you will ask yourself multiple times, "should I write a novel?"

Haruki ti adoro e tu lo sai, ma hanno ragione quelli che dicono che la non fiction non è il tuo campo. Oltretutto il libro mi sembra tutto un giustificarsi senza senso, sei bravo e sei di successo (e scrivi da più di 30 anni mentre altri no e tutto questo ti è venuto facile come camminare ok non c'è bisogno di ripeterlo ogni pagina) di scrivere un libro del genere non ne avevi bisogno.

A few days ago I wandered into an Ogaki Bookstore near the Kyoto train station and discovered some books by Murakami I’ve never seen in bookstores back home.

I wondered how I missed this particular gem by Murakami, but as I read the opening pages it all started to make sense…Novelist as a Vocation was published originally in Japan back in 2015 but didn’t make it abroad (in English) until 7 years later in 2022.

I bought the book and canceled all my afternoon plans. What I loved so much about this book in particular was it felt like he was just conversationally chatting with me over endless cups of tea—telling me bits and pieces of his life story on how he went from owning a jazz cafe in Tokyo to stumbling into an unconventional writing career and what he’s learned about himself, his perspective on life, and on being “a writer still in the ring” after so many years.

I’ve tabbed and highlighted this book to the brim and found myself finishing it at 3:30 in the morning the day after I bought it.

((As much as I love hunting down books that have long been on my TBR list...I love it even more when a book I didn't know I so badly wanted to read seeks me out instead.))

I listened to this on audio during my shift at work. It was mildly interesting, and Murakami is an interesting guy! I haven’t read his regular fiction work, but I wanted to listen to this to get some idea of him. He’s kind of quirky (didn’t start writing until he was 29 and thought, while watching a baseball game, “I want to write a novel”) and somewhat a product of his time (middle aged man with somewhat weird/overly sexual views on women) but OVERALL was a cool look into his process, his views on writing/exercise/publishing/Japan, and even some good tidbits of advice. I am definitely looking forward to reading his other work “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” more now. I recommend listening on audio, the narrator was great!

Non-fiction that reads like a lecture. Haruki Murakami describes how he got into writing, his process, inspirations, habits, readership, criticism of his work, and his passion for the craft. A great read. If you love books, you’ll love this.