Haruki Murakami's new novel is out in Japan! I've read the first two chapters and give my immediate impressions divided into three sections: spoiler free, loose suggestions about content, and spoiler-palooza.

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We're 24 hours away from the publication of Murakami's latest novel! In this episode, I go through a laundry list of vocabulary that ties together Murakami's fiction over the years, run through a set of predictions I made (both prior to and after the title announcement), and then dig deep into spoiler territory about how exactly the new novel might be connected to Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Check out the links I mention on the blog.

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This week I go through all the books--fiction, nonfiction, and translations--that Murakami Haruki published from 2006 to 2023. Take a look at the blog post for all the links I mentioned, and follow along during the podcast using the Google Sheets spreadsheet I created with all Murakami's publications: https://bit.ly/MurakamiBibliography

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

This week I go through all the books--fiction, nonfiction, and translations--that Murakami Haruki published from 1988 to 2005. Take a look at the blog post for all the links I mentioned, and follow along during the podcast using the Google Sheets spreadsheet I created with all Murakami's publications: https://bit.ly/MurakamiBibliography

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

This week I go through all the books--fiction, nonfiction, and translations--that Murakami Haruki published from 1979 to 1987. Take a look at the blog post for all the links I mentioned, and follow along during the podcast using the Google Sheets spreadsheet I created with all Murakami's publications: https://bit.ly/MurakamiBibliography

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

I've spent the last two months re-reading Haruki Murakami's novels, and here are my power rankings. What do you think? What are his most and least successful novels?

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You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

This week, I take a look at Murakami's famous origin story with the help of writer and translator Matt Schley. We looked at ten different accounts of the day that Murakami was inspired to become a writer. Check out the blog for more details on each.

Thanks again to Matt. You can read his translation of Soda Kazuhiro's Why I Make Documentaries: On Observational Filmmaking available via Viaindustriae Publishing.

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Welcome to Season 3 of the How to Japanese Podcast, the Murakami Season. Here's the initial intro episode I was planning. Check out the blog for a link to the Murakami commentary I mention toward the end.

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We have the title for the new Murakami novel due out on April 13! It's the same title as a 1980 novella that Murakami disavowed as a "failed work" but later rewrote as Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Here's what we know about that novella, and here are my best guesses about what we could be getting next month.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

On the final episode this season, I talk about the importance of celebrating your little victories as you study a language. And in Japanese, I think about how to balance introversion and extroversion as you're studying. Listen until the end - I provide a short update on one of the episodes from Season 1.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.