May Book Club: 1Q84 Discuss!

[Kendaljay]

Here's where we actually discuss our May book as/after we read it. :)

May's book choice is 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. The book is split into 3 volumes; we are going to aim here to read the entire book for this month, but if you feel that is too ambitious, please feel free to break it up! This isn't school, we don't have a set deadline to turn in our papers. :) We can always continue the discussion after May and I hope that this will encourage more people to join us in reading fun in the next few months!

There are a few minor rules/guidelines that should be followed (please let me know if you think anything should be added):

1. Read the book :) If you decide you don't want to read that month's book, no problem. Join us next time!
2. Join in the discussion, post links/pics/whatever about the book if you want.
3. Place spoilers in white; preface with something like "Spoilers thru Chapter 5", just in case you are ahead of others.
4. Keep the discussion respectful, voice your opinions but don't bash others for theirs. Don't turn it into a "Twilight vs Harry Potter" argument lol...
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[Kendaljay]

I picked up the book on Sunday at B&N and holy cow, is it big! The cashier was a youngish nerdy-type guy (in a good way!) and he asked me if I had read any of Murakami's books before. I said no, but I was excited to read this one because I'd heard it was really good. He said it was his favorite author and hoped I enjoyed it. :)

I'm probably not going to be able to start it until tomorrow or Thursday, but I hope to dig into it this weekend!
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ps- you're my favourite. We should be friends.--e

[snoopy]

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I read it last year, but it was such a good book! Murakami is one of my favorite contemporary authors. I think what most surprised me about this one was that (spoiler about the third/last volume in white): was that it turned out to be love story with a relatively happy ending. I didn't expect that.

Also, a bit of trivia in case you didn't already know... the Q in 1Q84 says that it stands for [early spoiler] "question," but in Japanese, phonetically "kyu" means the number 9. Fun little play on words.
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[graciesparkles]

[cake]

Ahh, I love Murakami! The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is one of my favorite books. I need a new book to read so I'll pick this up tomorrow. I'll be interested to see how similar/different this is from his other work, since I find him a little bit formulaic at times (haven't read the spoilers).

I'll be back to this thread when I've read a bit.
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[tinyrock]

I picked up my copy today, and I'm eight chapters in. I'm finding it an engaging read, clearly.

I read Wind Up Bird Chronicles years ago, and I couldn't stand how wooden the female characters were. 1Q84 is doing a lot better in that regard so far.

Spoilers (I'm through Ch 8):
I really want the stories to connect, but I can't make that happen yet. I kind of suspect Aomame will eventually get a sad childhood like Tengo's, maybe that's a link? I can't wait to meet the Little People/Professor.</spoilers>

[sibee]

Should we have a deadline for spoilers? Like, after such-and-such date, we don't need to hide discussion up to Chapter X. Otherwise, we might end up with a entire thread of white words.

So far I've read the first two chapters and like it. Unfortunately, I do most of my reading on the bus to and from work, and this book is just a wee bit too big to lug around all day.
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[SlipperyShade]

I just got it from the library (wasn't sure it'd come in anytime soon)...can I join in? I've never done a book club before!
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[Kendaljay]

[Crumb]

I asked Mr. Crumb to reserve my copy at the library, and he picked it up for me on Wednesday. Awesome.

Except that he reserved volume 3. In Spanish.

So I will be a bit late in joining the discussion, but I'll be there as soon as my (English) (volume 1) copy arrives at the library!

[Shade]

I'm a bit daunted at the size of this one, but I'm going to give it a shot! I'm currently #12 on the list for it at my library, so I'm not sure I'll be able to join in on time, but we'll see :)
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[aliwa]

I've read the first two books and am halfway through the third. This far I can only say this:

If you haven't listened to Janacecks Sinfonietta, PLEASE do it! I felt it fit the books so well!
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[snoopy]

[Kendaljay]

I think I'm on chapter 8 or 9, so just some general comments:

I love Aomame's name. I looked pretty silly trying to pronounce it, my sister kept giving me looks. Once I got it down, I said it out loud and said "It's like Edamame!" because sis loves it and then the very next paragraph she compared it to that lol...

I was not expecting so much s3x talk. I don't mind it at all, I just wasn't expecting it.

And a minor spoiler: When she killed that guy, I was like whoah! Then I said "Edamame kills!!" haha!! /spoiler
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ps- you're my favourite. We should be friends.--e

[cloverilla]

I'm really enjoying it so far. I want to say more but I can't remember what chapter I stopped at and I don't want to spoil too much.

When I mentioned I was reading it on twitter, my friend said:

'It'll really make you appreciate the internet. The whole time I was thinking "why don't they just goog- oh right, the 80s."'
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