Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge

The Reading Challenge That Wasn't

2014-08-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

My sincere apologies to everyone who joined in the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge at some point over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, for various health and family reasons, I was unable to find the time, or emotional energy, to be a proper host, or any kind of host at all. Although real life has finally calmed down, a year-long challenge is not something that I can envision hosting at this time. If there is any interest, I may bring back a shorter version of the challenge at some point in the future, but for now I will be taking the blog offline, as well as deleting the Haruki Murakami Challenge Facebook Page.

If you are looking for more information about Haruki Murakami and his works, Exorcising Ghosts is a great resource. Also, as you are probably aware, the English translation of Murakami's latest novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage was finally released earlier this month. So if you are looking for someone to talk about the book with, Dolce Bellezza is currently hosting a read-along.

Thank you for sharing your love of Murakami with me and all the other participants. I apologize again for any inconvenience.

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2013

2013-01-23T18:10:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who joined the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge for 2012. My apologies for being such an absent host last year. It was a year of big adjustments, but now that life has settled down I'm looking forward to spending some quality time in the pages of Murakami's stories once again. I hope you'll join me!

This is the sign-up post for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2013. If you've taken part before, the challenge "rules" are essentially the same. And as always, the goal of the challenge is simply to encourage you to discover, or re-discover, the unique story-telling of Haruki Murakami. It's a really flexible challenge and all you have to do to participate is read at least one book by Haruki Murakami in 2013. However, there are several levels of participation to choose from, for those that want to immerse themselves more in Murakami's surreal worlds.

Levels of participation:
Hajime - Read one book
Sheep Man - Read 3 books
Toru - Read 5 books
Nakata - Read 7 books
Sumire - Read 10+ books
Super-frog - Read everything Murakami has written! (that is available in English, or your preferred language) For a list of the books available in English, visit the Books Page.

Things to keep in mind:
*Whether you're a complete newbie, or already a huge Murakami fan, everyone is welcome to join in.
*You can join in anytime throughout the year.
*Feel free to grab one of the Murakami Challenge badges to display on your own site, but please save them to your own computer first.
*You don't have to have a blog to participate. You can also share your thoughts on Goodreads, LibraryThing, Tumblr, Twitter, etc. Or provide a guest post here!
*Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
*Books should be read between January 1st and December 31st, 2013.
*Please share your reviews of the Murakami books you read for the challenge. This is optional but we'd love to hear what you thought. I also welcome you to submit reviews to any of Murakami's books or stories that you have read and reviewed previously. Reviews in any language are welcome. More on the 'Submit a review' page.
*Books can be in any format: paper, ebooks, audio.
*Rereads are allowed, and encouraged.
*There will be prizes (details to be decided).
And most importantly, have fun!

Sign up for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge in the Mr. Linky below. If you have an introductory post about the challenge, please link to it directly. Otherwise, you can simply add a link to your blog's home page. If you don't have a blog, you can also sign up with your Tumblr, Goodreads, Library Thing, Twitter, or Facebook account. If you don't wish to link up any personal site, please simply leave a comment with your name (and contact information) on this post -- in the comment section -- NOT the Mr. Linky.

Now that you've signed up, don't forget to come back here to the challenge blog to add your reviews, and follow the blog to be notified of giveaways and other Murakami-related news throughout the year. You can also follow the Murakami Challenge Twitter account, or the Murakami Challenge Facebook Page for updates.

Happy reading!

P.S. Please note that I am not affiliated with Haruki Murakami or his publishers. I'm simply a fan who decided to host a reading challenge, because one can never have enough Murakami, right? ;)

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2012

2011-12-27T08:39:00.003-08:00

Thanks to everyone who joined the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge for 2011. It was so great to see people all over the world reading Murakami. I know I still have several Murakami stories that I'd like to read, or re-read, so are YOU ready to keep reading too?

This is the sign-up post for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2012. The challenge "rules" are almost the same as the 2011 challenge, but please note a change regarding the sign-up list below. And as before, the goal of the challenge is simply to encourage you to discover, or re-discover, the unique story-telling of Haruki Murakami. It's a really flexible challenge and all you have to do to participate is read at least one book by Haruki Murakami in 2012. However, there are several levels of participation to choose from, for those that want to immerse themselves more in Murakami's surreal worlds.

Levels of participation:
Hajime - Read one book
Sheep Man - Read 3 books
Toru - Read 5 books
Nakata - Read 7 books
Sumire - Read 10+ books
Super-frog - Read everything Murakami has written! (that is available in English, or your preferred language) For a list of the books available in English, visit the Books Page.

Things to keep in mind:
*The goal is simply to read something/ANYthing by Haruki Murakami.
*Whether you're a complete newbie, or already a huge Murakami fan, everyone is welcome to join in.
*You can join in anytime throughout the year.
*Feel free to grab one of the Murakami Challenge badges to display on your own site, but please save them to your own computer first. You'll notice a new button at the top of this post, but I've also updated the previous badges for 2012 if you prefer to use one of the "original" ones.
*There is no need to list the books you plan to read in advance, and even if you do, you can change them, or your level of participation, at any time.
*You don't have to have a blog to participate. You can also share your thoughts on Goodreads, LibraryThing, Tumblr, Twitter, etc. Or provide a guest post here!
*Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
*Books should be read between January 1st and December 31st, 2012.
*Please share your reviews of the Murakami books you read for the challenge. This is not required but we'd love to hear what you thought. I also welcome you to submit reviews to any of Murakami's books or stories that you have read and reviewed previously. And reviews in any language are welcome. More on the 'Submit a review' page.
*Books can be in any format: paper, ebooks, audio.
*Rereads are allowed, and encouraged.
*There will be prizes (details to be decided).
And most importantly, have fun!

Sign up for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge in the Mr. Linky below. If you have an introductory post about the challenge, please link to it directly. Otherwise, you can simply add a link to your blog's home page. If you don't have a blog, you can also sign up with your Tumblr, Goodreads, Library Thing, Twitter, or Facebook account. In a change from the 2011 challenge, please DO NOT use the Murakami Challenge blog's URL to sign up. If you don't wish to link up any personal site, please simply leave a comment with your name (and contact information) on this post -- in the comment section, NOT the Mr. Linky. Any sign-ups that link back to this blog will be deleted.

Now that you've signed up, don't forget to come back here to the challenge blog to add your reviews, and to follow the blog to be notified of giveaways and other Murakami-related news throughout the year. You can also follow the Murakami Challenge Twitter account, or 'Like' the Murakami Challenge Facebook Page for updates.

Happy reading!

P.S. Please note that I am not affiliated with Haruki Murakami or his publishers. I'm simply a fan who decided to host a reading challenge, because one can never have enough Murakami. ;)

1Q84 - What's the verdict?

2011-12-09T02:18:00.001-08:00

Original title: 1Q84 (ichi-kyu-hachi-yon)
Longlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize.

The year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo.

Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment and, with the traffic at a stand-still, the driver proposes a solution. She agrees, but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a top-secret mission, and her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult.

Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeen-year-old girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences and moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true?

Both Aomame and Tengo notice that the world has grown strange; both realise that they are indispensable to each other. While their stories influence one another, at times by accident and at times intentionally, the two come closer and closer to intertwining.

After what seemed a very long wait, the English translation of 1Q84 has now been out for a little over a month. And of course, it was available in some other languages around the world even earlier. So if you've had a chance to read it, tell us what you thought of it.

Is it his best one yet? Or were you disappointed?

How does 1Q84 compare to Murakami's other stories that you've read?

Who was your favourite character? Favourite scene? Any favourite quotes?

Were you satisfied with how the story ended? Would you like to see the story continue (Book Four perhaps)?

Or if you have any other thoughts or questions about the book, don't hesitate to bring them up.

Warning: For anyone who hasn't yet read the book, the comments may contain spoilers so please proceed at your own risk!

Here are some reviews of 1Q84 that have already been submitted to the Murakami Reviews Page by challenge participants:

Sam Still Reading - Books One & Two | Book Three
Tony's Reading List - Book One | Book Two
Book Dilettante

And in the process of reading:
Musings du Jour & Notes from Doug

How about you? If you've posted your thoughts about 1Q84 elsewhere (on your blog, Tumblr, Goodreads, Library Thing, etc.) let me know and I'll link to it here. You can either leave a comment with a link on this post, or send an email to murakamichallenge AT gmail DOT com.

We're also talking about 1Q84 over on In Spring it is the Dawn, so feel free to join us there as well.

For a list of reviews from mainstream print media, visit Exorcising Ghosts: Haruki Murakami Resources website.

1Q84 (in English) at: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | BookDepository.co.uk | BookDepository.com

Murakami Novella Giveaway

2011-11-13T06:36:00.000-08:00

While Murakami's latest book has finally been published in English translation, our next giveaway goes back to where it all started with Murakami's first two novellas, Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973. These stories are often hard to find in English translation outside of Japan so here is your chance.

Details:
*One winner will receive a copy each of Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973.
*Any participants of the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge are welcome to enter. The giveaway is open worldwide but you must be a participant.
*The giveaway will close on December 10, 2011.
*The winner will be contacted by email. If the winner fails to respond within 3 days, an alternate name will be selected.
*To enter, you must complete this form:

Murakami Novella Giveaway

NOTE: Comments on this post will not count as valid entries.

If you have any questions, please let me know.
Good luck!

P.S. The winners of the Norwegian Wood T-shirts received their shirts over the summer. Theresa at sunshine spilling over even posted about winning hers: to the woods and back.

The Murakami Novella Giveaway is now closed.
The winner is Emma of Boktradition.

The answer to the question on the entry form:
Murakami was inspired to write his first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, while watching a baseball game.

Norwegian Wood T-shirt Giveaway

2011-06-23T07:21:00.005-07:00

This giveaway was originally supposed to take place back in March, but then the huge earthquake and tsunami struck, and life changed forever for many people. At last though, it's time for our first Murakami Challenge giveaway. For our first giveaway, we have 2 Norwegian Wood T-shirts from Uniqlo that came out in conjunction with the release of the film.

Giveaway details:
*Anyone who has joined the Murakami Challenge is eligible to enter.
(If you haven't yet, there's still plenty of time. All you have to do to take part is read at least one book by Haruki Murakami by the end of the year. Click on the link for more info).

*There will be two winners. You may only enter to win one shirt, either black or white.
Note: Both T-shirts are Men's Size Large. (Lying flat, width = 53 cm./ height = 70 cm.)

*The Giveaway will close on July 15, 2011. Winners will be chosen using random.org, and notified by email. Winners will have 3 days to respond or an alternate name will be chosen.

*To enter, you must fill out this form:

Norwegian Wood T-shirt Giveaway

If you have any questions, just let me know! And good luck.

This giveaway is now closed. The winners are:
Theresa of sunshine spilling over
Brian of City Lights, Receding

The answer to the question on the entry form:
Who did Toru call at the end of Norwegian Wood? Midori

Stay tuned for a new giveaway this fall!

Three months later

2011-06-12T01:24:00.005-07:00

Three months have passed since the devastating earthquake and tsunami took place on March 11th in the Tohoku region of Japan. My apologies that the blog here has been quiet during this time. Although we weren't directly affected, for quite awhile, it was hard to think of much else, or read much of anything other than news reports and updates on the situation in northern Japan.

However, life has a way of moving on, and I'm glad to see that you all have been continuing to read and submit your reviews of Murakami's books. In fact, Haruki Murakami's After the Quake is one of the books that got me reading again. The stories in that collection were inspired by a different earthquake, The Great Hanshin earthquake that occurred in 1995, and is only on the periphery of the stories. Yet they certainly resonated now after the most recent disaster.

Speaking of short stories, there have been several collections, both fiction and non-fiction, released in the last three months to raise money for the survivors. You may have already heard of these but in case you haven't come across them, here are a few bookish ways you can help Japan get back on its feet. The proceeds from each of these books goes to the Japanese Red Cross to aid in the recovery effort. Just click on the links or banners for more information on the books and how to purchase.

2:46 Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake

Write for Tohoku: Stories of Japan

Pray for Japan

Shaken: Stories for Japan

New Sun Rising: Stories for Japan

This one isn't available quite yet, but should be soon.

Plus a portion of the proceeds from Banana Yoshimoto's newest book to be translated into English, The Lake, will also go to Japan Disaster Relief.

Have you read any of these?
And if you know of any other Japan aid anthologies that I haven't mentioned here, please let us know in the comments.

Since cats often show up in Murakami's stories, I'll also just mention Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support, which has been working very hard and doing a wonderful job to rescue and care for as many animals, that have been orphaned or abandoned due to the quake, as it can.

Stay tuned for more news and our first Murakami Challenge giveaway soon.

Norwegian Wood film opens in UK cinemas soon

2011-02-26T04:19:00.002-08:00

The film version of Haruki Murakami's best-selling novel, Norwegian Wood (ノルウェイの森) was first shown at the Venice Film Festival in September last year where it was nominated for the Golden Lion award. It then opened in Japan in December and has already opened in several other countries in Asia, Europe and elsewhere. However, it will finally officially open in the UK on March 11th, 2011.

You've probably already seen the trailer, but if you haven't yet, here is the official English-subtitled trailer. Thanks to Shellie at Layers of Thought for the link.

For more information:
Japanese Official Site
UK Official Site
Norwegian Wood on IMDb

Are you looking forward to the film?
If you've seen it, what did you think?

Release date for the English version of 1Q84 set at last!

2011-01-28T21:57:00.007-08:00

Finally, the official release date for 1Q84 in English has been set for October 25, 2011. If you follow Knopf's Haruki Murakami Facebook page, you'll no doubt have already seen this, but Paul Bogaards, Knopf's publicity director, revealed the date on Twitter yesterday. As you know, it was originally published in Japanese in three separate volumes. Knopf's English edition will contain all three books in a single volume. Book One and Two, translated by Jay Rubin, and Book Three by Philip Gabriel. As well, when asked whether the English version would be cut down at all in translation, as The Wind-up Bird Chronicle was, Paul Bogaards replied, "It will be the whole magilla." Good news, indeed!

Are you all as excited as I am?

Follow on Twitter:
Paul Bogaards (@paulbogaards)
Alfred A. Knopf (@AAKnopf)
Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge (@Murakamic)

Welcome to the challenge

2011-01-23T22:46:00.006-08:00

Welcome everyone to the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2011. If you haven't seen the sign-up list lately, we're up to over 400 people now that have joined the challenge to read at least one book by Haruki Murakami this year. Wow! Thanks must go to Alfred A. Knopf and Vintage Books, the English publishers of Murakami's books, who mentioned this challenge on their Haruki Murakami Facebook Fan Page. I know many of you found your way here due to that, or also from the Salon.com article, Be a Better Reader in 2011. Thank you as well to everyone who has added one of the challenge buttons, or mentioned the challenge, on their own blogs or other personal sites. It's great to see your enthusiasm, and what has been most exciting for me is to see how truly beloved Murakami is worldwide. People from all over the world have signed up and I love that this has become such an international reading challenge! The power of literature to cross boundaries! There's no deadline for joining, so you're more than welcome to sign-up anytime.

A few bits and pieces:

The Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge now also has a Facebook Fan Page. Click on the link, or the widget in the right sidebar to visit.

I've had a few other language-related, and other questions regarding the challenge so I thought I'd share the answers here in case anyone else had the same questions.

First of all, the main language of the blog is English because it's my native language and sadly the only one I can write in with any fluency. However, I've now added a Google Translate button to the right sidebar, over there at the top, so feel free to use that to read the blog in your preferred language. Also, I'm not affiliated with Haruki Murakami, nor do I work for any of his publishers. I'm simply a bookworm, and a Murakami fan, who thought it would be fun to encourage others to read some Murakami along with me this year.

Can you submit reviews written in languages other than English? Absolutely! We'd love to have you share your thoughts on these books, in any language. I'll be starting to organise the reviews by book in the next few weeks, and I'll simply make a note beside reviews in other languages. Plus don't forget that you can also submit reviews to books you've read prior to 2011. Enter the links to your reviews on the Submit a review page.

You're welcome to write your reviews on any public online site (Blogger, Wordpress, tumblr, Goodreads, Library Thing, etc. etc.). If you don't have a public site, for example, just a personal Facebook account, you are welcome to share your thoughts on any of Murakami's books on the Discussion Board at the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge Facebook Fan Page. You are also very welcome to guest post here on this blog. Whether you have your own site or not, just let me know and I'll be happy to have you contribute a review, or other discussion on Murakami-related topics here. Of course, writing reviews is not a requirement to take part in the challenge, so don't feel you have to.

Last but not least, this weekend I went through the sign-up list and have added active blogs to the Blogroll of Participants, again over in the right sidebar. It's possible I may have missed someone, so if your blog isn't listed, and you would like to be added, please let me know. I'll leave the list sorted alphabetically for now so you can easily check to see if yours is there. There is a small "Show All" link at the bottom which you can click to see the full list.

If you've signed up with your Facebook account, feel free to "Like" the Fan Page to get your avatar listed, if you so desire.

Also, just a note that several people simply used this blog (murakamichallenge.blogspot.com), or a general home page link (like facebook.com) as their link when they signed up. If that was your intention, that's fine. Your screen name can be taken as your wish to participate, but you should know we can't otherwise know who you are, or follow along with your reading. If you'd like to change your sign-up link, again just let me know.

Well, I think that about covers everything for today. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact me (murakamichallenge AT gmail DOT com).

Happy reading!

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2011

2010-12-22T01:10:00.007-08:00

I'd been playing with the idea for a while of possibly hosting a Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge next year. Then when I mentioned it on Twitter a couple of weeks or so ago, quite a few people expressed interest, so here we are. The goal of the challenge is simply to encourage you to discover, or re-discover, the unique story-telling of Haruki Murakami. It's a really flexible challenge and all you have to do to participate is read at least one book by Haruki Murakami in 2011. (If you're planning on reading 1Q84 when the English translation comes out next fall, that's enough to complete the challenge!). However, there are several levels of participation to choose from, for those that want to immerse themselves more in Murakami's surreal worlds.

Levels of participation:
Hajime - Read one book
Sheep Man - Read 3 books
Toru - Read 5 books
Nakata - Read 7 books
Sumire - Read 10+ books
Super-frog - Read everything Murakami has written! (that is available in English, or your preferred language) For a list of the books available in English, visit the Books Page.

Things to keep in mind:
*The goal is simply to read something/ANYthing by Haruki Murakami.
*Whether you're a complete newbie, or already a huge Murakami fan, everyone is welcome to join in.
*You can join in anytime.
*Feel free to grab either of the buttons but please save them to your own computer first.
*There is no need to list your books in advance, and even if you do, you can change them any time.
*You can also change your level of participation at any time because sometimes life just gets in the way.
*You don't have to have a blog to participate. You can also share your thoughts on Goodreads, LibraryThing, etc.
*Crossovers with other challenges are allowed. (Don't forget that anything you read for this challenge also counts for Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge).
*Books should be read between January 1st and December 31st, 2011.
(However, I welcome you to submit reviews to any of Murakami's books or stories that you have read and reviewed previously. More on the 'Submit a review' page.)
*Books can be in any format: paper, ebooks, audio.
*Rereads are allowed, and encouraged.
*There will be prizes (details to be decided).
*And most importantly, have fun!

Sign up for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge in the Mr. Linky below. If you have an introductory post about the challenge, feel free to link to it directly. This is not required though so you may simply add a link to your blog's home page to show your intention to join the challenge. If you don't have a blog, you can leave your name and contact information in a comment on this post.

Note: Mr. Linky seems to be having some hiccups at the moment. It can take a couple of tries for your link to go through. Let me know if you continue to have any problems and I can add you in. Thanks for your patience.

Now that you've signed up, don't forget to come back here to the challenge blog to add your reviews, and to follow the blog to be notified of giveaways and other Murakami news throughout the year.

Happy reading!