I managed to snag an ARC copy of Kafka on the Shore--and I loved it. When I look back on all the Murakami I've read so far, some of the stories get lost. I barely remember Sputnik Sweetheart, for example. But there are some that stick (like Hard-boiled Wonderland, A Wild Sheep Chase, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)--and KotS was one of those. I had lots of moments where it was like, "Ah! I get it! How thoughtful, how clever!" It was, for me, a very rewarding read.

The Tokyo subway attack book was haunting and scary and life-affirming all at the same time. The mentality, the idea of community seems to be so different over there, if this book is any indication.

Xiao Bai, which ones did you like least?

I've read both After the Quake and The Elephant Vanishes and really enjoyed them both. A friend sent me The Wind Up Bird Chronicles which I haven't read yet, but am looking forward to. The first two I intended to read around other things, as they're both collections of short stories, but wound up reading both cover to cover on their own.

Robbing a bakery in the middle of the night has never had so much appeal.

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