Good thread, olor1n. I was meaning to make a similar one, but not sure how well it would be received.

My book tastes are certainly more "pop" than some of the academic luminaries we have here. I'm working on these two now:


I recently got into minimalist running to try to counteract my planar fasciitis, so a friend recommended this to me. It's about the writer's encounters with a tribe of ultra-distance runners from South America. It reads like a movie -- very fast read, and the narratives culminate into this big ultra-marathon event in the Copper Canyons. Pretty interesting if you're curious about minimalist/barefoot running, or marathons in general. There is a chapter that goes into the history of the running shoe, starting with the Nike Cortez, and how runner's injuries have increased exponentially with the advancements in running shoe technology. It calls into question the philosophy behind running science and typical running shoe designs (more padding = good) and makes a case to the notion that less = more.


Cool laymans physics book. He talks about the history of the universe, and all things microscopic and macroscopic. It's gotten to the point in the book that tackles quantum physics, and I'm finding it a bit too theoretical to hold my interest at this point. I may end up not finishing it.

Any Haruki Murakami fans here? In general, his works would fall under magical realism.

I've read all his books, currently on IQ84 and it's been a slight disappointment so far because of the style changes. Supposedly the story goes downhill after the 2nd book.

I read Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World recently and found it enjoyable. Didn't find it utterly captivating and read through it in patches while plowing through other books.

Wonderland is kinda like the Zafon novel I'm reading at the moment in that there's a distinct sense of place, although some of it is fantastical. There's also subtle and clever humour throughout, in the character's observations and the absurd situations they find themselves in. Wonderland just became predictable and a bit of a chore towards the end.

I think I'll try finding a copy of "Shadow" then, since that's probably by favorite genre. Thanks!

About Wonderland, it was one of Murakami's earlier works so I his style wasn't as polished, and I agree it tended to get plodding in certain parts. I think a good introduction to his work would be one of his short story anthologies (Blind Willow Sleeping Woman or Elephant Vanishes), along with Norwegian Wood, which is my personal favorite among his novels. It's also the only one that's basically a love story, grounded in reality (Tokyo in the 60's) and without any magical happenings.

Any fans of Krasznahorkai, Canetti, or Musil? Beckett? Borges?

If so I really recommend checking out Danilo Kis and Natasza Goerke.