I really like the way Haruki Murakami puts words together. I’ve immensely enjoyed his other fiction books (most notably, the Wind Up Bird Chronicles & Kafka On the Shore). This book is a memoir of sorts; a year in the life of an author as he trains for the New York Marathon. The book isn’t entirely about running, though that is covered in depth. It is more about how Mr. Murakami writes and lives and trains his body, mind, and spirit. It is a great inspiration to read that there are some days when great runners – professional runners – don’t want to get out of bed and go run. (It is of even greater inspiration that they do anyway). This book is the epitome of what I want the next year to be. I want to listen to my body, but I also want to force my body to do things it doesn’t want to do. I want to run. I want to live. I want to enjoy every second.

192 pages
4/5

This book weighs 3.8 pounds. It is 1344 pages. And it is one of the best books I’ve read this year. The book follows the three Bones – greedy Phoney Bone, the village idiot Smiley Bone, and the hero Fone Bone. After being run out of Boneville they stumble into a valley filled with quiche-loving rat creatures, hibernating dragons, and a mysterious Lord of the Locusts. Hilarity (and all sorts of adventure) ensue.

1344 pages
4/5

I thought “The Help” was a great book, a sort of historical fiction (emphasis on the fiction). The lead characters (two maids and a daughter) have strong distinct voices, and even though the story dealt with a difficult topic (black maids in the heart of the deep south in the 1960s), it was very readable. Hopeful, even.

4/5
464 pages

I really liked this book. It was a fitting end to the series (although I know that it is rumored that there is a 4th book, we’ll probably never see it). The series is a perfect mix of crime and action and mystery and suspense and emotion – and I’m kinda sad to see it end.

576 pages
4/5

“Predictably Irrational” was incredibly interesting and easy to read. One of my favorite anecdotes discussed how if you have two choices that are similar in value (say, a Victorian style house vs a contemporary style house), the very existence of a lesser choice (say, a Victorian style house that needs a roof replaced) will make you more likely to choose the “good” Victorian house. See, isn’t that interesting? The entire book is made up of little experiments like that, and was fascinating to read and ponder.

Highly recommended.
304 pages
4/5

Someone recommended this book on a recent “how do i become a better person” metafilter thread. I usually loathe self help books, but I actually liked this one enough to order a copy for myself. (I can say this because it is a “writing” book and not a “something is wrong with me” book.) I like the way Anne Lamott writes, I liked the stories she used as illustrations, and (most importantly) I liked how it made my mind wander with a purpose.

239 pages

“Little Bee” is a book full of sadness. I started reading the book, thinking that it was about the 16-year-old Nigerian orphan, Little Bee, but the book turned out to be more about the upper class white family her life is intertwined with. The characters are well defined. The book is well written – it never lags, and it has an actual ending that makes the heart swell, and then weep for doing so. But I thought it was a little contrived.

4/5
304 pages

This was another book that I bought on a whim because it was cheap and I needed reading material. I’m a sucker for a good mystery, and this one was excellent. (What do you get when you combine a cold case mystery, a multimillionaire, a journalist, and a hacker? A great novel!) It does have a fair share of sex and sadism and brutality and I wouldn’t recommend it to my mother…but it kept me turning pages until the very end.

608 pages
4/5

Book #7 is “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi. I first ran across this autobiographical “coming of age in Iran” story via the animated film Persepolis (slyt) – and was so taken by the film I decided to read the graphic novel. Even though I knew the major plot points from the film, the book was fascinating. I know very little about the Iranian cultural revolution, and it was neat to read about it in an autobiographical comic book. (Another great autobiographical comic book is Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic – although without the political and historical overtones.)

352 pages
4/5

This book was very hard to read. The descriptions of abuse were vivid and graphic. A heartwrenching story – but not for the faint of heart or spirit. A great example of character development and “voice”.

I wasn’t going to give this one a rating, because it is a complex read…it is not a “good” book and I am not recommending you read it.

192 pages
4.5/5