The Wind-Up Bird Chronical - Haruki Murakami (5/5)

Dark, inter-twined narratives compose this epic from Murakami. The tale is of a normal man, nick named Mr Wind-Up Bird by a local girl, whose life takes a turn for the surreal when his cat goes missing, followed shortly thereafter by his wife, and the rest of his life as he knew it. From there Mr Wind-Up Bird keeps uses his faith in bringing his wife back to keep himself moving on, and in the process finds many other people to help, although never in any straightforward manner. Although sometimes slower in pace than his other books, Murakami keeps the plot moving forward while introducing other elements, somewhat akin to David Lynch without the damn fine coffee. A great book, although perhaps not the easiest Murakami to start with - perhaps Norwegian Wood is better if you're a Murakami virgin.

The Night of Knives - Jon Evans (4/5)

The Night of Knives is another seat gripping tale of epic travels, technological wizardry and global wheeler dealings, and a damn fine read to boot. This time author Job Evans has set his tale in Africa, the technology is mostly mobile phones and the subterfuge... well, you'll have to read that to find out as Jon plots a fine sequence of twists and turns that will keep you guessing and happily sitting on the edge of your seat - whether that seat is on the tube or on a sunny beach somewhere. Hopefully a beach somewhere safer than Jon's Africa...

Go buy it now!

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami (4/5)

As well as being an popular global author of esoteric, whimsical novels, Haruki Murakami is also an ardent runner - competing in marathons and triathlons as part of his regular routine. In this book the author discusses his life as a runner, covering the period of a year when he competes in the New York marathon amongst others, and reminiscing about earlier triumphs and failures. Along the way Murakami gives some insight into what makes him work and get on with both running and writing, and how his sheer bloody mindedness keeps him going when it gets tough. To quote:

“Fortunately, these two disciplines - focus and endurance - are different from talent, since they can be acquired and sharpened through training. You'll naturally learn both concentration and endurance when you sit down every day at your desk and train yourself to focus on one point. This is a lot like the training of muscles I wrote of a moment ago. You have to continually transmit the object of your focus to your entire body, and make sure it thoroughly assimilates the information necessary for you to write every single day and concentrate on the work at hand. And gradually you'll expand the limits of what you're able to do. Almost imperceptibly you'll make the bar rise.”

There are probably no great revelations for budding runners in this book, but for those of us who enjoy gaining insight into the creative process of people we admire it's a great read. Murakami blends his writing and running activities together into a coherent whole, and draws us back into his psyche to find the source of his focus. My only gripe about the book is its length - like After Dark it's not the longest book ever - which given that Murakami's writing about long distance running seems a tad ironic, but that said it is a good read.

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins (4/5)

Hey, guess what - Richard Dawkins is an atheist. Who'd have thunked it. Actually pretty much everyone these days, since it's all he really talks about. I remember the old days, when he used to explain Darwin's theories of evolution, and genetics with such popular appeal that we all started to understand it. Now, all everyone talks about it how Dawkins doesn't like God, or gods for that matter, which means that many people around the world have now linked teaching evolution to being godless heathens. Such is life.

Dawkins tries to explain his stance in The God Delusion, a book that is now at the 'you have to read this' level of popular acceptance. It doesn't matter if you believe in God or not, the book will come up in conversation at some point so best read it now to save later hassle. That said, I don't think it's such a 'must read' as everyone makes out. Dawkins makes a lot of good points and tackles the defenses that most religious people put up to his arguments with aplomb, as well as re-polarising some mis-used quotes. This is all interesting stuff, but it ends up being a bit too much about Dawkins rather than about religion in general and its social impact. In the last chapter, Dawkins rushes along pointing out key observations of human evolution that might even indicate why we believe in something bigger - but this point is not adequately expounded upon to my mind. Perhaps if Dawkin's detractors had focussed more on the quality of his writing, rather than kicking up a fuss and drawing more attention to his book they might have had more success. Either way, I leave the last word to XKCD.

Look to Windward - Iain M Banks (4/5)

Although I read this first back when it came out in hardback, I recently picked up a copy in a charity store for a quid when I lacked anything else to read. This is one of the great things about Banks' books, in that although they are all very good reads and highly recommended, he does sell an awful lot of copies in Britain so there are bound to be people who get rid of them and hence you can create a fairly comprehensive Banks collection just from charity stores. True story.

Back to Windward is another take of the Culture from the master of the space opera, Iain M Banks. The Culture itself is firmly in the sights for this story, following its intervention with a civil war on another planet that caused a galactic war between various other races. The Culture, being The Culture, feels quite badly about this as although it does believe in intervention where appropriate, most of the time it just wants people/races to get on with doing whatever they want as long as it doesn't affect anyone else. So with this ethical backdrop in place, Banks goes on to explore the effects of how people in such races behave when, for example, they pretty much can do anything and not die, and how others deal with apparent death wishes within this framework. This doesn't sound like a simple premise, or one easily dealt with within a book that's readable on a summer holiday, but Banks blends such high concepts with believable characters and a strong story to create a blend that stretches your mind as well as entertaining it. Another great read.

Matter - Iain M Banks (5/5)

Another space opera with galactic vision from the master who is Iain M Banks. Set once again against the backdrop of the near omnipotent Culture, this latest romp from Banks takes place for the most part on a constructed world made up of planet sized concentric spheres. The epic nature of this form of construction, and the science required to balance the gravities when some layers are full of water for aquatic creatures and others air, is left to the reader's imagination to work out - and indeed the Culture themselves take the view that the elder civilization that built it was pretty clever. With this backdrop of engineering scale, Banks focuses in on an apparent localized squabble between two relatively backward races living on adjacent levels. These races know of the sphere and the more advanced races that run it, but are content to exist in their own way until they evolve some more. Well it would seem that way, until some of the more advanced nations take it upon themselves to get involved and the story moves towards its suitably grandiose denouement. Banks blends science fiction, politics and 'human' level stories together in a way that drags you along while opening your mind at the same time. A must read for any sci fi fan, and beyond.

Making Money - Terry Pratchett (4.5/5)

Another Terry Pratchett Discworld book... you'd think by now he'd have lost his touch but no, this is another well guided fantasy satire about a reformed criminal (of somewhat murky past) who becomes responsible for the smooth running of the Discworld's monetary system. Against the usual backdrop of trolls, imps and gollums, some of whom need equal rights, Pratchett's heroes of the people take themselves up against the vested interest of those who were already in power and want to keep it. This class struggle, backed by the socialist engineering patrician, is much more interesting than it sounds in Pratchett's hands with witty one liners, complex setups and well fleshed out characters making us wonder why Pratchett doesn't turn his hand to writing history text books for those of us who have no interest in the dry tomes of old. Top notch summer beach / commute reading.

After Dark - Haruki Murakami (4/5)

Murakami's latest novel, After Dark, is more of a novella than his usual epic. It follows the story of five characters awake and active at night in the outskirts of Tokyo, or in some cases fast asleep. The usual Murakami prose is in full effect, but this time there seems to be a lack of grip - the attempt to make the story, as it stands, fit into one night falls somewhat flat. It's certainly an enjoyable read, but when you compare it to Ian McEwan's wonderful Saturday, you feel that Murakami should perhaps have taken a leaf out of McEwan's book and added slightly more action. Not one of his best, but still worth a read if you're a fan.

Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami (4/5)

Chubby girls who only wear pink, subterranean creatures that don't like paper-clips, unicorn skulls and a delight of cooking come together in a mix that could only come from Murakami. Or Franz Kafka if he liked cooking more. There are definite similarities between the two authors in this book, which seamlessly combines an internal and external adventure through the mind of the protagonist - a government sponsored data encrypter who has no idea of how to live a meaningful life outside of his number crunching.

Doesn't make any sense to you? That's OK, the story pulls you along with its own insane logic which though it may not provide understanding, does provide high levels of entertainment and page turning excitement. After all, this is Murakami we're talking about here.

The E-myth Revisited - Micheal Gerber (5/5)

The E-Myth Revisited is Gerber's classic book for small business owners, or those contemplating an entrepreneurial leap. In it Gerber discusses how most start-up businesses fail due to the owner working on the work, rather than working on the business itself. Gerber believes that you should be creating frameworks for business that you can hand over to other people, much in the way that McDonalds has successfully created franchises all over the world. This may not seem applicable to modern day start-ups, but a lot of it is and having worked at a successful consultancy where Gerber's approach is very much in evidence I have seen the value first hand. Inspirational and practical, the book is must read for anyone with an entrepreneurial business thought in their heads.