I've just started The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

After hearing a bit about Haruki Murakami every once and a while I decided to pick up one of his books.

Lately I've just been buying books and not getting past the few first chapters and making a large pile. I don't know why, I just can't keep reading them.

But I've made significant progress with this book, and will most likely finish it within the week, despite it being 607 pages.

Anyway, which of his books are your favorite?

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the end of the world.  It was an influence for the anime Haibane Renmei.

Surprising since you can't finish past a few chapters of other books and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles is his most heavy reading book.

My personal favorite is Dance Dance Dance, but thats the last book in a 4 book series consisting of Hear the Wind Sing, "Pinball, 1973", A Wild Sheep Chase.  I use to have a website with .txt for Pinball, 1973 since you'll never be able to find it and I doubt you'll want to pay upwards of 200 dollars for the book, like I did.  The rest of the books are cheap though.

But aside from Dance Dance Dance, I'd suggest some of his short story compendiums like The Elephant Vanishes or Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman.  Personally I have a hard-on for short stories.

It comes off to me as something very easy for me to read. I think it's because I've thought a lot of the things his characters think, and I maybe have a style of personality similar to them. It doesn't come off as difficult or heavy reading at all.

I was trying to read Joyce, Pynchon and Sartre before this so, maybe that's why.

These books sound interesting, but I'm guessing I can't pick them up at my local Borders/Barnes&Nobles?

I liked 'Kafka On The Shore' and 'A Wild Sheep Chase', 'Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World' was ok, bit slow in places though. I'm just about to start on 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicle' as well. Though time for just leisure reading is limited with all the shitty University reading I have to do.

>>5

I'm OP and I work at Borders. We have almost all of his books. Actually, Wind-Up Bird Chronicle just sold out but I store requested 5 copies of it as it's going to be my staff pick.