BW2: Miyuki Miyabe and Haruki Murakami

Courtesy of Goodreads

Our author choices of the month are Miyuki Miyabe and Haruki Murakami.


Miyuki Miyabe was born December 23, 1960 in Tokyo, Japan where she still lives at present.   She began writing classes at the age of 23 while working in a law office. Her  debut short story Warera  ga rinjin no hanzai (Our Neighbor's Crime) was published in 1987 and won the All Yomimono Mystery Prize for new writers.  

She has written short stories, a horror anthology - Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo,    numerous adult crime and thrillers plus  science fiction fantasy novels for children. She has received numerous awards for her work including Mystery Writers of Japan in 1992,  Japan SF Award in 1997, and The Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year in 1992. She also won the U.S. Batchelder award  for Brave Story as the most outstanding children's book, translated into English and published in the U.S.   

Several of her novels had been made into tv dramas and films.  Brave Story was also adapted into a children's animated film in 2006 and  nominated for an "Animation of the Year" award for the 2007 Japanese Academy Awards. 

Her most recent best selling novels are St. Peter’s Funeral Procession , as well as Solomon's Perjury which has yet to be translated. 

Learn more about Miyuki through Reuter's interview Japan Writer wants world to see new face of Toyko as well as Miyuki Miyabe and Japanese Noir.  

If you are feeling really ambitious, check out Noriko Chino's doctorate dissertation from 2008 on Miyuki Miyabe's Place in the Development of Japanese Mystery Fiction. 

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Courtesy of Time 

Haruki Murakami was born January 12, 1949 in Tokyo, Japan and will be 69 this year. He began writing at the age of 29, inspired by all things, a baseball game. Hear the Wind Sing, his first book in Trilogy of the Rat, was published in 1979 and he won the Gunzou Shinjin Sho, the Gunzo New Writer Award for new writers, established by Gunzo Magazine.

He soon followed up with two more books in his Trilogy of the Rat:  Pinball 1973 in 1979  and A Wild Sheep Chase in 1982.  He won the Noma Bungei Shinjin Sho (Noma Literary Award for New Writers) for A Wild Sheep Chase in 1982.  During this period of time he sold his bar, Jazz Cats, which he had opened in 1974, and began writing full time.

In 1985 he wrote Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the Year  for which he won the  Junichi Tanizaki Award.  In 1991 he moved to the United States where he taught at Princeton and also wrote The Wind Up Bird Chronicle which was published in 1994. He won the prestigious Yomiuri Literary Award.

He moved back to Japan in 1995 and has gone on to write numerous novels both fiction and nonfiction, including his latest short story collection released in 2017 - Men Without Women.

If you want to find out more about Murakami -  Check out his website, follow him on facebook, peak into his interviews in Japan Times including articles on  music, jazz and the brain, and danish award. 

Join me in reading both Miyuki Miyabe and Haruki Murakami this month! 

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Please link to your specific post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading.   Every week I will put up  Mr. Linky which will close at the end of each book week.  No matter what book you are reading or reviewing at the time, whether it be # 1 or # 5 or so on, link to the current week's post.

BW1: Welcome to our Open Roads Reading Adventure

Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. 

They are the destination, and the journey. 

They are home.” ~  Anna Quindlen

Happy new year and welcome to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks. Welcome to all who are joining me for another round and all who are diving in for the first time.   The rules are very simple and the goal - Read 52 Books.  How you get there is up to you. 

We are going around the world again and to aid us in our venture, we have several optional challenges listed in the link bar above.  Our monthly itinerary may be found in Armchair Travels and Authors. Along the way, we are going to stop and spell the roses with Blossom Bookology, or entice your reading taste buds with another round of 52 Books Bingo, as well as delve into mysteries with the Great Mysterious England Road Trip.  

You may decide to engage with the greats through the Well Educated Mind or Nobel Prize Winners of Literature,  or fly through the world of science fiction and fantasy with Mind Voyages.   You may choose to read alphabetically with Alphabet Soup, finally dive into those dusty and chunky books that are probably yelling at you by now, or Feed Your Muse with poetry, essays and short stories.   As always, you may choose to travel along with me or follow your own path.  

Grab your walking shoes, backpack and maps as we begin our Open Roads Reading Adventure on the Silk Road which extends from the west coast of Japan to the Middle east. We'll begin our travels in Japan with our author choices of the month:   Haruki Murakami and Miyuki Miyabe.   

It has become a tradition to start our reading year with Haruki Murakami.  Join me in going back to his beginnings and read his debut Trilogy of the Rat -  Hear the Wind Sing, Pinball, and A Wild Sheep Chase - or choose one of his other books if you've already read them. Learn more about Miyuki Miyabe and dive into her debut story, All She Was Worth or one of her many other novels.   I currently have her paranormal story The Gates of Sorrow waiting in the wings. 

Our Blossom Bookology's reading challenge begins in ancient times.  The flower of the month is Chrysanthemum which was cultivated in China in 15BC, brought to Japan in 8AD and became the symbol of the Japanese emperor and the imperial family, then introduced in 17th Century to the western world. It comes in a variety of colors and represents longevity and happiness.  

There are a number of directions to go with this challenge. You may choose to spell out the word, reading one book per letter using either the title and/or the first or last name of the author.  Yes, you can mix it up.  You may read a book with the name of the flower, color of the flower in the title or on the cover.  Another possibility is a book which takes place in the time period or flower's country of origin or has some cultural significance and/or symbolism of the flower.  The choices are unlimited.  Have fun following rabbit trails and see where it takes you. 

Cheers to a wonderful, flower filled, adventurous new reading year! 

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For the first week, link to your I'm participating post, reading plans or to your most current review. Please link to your specific  post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading.   Every week I will put up  Mr. Linky which will close at the end of each book week.  No matter what book you are reading or reviewing at the time, whether it be # 1 or # 5 or so on, link to the current week's post.