What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was pleasant enough to read if you're not a runner but are a Murakami reader (like me). It seems like he ran out of things to discuss despite the book's short length since he started talking about swimming as well.

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The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the 8th Murakami book I've read and definitely in the top three for me along with Norwegian Wood and After Dark. The short of it is that Toru Okada is having some angst after leaving his legal job (I relate to that!) when things get very magically weird and his wife leaves him in mysterious circumstances. Interwoven with that is a bunch of truly horrific World War II stories from the perspective of Japanese soldiers in Mongolia, China, and Russia.

Beyond that, it's really difficult to explain what I think the book's deeper meaning is about. It's pretty complex; to give you a rough idea, it's very long and I can't actually think of any scenes that could have been cut. I pretty much always think editors should have slashed down long books. Unlike many Murakami novels, it actually mostly made sense even though it was full of literal magic. I wasn't prepared for such an in-depth exploration of violence, and I think this fantasy book also deserves a horror classification.


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Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I feel like the allegorical lobster in the lobster pot. I love the way Murakami writes; it lulls me. That's probably why as this book got worse and worse I just kept right on cooking until I was almost at the end and realized what a big mistake I'd made. I'm puzzled over the good reviews.

Yes, there are some great sentences, mostly provided by Oshima who manages the library, but for me, they're insufficiently deep or life-changing to make up for the trainwreck of a plot. Yes, partly the plot is a retelling Oedipus, but the original story of Oedipus makes perfect sense even if it's outlandish. This is nonsensical, outlandish, and over-explained as a myth or analogy.

I also feel like it fails as a good fantasy book. First of all, I never appreciate it when the fantasy element of the story sneaks up on me, as this book starts out as magical realism and then all the sudden goes full low-fantasy ala American Gods with lots of characters over-explaining things that make no sense. More importantly, there are countless rules to the world that don't have any overarching concept. Perhaps it's a blend of Japanese mythology I'm unaware of, and even though I am familiar with the hungry ghost concept in Buddhism, and the magical powers of all objects of Shintoism, there's still a lot of randomnesses that isn't coming across to me.

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Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Murakami books are all over the place. It's not a consistent standard, and you can't predict if you'll like one based on the others you've read. But I enjoy how very readable his books are. I find myself flying through his books, even the ones I think are terrible. This was my favorite one I've read so far, but I still didn't love it-- the ending was especially bothersome to me, but I did love parts of it. At first you think, oh I hope this doesn't turn into a laundry list of who this vaguely boring male character sleeps with, and then for a second you think- oh it's so wonderful, it's about life, and loneliness, and death-- and then bam he hits you with his laundry list. But for the middle of the book, I give it 4 stars.

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The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this throughout, but it finished in a way that could technically be an ending but isn't because there's supposed to be a sequel. Has a YA feel to it, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it for younger people cause of the drug use and graphic descriptions of violence (didn't seem scary for adults though).

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Forest Bathing by Qing Li

Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Qing Li
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a short book, but it's chockful of information. I couldn't tell how strictly scientific the advice is but it seems worth a shot to connect with nature and give it a try. Since the author discusses a number of Japanese forests I think this book is especially helpful for someone living in or visiting Japan. There are also many tips that can be applied even if you're not in Japan though.

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Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki, Eriko Sugita (Translator)

Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Short quick read. Has a lot of interesting thoughts. Equal parts: Marie Kondō, Minimalism, behavioral economics research, Fight Club quotes. Doesn't pack the life-changing punch of Marie Kondo, in my opinion, (and here's another minimalist without children), but certainly has more information and advice than MK.

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The Analects by Confucius

The Analects by Confucius


This is a great translation. I only compared it to one other but it far exceeded the other translation. The language in the Analects is clear and then followed by short paragraphs to explain the missing context or the connotation of particular Chinese words. I enjoyed the number of passages focused on education and respect, though the ones about the historical politicians held less interest for me.

(I don't rate religious or semi-religious texts.)

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Spark Joy by Marie Kondō

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up by Marie Kondō
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Basically the same as the first book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. The additional illustrations in this one weren't sufficient to make it substantially more useful. (It had a few little drawings of how to fold or store things.)

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Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What the what? loved a few parts of this novel, such as the importance of these early friendships to Tsukuru. I could relate strongly to that part of the narrative. And the unexpected way in which the kids grew into adults. I also loved his use of color and music in the book. And his narratives about trains, though maybe he was piling too much on at that point.

I also hated a few parts. The characters of the young friends were not sufficiently developed. I felt like I understood the adult version of the characters a lot better but I really needed to connect with the younger versions to care about them. What's the deal with the little bag on the piano? Why is the magical realism not magical or real? I am so confused.

The entire issue of the accusation is very strange to read about in this unique cultural moment.Why does everyone just believe Tsukuru? Especially having an insight into his private thoughts, I'm not sure I believe Tsukuru. I was really anxious throughout the second half of the book.

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The I Ching or Book of Changes by Anonymous

The I Ching or Book of Changes by Anonymous


This is the strangest book yet. It’s an ancient choose your own adventure prophesy book. The prophesy are written in the form of indecipherable aphorisms. Perhaps a lot is lost in translation.

“If you abandon jaws of it all and good fortune will prevail...”

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The Way of the Bodhisattva by Śāntideva

The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara by Śāntideva
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some interesting things to think about. Some weird stuff. Short but dense. Read it because Dan Harris said Dalai Lama recommended it. Hm.

I was particularly interested in some (accidental?) overlap with Christianity (love thy enemy) and modern particle physics.

As one reviewer mentioned, this is definitely not an introductory text for Buddhism but a more advanced book, and despite the previous Buddhism books I've read, a substantial amount was probably just above my head.

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The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some spoilers ahead.

First, my current mental state. I lost my father 7 years ago. He was 61, and I was 31 at the time. Last week- but it feels like a million terrible years - I lost my mother. She was 60, and I am now an old-feeling 38. My parents didn't have any other children, and I have virtually no family left from my childhood. I say this in part because it feels weird that I haven't told my "Goodreads friends" but also because it strongly affected how I responded to this book.

I picked this book up knowing it had a romantic component and hoping to take my mind off things with a Jane Austen-like repressed love. Nope. Steven's father dies. Kenton's maternal-figure aunt dies leaving her with no family. Rip. My. Heart. Out.

Then it just gets worse. Just like real life! Very sad, very moving, and real.

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Everything Belongs to Us by Yoojin Grace Wuertz

Everything Belongs to Us by Yoojin Grace Wuertz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At the beginning, I didn't think I'd like this book, but as the complications piled on, I appreciated how much like real life this book was. That's not something I encounter that much in literature, possibly because even when an author is trying to do it- which is not most of the time- it's probably very difficult to achieve.

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Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami

Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the 4th book in Murakami's Rat series and I read them all in order: Hear the Wind Sing, Pinball, A Wild Sheep Chase, and this one Dance Dance Dance. This is the best one of the series in terms of the plot making some sense, but Wind/Pinball is the best in terms of deep thoughts in the book. A Wild Sheep Chase was especially clumsy with the magical realism and Dance, Dance, Dance improves on this aspect, but it doesn't feel like it's enough to rescue the series. Overall, I wouldn't say it's a great series.

Didn't buy the whole Yumioshi "love" story in this either. (Not related to my review but the title has almost nothing to do with the book either which is a disappointment.)

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Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Talks a lot about the interconnectedness of humans? For this reason, we should prevent suffering in the world...

I guess this is an alternate argument to the Christians' fundamental sanctity of human life as a reason for human rights.



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The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Even though this covers basic mindfulness and meditation really well, it's not a good starting place for the average American. It is a great book to revisit if you're already acquainted with the scientific evidence that mindfulness and meditation work, and can even be used in your meditations by following along the text.

As a starting point, I recommend The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt and Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation by Sharon Salzburg. If you're not religious or spiritual Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris would be good too (though maybe skip it if you are religious).

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Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice by Shunryu Suzuki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I took a Buddhism class in college and this was part of our required reading. At the time, it made no sense to me. This is because this book did not explain how to meditate. Since then, I've read books about how to meditate, I've attempted meditation (hundreds of times at this point), and I've read about consciousness. So now it makes sense. Even so, it was a horrible choice for an introductory Buddhism course with no discussion of meditation. It's also a poor book if you haven't already learned about meditation and attempted it, especially because he doesn't give any explicit directions about meditation beyond sitting in the correct posture. Meditation itself is barely implied. You only know that what he's talking about if you already have a background in it.

There's no explanation of how Zen is a school of (East Asian) Mahayana Buddhism, or that there are even branches of Buddhism with different beliefs. Is zazen just another word for meditation or is there something unique about it? Meditation with no purpose? I can't really figure it out from the text. You will acquire something from this practice but you can't practice it in order to acquire something or it is not zazan? Ah, koans even where we don't expect them. "Intellectually my talk makes no sense." Well, I agree with that.

Despite the name, this is an intermediate or advanced meditation book, with an emphasis on zen practice specifically which like I said is just one kind. There are some interesting thoughts here worth considering. Some of it reminds me a lot of Christianity.

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