Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

When it comes to surreal reading, I look no further and just grab a Haruki Murakami book. I love his writings. As you progress chapter after chapter, you are soon absorbed into a different dimension where cats talk, a sheep is the boss, and shadows have their own mind. And all these strangeness and weirdness go on and on. But guess what, it's a good kind of weird.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is my latest Haruki read. My pace with this book was downtempo so I wouldn't be left alone with nothing to read and I was enjoying it so much I didn't want it to end right away. Besides, unearthing the end of the world bit by bit and day after day was a pleasurable pursuit. I was thrilling myself by slow-pacing my reading. Haha.

The story takes you into two divergent worlds. One where the main character meets a mad scientist and he experiences adventures underground where water and leeches and inklings could claim his life any time soon. On the other side is a town close to perfection barricaded by an impenetrable wall whose gates are regulated by a Gatekeeper who never let's anyone out. The one thing these two worlds have in common--- skulls.

This book is striking, funny, unexpected, and bizarre. Plus the characters are interesting (he always comes up with curious personalities which is one of the things I love about this author). Of course, you'll never miss insightful lines along the way which are good points to ponder on.

If you have a thing for uncanny plots, then you should grab this from the shelf (you won't be disappointed I promise). Better yet, collect all Haruki books and read them one after the other. I bet you'll be amazed afterwards. You can say, I've been to the other side (I actually feel this way after reading his books).

What are you waiting for? It's happy reading time! ;]

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

I've been eyeing this book since I heard that Neil Gaiman released his latest novel. Lo and behold, L gave me a copy as his Christmas present (the bookworm's eyes where sparkling upon opening the gift). I was the happiest person when I received it. Now it's a part of my collection adding more pizzazz to my shelf. *grins*

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is about a man returning to his hometown and reminiscing an experience he thought he almost forgot. Going to the farmhouse of the Hempstocks after attending a funeral, he visits the pond that his friend, Lettie, calls her ocean. It's just a pond really. But that body of water holds something beyond what anyone can imagine. As he lingers, memories of that place emerge from the depths of his consciousness. These recollections even surprise him. As the events reconstruct in his mind, he later realize that he owes his life to the Hempstocks; to Lettie especially-- his only childhood friend when he was still a little seven year old boy.

As expected, Neil delivered... delivered extremely well. I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed-- of course, he's Neil Gaiman. Come on... To cut to the chase, yes it's a book that should be read. It's a few pages but within is a story bountiful of stirring ordeals and bizarre characters. When I was done, I felt like I still wanted the tale to go on but I later came to terms with the book and accepted that it was meant to end there. I fell in love with Lettie's character, that's probably why I reacted that way. That's about it; I enjoyed every chapter, every page and I'm sure you will too. I repeat, it's Neil Gaiman... remember? *wink*

Enjoying a good book with a good mug of cappuccino

I'm a grateful bibliophile for having started the year right with an A-lister book.