21 July 2008

Ask Murakami anything!

I wish I were cool enough to be on the Haruki Murakami train. The truth is, I have been meaning to get into his works for a while, particularly after seeing an amazing theatrical adaptation of some short stories from THE ELEPHANT VANISHES at Lincoln Center. For me, he's like the TV show "Lost": I know as soon as I get into it wild horses won't be able to drag me away, so I'd better get all my other affairs in order before I even start.* See also, "Reading Murakami... enabled me to write a publishable novel." That's powerful stuff!

But for my Murakami maniacs, you should head over to Time and ask the author a question for their "10 Questions" feature. I've been a Time subscriber for ages and between you and me, sometimes the questions are lame. Only you can keep millions of readers entertained by your non-lame questions! (The best I've got so far is whether his new nonfiction book, WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING, is an homage to Raymond Carver's WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE. But the answer has to be yes... right?) If you need a primer, this Times Online profile has some facts.

*Well, except that I read "Lost" spoilers online so I'm not That Person -- but I don't spoil myself for books. Wishful thinking?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I actually just made a little noise of excitement and embarrassed myself at the library. I have been a long time fan of Murakami and will definitely have to think of a question of two. If you're interested, I would love to read one of his novels "with you." When you decide on one do let me know.

Ellen said...

We should definitely do that! I'm open to any of them although I hear Norwegian Wood is a great place to start. Have you read that one?