In english: “the Wind up bird chronicle”. I think I‘ve been reading this book for almost two years on and off. Every time coming back, it picks up like I had never left. Murakami took four years to write this novel and while the main character is searching for his lost cat and wife, you can almost feel the writer searching for a way to tell his story and find a way to conclude it. And with part 3 he did so brilliantly.

Murakami is a master in storytelling. Despite the absurd characters, plot and dialogue, as a reader you feel very connected to the subjects and their world. A good introduction to this author and I look forward to reading one of his novels.

Last year I started studying Russian and this week I finished a big milestone: finished my first book in Russian with the help of a Dutch translation on the side. The doors are open for a new culture to explore! Hope we can travel safely soon! [notes are stresses in the words]

“Oh Liza, who would want to die, if we would ever not have sorrow? Apparently, such is necessary. Maybe we would forget our soul, if out of our eyes tears would never flow.”

Finally a story that does not depict schizophrenic people as psychopaths. I can imagine that for people who deal with the disorder on a daily basis, this is a very welcome book. Looking forward to the movie as well, lots of freedom for the creators on how to visualise the hallucinations. Definately a good pick!

A small glimpse of North Korea, recorded during the first potential signs of reconciliation between the two Korea‘s.

As a fan of the game, The Sin War provides a good background story with so-so characters. I got an itch to play the game again now :-).

”Lying is not in his nature. He is too wise for that” - Pallas Athena to Telemachos about Nestor.

“Big Data processes codify the past. They do not invent the future. Doing that requires moral imagination, and that‘s something only humans can provide.”

For a while now I have been struggling with the global trend of data-driven decision making. Rather than relying on rhetoric and power, in many aspects of our lives, we now put our faith in algorithms and supposed neutrality of models. This book gives me hope that I am not alone in my worries.

Having traveled South Korea twice now, this book (purchased in a nice small book store in Seoul) tells the story of four Korean seasons and generations. Adorable story rich with Korean culture. Must-read for those who have fallen in love with South Korea as I have.

Tough read for a non-native, reading the Odyssee to make more sense of it 😬

I read the children's version of this book as one of my first books. Looking forward to read the real version!

Over half-way, this book is getting more and more relevant in the data-driven economy and politics.