Kafka am Strand - Haruki Murakami The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick

I finally read another novel of Haruki Murakami and tried my luck with a science fiction classic. Do you want to find out more about the books I've read? Well, then just click on more :)

 

I didn't manage to read that much in August, because I tried to make the most of the great weather we - sometimes - had. A big change this month was me trying out audio books to use the time of my daily commute by bus. It's a great way to use that time and a nice alternative to reading. Now let's talk about the two books I've read/heard last month...

 

Kafka am Strand (Kafka on the shore) by Haruki Murakami

After I've read Norwegian Wood (german: Naokos Lächeln) last year, I always wanted to try another of Murakami's novels, because I really liked it. And it was a great choice, because Kafka on the shore is an amazing story. It conists of two seperate stories that seem to have no connection at the beginning. 

Btw. I used the Murakami bingo chart with this book. Really fun, but I haven't updated it yet. Here is my progess. I absolutely enjoyed the novel, so it definitely deserves ★★★★ :)

 

The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

I should stop reading science fiction classics - I didn't have great experiences with those books. But on the other hand, there were a few unbelieveable good books too (e.g. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes). The Man In The High Castle unfortunately is one of those stories I just couldn't enjoy. The ideas of this alternative history had a lot of potential, but the execution wasn't that good. So I only gave it ★★ in the end. I definitely give Philip K. Dick another chance, especially since I already own the Valis Trilogy ;-)

 

Currently Reading

Since I only read two books last month, I thought I'd give you a quick peak on the books I'm currently reading: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende - I have to admit, that I never read this book when I was a child. But better late than never, right? I love how it is printed in two different colours. And all those nice drawings :) I also started reading Perdido Street Station by China Mieville - I can't say much about it right now, because I've only read about 5-10% so far, but the world the story takes place in seems quite promising. I can't wait to continue reading it. 

 

Statistics

books read: 2

genres: japanese novel, science fiction

pages August: 899

pages 2014: 14,243