1Q84 (the Q stands for QuestionMark) is typical Murakami. Very lyrical writing (thanks to Jay Rubin – who translated it into English) and a multifaceted underlying story with parallel universes (1984 & 1q84) that are somehow connected. OK – so there were some parts of this book that really creeped me out (hint: basically all of the sex scenes – most of them are awkward and one in particular was super disturbing). The book is a bit on the long side, and the “Little People” are a “Little Annoying”, but man, what an imagination Murakami has. It is a gift I’m glad he shares with the world.

On a purely physical level, the book is gorgeous. It has a very thin ricepaper-like dustcover and super smooth newspaper-like pages. I probably like the book more than I should because of these details.

944 pages
3/5

update: here is a nytimes book review article that is worth reading

Predictably, I loved Anthony Bourdain’s tell-most book about the professional cooking world. The book goes through the formation of Anthony Bourdain’s career – from his first experience of amazing food, through his drug addled coming of age in kitchens up and down the east coast, to culinary school, a string of failed restaurants, and eventually – a lucky break that opened the door to famous kitchen. The book is full of stories about kitchens and restaurants, but is also has some brotherly advice about how to outfit a home kitchen and why you shouldn’t order fish in a restaurant on a Monday or open a restaurant just because your friends love your cooking.

324 pages
4/5

I do love a book that saves its surprises for the very end. This is the story of a group of scientists deep in the Brazilian rain forest, working on producing a drug that will Change The World. A doctor is sent to check on the progress, and word comes back that the doctor is dead. So our hero Marina is sent to find out about the dead doctor, and she finds out more than she expected. I’m not sure the excitement at the end of the book is worth the dreariness it took to get there, but it is one of the best endings I’ve read in a while.

368 pages
3/5

This is easily the best memoir I’ve read all year (and you know I have a thing for memoirs). Andre Dubus the third tells his story in a very honest, very lyrical prose. He writes of growing up rough in Boston, living in poor neighborhoods after his parents got divorced. He writes of the moment that turned him into a fighter – when his brother got beat up on his front steps and he didn’t do anything about it. He writes of the conscious decision to become a tough kid, and how he started working out more and backing down less. He writes of how fighting affected him and how he started boxing. He writes of his father and how their relationship changed into friendship, even though his father never really understood how his leaving the family made life difficult for his children. His memories are written in such a way that it made me feel like a spectator in the shadows.

5/5
400 pages