The Mortal Instruments and a Murakami Murder Mystery in 2011

While on a Hunger Games hiatus (I am currently number 62 on the waiting list for Mockingjay), I have been convinced by the high praise of fellow lovers of YA fiction to start the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Claire.  I am just a bit past the 2/3 point on Book 1, City of Bones.  Pretty engaging stuff, nicely done with assorted magical beings with a goth-y touch and ... angels.  Interested to see if I have reached the "sticking point" and persevere.

What gets me really amped right now, bookwise, is the upcoming release of the English translation of Haruki Murakami's lastest work, 1Q84.  I have to wait until September of next year to get my hot little hands on that.  It has been out in Japan for a while and was super popular when it was released.

Also listening to the audio of David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.  I bet this book will be fabulous, when translated into Japanese.  Not that it is not awesome in English.  Loved the galley and have a copy of the published book to read but I'm glad I chose the audio.  I thought "Zoet" was pronounced "Zoh-et" instead of "Zweet". I looked up the meaning of the word in Dutch and it actually means "sweet" so that makes sense.

The Mortal Instruments also has a little Japanese anime sensibility to it. I can easily see the characters in a manga-style action/adventure fighting demons, a stock plot line of anime/manga, and there are several references to anime and manga in the book.  Nice to have good things to entertain me while I wait for Murakami's book to be released.  I even have William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine to read, too.  I don't think I'll be bored.