New Murakami

It's not out until November 11 (thats' 1.11.11 -  sounds like a very auspicious date to me) but  I got lucky and scored an advance of Murakami's IQ84 this week. Its first printing sold out the day it was released in Japan. It's a big book, and was first published in 3 volumes over there.I don't expect the rush will be quiet so big here but clearly it's best enjoyed without indulging in too many overseas reviews first - reclusive Murakami didn't share any details about the book prior to it's long awaited release day - he said he felt doing that had "diminished the novelty" of his previous books.

The Rum Diary (Diaries)

Even though Johnny Depp has been working on this since 2007 I didn't realise it was on the way. Looks fun...

Infinite Jest

 Parks and Recreation show runner Michael Schur (below in grey hoodie), is a huge David Foster Wallace fan, and based the “Calamity Song” video he directed for (awesome band) The Decemberists on his novel Infinite Jest. Here's some action shots from the set...

More on this story at NY Mag

Abbey Lee v The Brain that Changes Itself

Thanks for sending me this Liz!

I'm reading: You'll be Sorry When I'm Dead

Marieke is one of my favourite local writers. Like a lotta people I discovered her via Frankie magazine. Though you may also know her from her notorious (now defunct) blog Reasons You WIll Hate Me or from her stint on Triple J or her work on First Tuesday Book Club. Man, she's so funny and provocative and cool and clever. And her first book is a blissfully good collection of stories. It opens with her childhood ambition to become a prostitute and closes with her awkward and confronting encounters with her idol, Bob Ellis. There's heartfelt, sad stuff like her best friend's ongoing battle with cancer but all of it, even the cancer, is laced with her salty wit and sense of humour. Love.

Jarvis in print

Jarvis Cocker is releasing a book of his lyricsin October. While there's not a lot of detail available about what will be in the book (beyond, obviously, his lyrics) Jarvis said this in an interview that was released with the announcement... 

[my lyrical breakthrough came about] 

"by falling from a window and being in hospital for about a month ... my gaze shifted to the normal everyday things, things that I thought 'oh that's too everyday to be bothered with' ... I had the realization that that's actually what I was quite interested in ... I was interested in how people lived their lives because I didn't have a clue how to live mine." 

[viaPitchfork]

Pure and simple

Story book prints by Christian Jackson.

Buy them here