cause I thought if your were in Australia,I could ship some to you...well. ;P

I read Australia too. :)

Tami wrote: "I read Australia too. :)"
hahaha! all right then. ;)

happens quite often ;-) So I´m getting used to it by now

You could order the books online...try bookdepository.com -- they ship worldwide for free!

Natanya wrote: "You could order the books online...try bookdepository.com -- they ship worldwide for free!"

Natanya:
Thank you so much for the website, it solves most of my problems in getting books I want. It's super expensive and unlikely to purchase here in Asia, thank you. You have made my day!
:)

No problem, glad I could help! Bookdepository is awesome :)

I loved Kafka on the shore: talking cats a sweet love story and well written, however i read it in dutch so i have no idea hew it reads in English.

I have a hard time with this author. I think it is mainly due to my difficulty with reading translated works and losing some of the flow and artistry of an author writing in his/her own language. I did not particularly enjoy Windup Bird Chronicle or 1Q84, though the plots were compelling.

Murakami's still kind of hit or miss for me. The books that I can make it through, I love, but otherwise I end up putting them down and never picking them up again, which is what happened with TWBC. 1Q84 is a bit too daunting for me...I may try to read it over the summer, but I may not. I wish they were available in the individual volumes in the US so it would seem like a shorter book haha.

Lol! What's funny is I read it on the kindle and I had no idea how long the book was until a few days later when I realized I was still only at 20%. I was like...ok, WHAT? Oh boy, I'm going to be here for a while.

Hahah well nice job making it through it, especially since you didn't really like it! TWBC was just too slow for me, even though the plot was interesting, and I'm worried 1Q84 will be the same way.