Summary: It's here! The new novel from Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, is officially on sale. We can't attend one of the many midnight parties, so we're having our own, with this "early release" episode of BOTNS! (https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392573152l/19288239.jpg) We're honored to host two special guests on this week's "Murakami Madness" episode of Books on the Nightstand. Tonight at midnight, independent bookstores across the US will be hosting Murakami parties (http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=2316#m25313) where fans can be among the first to purchase Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. This novel sold more than one million copies in the first week in Japan! In an effort to find out what all the madness is about, we talk to bookseller Jeremy Ellis, and super-fan Christian Paula. Listen in for some great conversation (and some less-than-stellar sound quality -- as always, we apologize and hope that you'll find the content worth the audio issues with remote and telephone recording). (http://booksonthenightstand.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/audiobooks.jpg)Audiobook of the week (05:50) (http://covers.audiobooks.com/images/covers/full/9780804166690.jpg) South of the Border, West of the Sun (http://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/south-of-the-border-west-of-the-sun-a-novel/198959)by Haruki Murakami, read by Eric Loren, is my pick for this week’s Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. And as always, special thanks to Audiobooks.com (http://www.audiobooks.com/freebook) for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 40,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook (http://www.audiobooks.com/freebook) #Murakamania (09:10) (https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386924361l/11297.jpg) A great coversation with Jeremy Ellis, General Manager of Brazos Bookstore in Houston, TX. Brazos is hosting one of the many midnight Murakami parties tonight, and we talk to Jeremy to find out more. They'll be having activities like "Pin the Kafka on the Shore," and each person who purchases a copy of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage will receive a free Murakami coloring book. But don't despair: you can order your own copy of What We Talk About When We Talk About Coloring (http://www.brazosbookstore.com/gifts/what-i-talk-about-when-i-talk-about-coloring-murakami-coloring-book) from Brazos Bookstore online. Murakami SuperFan! (18:58) (https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388789153l/9833.jpg) Next we talk with Murakami fan Christian Paula to find out his thoughts about Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. Did it live up to his expectations? Christian suggests that the reader new to Murakami start with his stories, such as the collection Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. To begin with a novel, Christian recommends Norwegian Wood (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11297.Norwegian_Wood). Christian can be found on twitter at @drowningn00b, and he writes about Korean indie music at koreanindie.com (http://koreanindie.com/)
