INSANE: 2 | Vintage Vibes

Stadium where Babe Ruth played in Tokyo is at the center of a disputed park redevelopment plan

A controversial redevelopment plan in Tokyo's Jingu Gaien park threatens historic landmarks and green spaces

The Independent UK · Jul 2, 2025

10 Quotes About Death That Will Make You Think Differently

Let’s be honest, thinking about death is something most of us avoid. It’s an uncomfortable, often frightening topic that we push to the back of our minds. But what if confronting our mortality could actually enrich our lives? These selected quotes about death aren’t meant to be morbid; they are…

Budget and the Bees · Jun 12, 2025

This ingenious Murakami book cover has a beautiful dual design

Suzanne Dean’s illustration is unmatched.

Creative Bloq · Apr 13, 2025

Daniel Craig’s turn as queer writer and an ‘unfilmable’ book brought to life – what you should watch, read and see this week

William S. Burroughs was a gay drug addict. A knot of contradictions, he was also deeply homophobic, sexist, racist and a gun-loving conservative, a passion that would eventually lead to him to be convicted of manslaughter. Needless to say, his life was as wild as his fiction – just watch…

The Conversation · Dec 13, 2024

Haruki Murakami and the challenge of translating Japanese’s many words for “I”

Haruki Murakami’s most recent novel, The City and its Uncertain Walls, revolves around two parallel stories, one focusing on a 17-year-old boy, the other on a 45-year-old man. Readers of the translated English version will gradually become aware of the two worlds, as each first-person narrator establishes his respective setting…

The Conversation · Dec 10, 2024

The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami review – a labour of love

On his third attempt, the author finally sets down a story that has haunted him for decades

The Guardian - UK · Nov 27, 2024

In The City and Its Uncertain Walls, Haruki Murakami explores the transformative potential of storytelling

Japanese writer Haruki Murakami has won phenomenal worldwide popularity. His Norwegian Wood, marketed as ren’ai shōsetsu (a romance novel) when it was first published in Japan in 1987, has become a veritable bible of love among young people in East Asia. English translations of Kafka On the Shore and 1Q84…

The Conversation · Nov 26, 2024

Haruki Murakami: ‘My books have been criticised so much over the years, I don’t pay much attention’

As his new novel is published, the acclaimed author discusses complexity, writing female characters and meeting his fans

The Guardian - UK · Nov 23, 2024

Surrealism, cafes and lots (and lots) of cats: why Japanese fiction is booming

From tales of alienation to comforting novels set in bookshops, Japanese authors have written nearly half of this year’s bestselling translated novels in the UK. What’s their secret?

The Guardian - UK · Nov 23, 2024

The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami review – a lack of magic and meaning

Murakami’s 15th novel retreads a form of magical realism that hasn’t evolved

The Guardian - UK · Nov 10, 2024