Sara's reading log

I am a book hoarder and reader. My main genre is SF, but I also love magic realism, fantasy and general fiction. Favorite authors are Iain M. Banks, Ursula K. LeGuin, Haruki Murakami, José Saramago, Isaac Asimov, Ben Aaronovitch and more. My rating system is based on five stars. I rate books based on my expectations and what a books aims to be. This means that the brilliant 'Fahrenheit 451' gets five stars because I thought it would be good, people said it was good, and it was good, but 'A Closed and Common Orbit' also gets five stars because in its series, in its style, I really enjoyed it and was not disappointed.

The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami

  • Started on: 2011-10-31
  • Finished on: 2011-10-31
  • Read in: English
  • Rating: ****-
  • Genre(s): Magical Realism

I love reading the works of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. His stories always are slightly unreal. They take place in our world, but magic and weird happenings are very much a part of it. I love how his characters accept this and go with it.
This is a collection of short stories, all weird, all taking place in Japan. The first story is the base for the later novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (which I loved), and some of the characters reappear multiple times, making the stories somewhat connected. Other than that, many themes reappear, such as insomnia, a love or fear of Sundays, men alone, western foods or music and death in a specific form. I have a feeling you could analyse this book and come away with many new insights, but even as just an entertaining read, it is very good. For those who love Murakami and his style, I highly recommend this book. Four out of five stars.

  • Started on: 2011-10-31
  • Finished on: 2011-10-31
  • Read in: English
  • Rating: ****-
  • Genre(s): Magical Realism

I love reading the works of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. His stories always are slightly unreal. They take place in our world, but magic and weird happenings are very much a part of it. I love how his characters accept this and go with it.
This is a collection of short stories, all weird, all taking place in Japan. The first story is the base for the later novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (which I loved), and some of the characters reappear multiple times, making the stories somewhat connected. Other than that, many themes reappear, such as insomnia, a love or fear of Sundays, men alone, western foods or music and death in a specific form. I have a feeling you could analyse this book and come away with many new insights, but even as just an entertaining read, it is very good. For those who love Murakami and his style, I highly recommend this book. Four out of five stars.