number9dream is indeed a trip! The name is very fitting in my opinion.

OH MY GOSH YES. I love so many aspects of Murakami's writing style, but I really really struggle a lot with the sexual bits.

I'm glad to hear others love re-reading their favourites. I feel as though there is almost this pressure to only read new books with all of the social media-esque reading challenges, but I often feel as if I can't fully enjoy a book until I've re-read it! Often the more I re-read a book, the more I enjoy it :)

That must make it particularly special for you :) that's so great to hear

I just love how Holly is written.

The part with the apple got me in particular. I personally loved any chapter from Holly's point of view as I just love her character. Same with Marinus. And I love the last chapter for including Mo :)

Ghostwritten has also accompanied me during some very very rough/shit times. I'm glad it provided you with a sense of comfort as well.

My favourite chapter (at the moment) is probably the Moscow one. Not sure why though. I also love the Tokyo one and the mountain one. And all of them! Haha I can't pick :)

Glad to hear you liked it! I have yet to read Utopia Avenue and I was wondering whether it incorporates lots of magical elements/is similar in style to Ghostwritten and/or Bone Clocks?

Oh my gosh me too... haha glad to hear I wasnt the only one.

I was wondering what you thought about Utopia Avenue? I have not read it yet and was curious on what others thought, as well as if it shares some similarities with Bone clocks and/or ghostwritten?

I loved the magical aspect of slade house but I'm not much into the horrifying aspects (I'm in a bit of a "comfort" reading phase).

I love how he writes characters and scenery and world-building and everything. Just how the heck can one author do it all!!

Number9dream I did in general enjoy (I loved the descriptions of Japan, and I've been to Japan like you and I'm very connected to the location) however I struggled about with a certain graphic scene (if I remember correctly).

I also really enjoyed the descriptions of England (I love and miss England) in Blackswangreen. However, I prefer the books with more magical elements so I wasnt crazy about this one either. Likewise with thousand autumns. All beautifully written books of course, but not suited for my very specific and picky "comfort" list haha.

Yes I love how he connects those things!! Its so satisfying when you recognize a reference and when you re-read a book and notice little things you missed before.

I personally didn't enjoy that book much, but maybe I'll try it again. I struggled to focus on it a bit and I read for escapism so I do enjoy some more magical elements. It definitely speaks more to me as a reader than the book itself, I just struggle with focus issues. It was very well-written in my opinion!

Please join me with the re-read (if you want, no pressure of course haha)!

That's very kind. Thank you very much.

I read these as well, and actually did not like them that much personally, however it could just be that I got a bit confused and would benefit from re-reading them at some point.

Ghostwritten and Bone Clocks are my two personal favs! Maybe try out Ghostwritten first, as it's a bit shorter, so if you start and don't like it it's a bit less of a commitment if that makes sense :)

Hmm I like mythical elements.

Would you say that Atwood's books also have a good balance of character and world building?

Sorry for all the questions!

I'll note these down, thanks for sharing! Would you say that Margaret Atwood writes some books that might fit in the magical realism genre?

Adore Ghostwritten to the moon and back. I had a bit more trouble connecting to some of the other books (I've read Black Swan Green, Number9dream, Cloud Atlas, Slade House, and The Jacob de Zoet one). Number9dream I loved the descriptions of Japan but I remember a pretty violent part that put me off. Slade House I remember enjoying but it wasnt exactly a "feel good" type of enjoyment. Black Swan Green I did not enjoy and Jacob de Zoet I found a bit confusing. Cloud Atlas I also found certain parts confusing. Ghostwritten might be my all time favourite book though.

I used to love Murakami books but a lot of the violent/sexual descriptions I now find off-putting and sadly ruined the books a bit for me. I do currently love After Dark though, and Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is very interesting and lacks overly explicit content (mostly). I did find a few parts confusing but I can reccomend. 1Q84 is absolutely masterful in my opinion, however, again there are some parts that I currently find too off putting to read it again.

I also used to really love this book called Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. However, now I find some of the explicit content a bit off putting. He also wrote a book called Anathem that I found confusing when I read it, but I'm thinking I might attempt it again.

A more "wholesome" read I've recently found is The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Higashino. Beautiful little book! A bit short though.

Another book I recently read and very much enjoyed was Piranesi by Clarke. I do wish it was longer though, and had a hit more character development.

I cant seem to find a match to Ghostwritten and Bone Clocks. I think they will forever be my favourites. Just beautiful beautiful books.

And thank you for sharing your book list with me. I love books that describe England and Japan. Take care!

Thank you so much for the detailed comment. I'm definitely interesting in reading it but I often struggle to step out of my comfort zone for books, as I have this funny rule of needing to finish a book once I start (even if I've lost interest). Hopefully I will muster the courage to try it out!

Hmm never heard of those authors! I might try them out given that I know very few people who know of/enjoy the bone clocks in real life :)

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and I'm glad that you found a read that helps you cope/brings you comfort.

I want to try lord of the rings but it seems a bit daunting. I'm planning to first try the hobbit and see how it goes. I was wondering, are the books confusing/involve many characters to remember?