olivia Female, Married. United Kingdom

This book changes my way of looking at "talents" in a new way; teaches me the concept of "deliberate practice" and most of all, hard work and certain sacrifices behind the story of most talents. ultimately, it's about knowing what we as individuals want to do, and what we believe in, then work hard and study intently and comprehensively on that subject that divides good and great performances.
I'd definitely recommend this book to all, especially to coaches and teachers. It is quite a motivational read and it has sort of convinced me that if I work hard in the right way, there is no limits to my talents.

I love this book! One of Murakami's books I really like, and think about a lot...
The key plot of this book is about meeting your childhood friend and falling for her when reunited some 25 years later, which may not sound all that exciting. Yet to me it's all about the details Murakami is able to fill to make the characters 'live' that appeal to me most.
Like many of his books, this book is narrated in first person by the key character, Hajime and the story started with him describing his relationship with female starting from 12, when he met his first real friend Shimamoto, to when he met his wife and how that has changed his life. And how reuniting with Shimamoto some 20 years later has sent waves to his life.
To me this book is much more than a love story, it's more about connection with people, and how one thing leads to another (though fair to say almost all people Hajime became involved with were women!). Common taste in music, reading and the fact that they are both only child are all things that connected Hajime and Shimamoto in their childhood, and what they shared at 12 became something very special and treasured when they reunited in their mid thirties. Even though Hajime literally knew nothing more about Shimamoto since she was 12, he was so attracted to Shimamoto because of the past and what he knew about her didn't really matter. On the other hand, Hajime is now a married man and a father of two and also he arguably owes very much of his success with his jazz bar to his father-in-law. Where does that leave him?
If one is looking for answers and completeness in a story, this book is probably not for you. But if you want to allow your mind to dream on, Murakami does the trick every time, ever so effortlessly.

If you enjoy hearing all the juicy gossips about office affairs, you'd love this book - simple as that. And I hate to say, I enjoyed this book much more than I'd want to admit. It's fast-pace, engaging, the two pairs of affairs depicted in the book feel real enough, and you just want to read on to find out whether they will get caught eventually. Although not something I can really relate to, the psychology of why people have office affairs, and why women would be attracted to office men who they would not normally look twice otherwise, are quite interesting.
If you've got time to kill, this is an entertaining enough book to read.

I spotted this book in the library just two days before my big ben tour, so when I saw this book I thought it was destined for me. There is only about two pages in total in this book about 'when did big ben first bong', but there are many other things about London that is interesting to know, especially if you are into history and wants to find out more about London in a light-hearted way. Worth a read.