Kafka didn't have a lot of fun either

Having been quite impressed by the Murakami book I mentioned previously, I got one of his novels, Kafka on the Shore. It was actually one of the best books I have read in ages. Granted, it sometimes becomes a bit too... referencish, for lack of a better word, but it was fab anyway. I somehow found it to be a bit of a mix between Coelho's The Alchemist and Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach (I like the former much less than the latter, mind you, but that is another story). However, I guess Murakami is far more intellectual and well-read than I am, and there are likely much more fitting comparisons that can be made. I can even confess that I cannot remember listening to the Beethoven trio mentioned in the book, even though I have doubtlessly heard it at some point in my life.

The book made me think of my old washed-out t-shirt which reads "Kafka didn't have a lot of fun either" and has a stylized picture of him in black and white - much like the classic Che motif but a lot more tasteful. I should probably get a fresh one.

Einen guten Start in die Woche wünsche ich Ihnen

So my life has taken a bit of an unexpected turn. I am now creative director at a company dealing in net-based psychology - quite far from the investment banking career I was considering. Also, there is a (rather misleading) "director" in my title. Sweet!

I have been reading some great books, too. For instance, I was delighted to find that Neil Gaiman had released a new collection of short stories, Fragile Things. This one was definitely more uneven than his previous collection Smoke and Mirrors, but a few great stories made it well worth the read nonetheless.

I also scoured the thrift stores for used books and found The Queen of Spades by Aleksander Pushkin which was a nice change from the stuff I usually read.

Having previously been quite disappointed by Hanteringen av odöda (loosely: Managing the Undead) by Swedish horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, I decided to give his critically acclaimed debut novel Låt den rätte komma in (loosely: Let the Right One Enter) a try. I guess it was worth it, but I got the same sense of half-bakedness. Certain parts of both the story and the writing are great, but others feel no better than some Naruto fanfic. Lindqvist certainly shows potential yet should probably get more feedback before releasing the end product. Speaking of that, I really wonder why so few fiction authors ever release a "2.0" of their books.

However, the most interesting read I have had in a while is Haruki Murakami's Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. I bought it on a whim at the SF Bookstore in Gamla stan. While I was looking through the new releases shelf, I noticed a book with a very nice cover design, so I decided to ask the clerk whether she knew if it was worth reading. I tend to let chance have a chance to influence my reading habits now and then. Either by looking for a book with a nice design, or just buying something by the author next to one of my favourites. Anyway, the clerk told me that this was actually one of her favourite authors, and she continued to sing praise for at least a minute, which I guess was my cue to buy the book. I did, and I did not regret it. The book is filled with strange, wonderful and horrible short stories, ranging from describing strange situations to life stories. This is the first book in quite some time that has, at times, been a bit moving. Highly recommended!

As regards things that move, I really liked the anime film Paprika, same director as Tokyo Godfathers which is also great. Paprika was like a mix of Lain and Spirited Away, and whereas it did not reach the levels of either it was good fun nonetheless.

A completely unrelated matter: eBay Germans make me so happy. Other people's replies I get are usually "yes" or "no" or some measure/price. When I ask Germans, I almost always get replies which include things like "Einen guten Start in die Woche wünsche ich Ihnen" (Loosely: "I wish you a good beginning of the week"). Sure, it might just be formalities, but still!

Midsummer was nice, by the way. The girls raided the closet full of 80's stuff.

Also, I wonder why there are three bridges next to each other, and whether someone lives in the house inbetween them.

Goddesspeed.