One of my great bafflements about books is why some capture the public’s imagination and others languish in Amazon’s cellars.  Haruki Murakami’s latest novel, The Colorless Tsukuru and His Years of Pilgrimage sold over a million copies the first week it was in print.  I’m a

The other evening, PBS news featured an interview with Lev Grossman who has published the 3rd book in his fantasy trilogy.  The new title is, The Magician’s Land.  What’s interesting about the author’s work is that it’s targeted to adults rather than to young readers.  Gros

Haruki Murakami’s new book, Colorless Tsukuru and His Years of Pilgrimage, is receiving critical acclaim, most recently from Rivka Galchen.  (“The Monkey did it,” By Rivka Galchen, Harper’s Magazine, October 2014, pgs. 86-89.)  I haven’t read Murakami’s newest work yet,

One of the ironies of life is that a writer depends upon critics as much as he or she depends upon readers. Without the critic there is no chatter and a new book lies as neglected as a homework assignment after graduation. Haruki Murakami’s magnum opus, 1Q84 came out in English tran

We have a bookstore in my town which, despite the growth of Amazon, has survived. One reason is customer loyalty. Where I live, the natives like to think local. I am not a fan of the store, though I do buy books there. I was proud of them once, when Salman Rushdie was targeted for dea