Spotted on the Upper West Side—looks like the HBO adaptation of The Corrections has started filming.

Spotted on the Upper West Side—looks like the HBO adaptation of The Corrections has started filming.

January 29     21 notes   
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If I had known this was going to wind up (see what I did there?) on Murakami’s Facebook page I would’ve spent longer than ten minutes on it! Still kind of freaking out over this…

If I had known this was going to wind up (see what I did there?) on Murakami’s Facebook page I would’ve spent longer than ten minutes on it! Still kind of freaking out over this…

January 26     50 notes   
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NYC book swap tonight.

7pm at Library Bar, details here.

  • If you’re interested in coming but worried you won’t know anyone, this is not at all a cliquey meetup, plus you have a built in conversation starter—books! 
  • Don’t let social awkwardness stand in the way of free new books. One of your New Year’s resolutions was probably to make new friends, and to that I say carpe diem.
  • If you don’t want to part with any of your precious books, pick up a used one somewhere and come on over.
January 26     40 notes   
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My breakdown of Murakami themes.

My breakdown of Murakami themes.

January 25     605 notes   
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1Q84 Post-Mortem.

Based on the buzz surrounding 1Q84 I expected a departure from Haruki Murakami’s standby themes. I stopped reading him a while ago because after six or seven novels it felt like I was reading the same repackaged story, the innovative and exciting qualities that struck me after first discovering him now seemed stale. Within the first few hundred pages of 1Q84 I found myself distracted by mentions of cats or ears or cooking spaghetti, like playing a literary version of I Spy. 

Anyway, 1Q84 is a thriller and was so creepy and disturbing that reading it before bed started to interfere with my sleep. Murakami is an expert at building tension and the prospect of resolutions and explanations for the bizarre happenings kept me going through all 923 pages. The ending didn’t provide the satisfaction I was looking for and felt anti-climactic—the main characters ran away from the danger rather than facing it head on. 

If you’re new to Murakami or have only read a few of his books I would recommend 1Q84, assuming you have the stomach for 900+ page books. If you’ve read a lot of his work and are expecting something fresh it might be best to take a pass. This is not to say I think the book is uninteresting or poorly written, it’s a great piece of work and I have a huge amount of respect for Murakami’s talent—Kafka on the Shore is one of my all time favorites.

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January 23     78 notes   
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via esquared
esquared:

Ms. Wharton’s childhood home, at 14 West 23rd Street, in 1880.
(now houses a Starbucks, of course)

Edith Wharton Turns 150 (NYT)

esquared:

Ms. Wharton’s childhood home, at 14 West 23rd Street, in 1880.

(now houses a Starbucks, of course)

Edith Wharton Turns 150 (NYT)

January 20     29 notes   
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via thebronzemedal
thebronzemedal:

Hey guys! We’re having a bookswap next week. You should be there!

It’s been a while but we’re back!

thebronzemedal:

Hey guys! We’re having a bookswap next week. You should be there!

It’s been a while but we’re back!

January 19     131 notes   
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1Q84.

Another race against time: I am halfway through 1Q84 with 400 pages to go and it is due back at the library on Saturday. Who knew checking out library books could be stressful? I have a lot of Thoughts and Opinions on Mr. Murakami’s latest, review to come!

January 11     16 notes   
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