It's Haruki Murakami's birthday today. Or at least, it was. I'm fairly certain it's already tomorrow in Japan. In any case, Murakami's a magical sort of man. He believes in trances. He writes scary, weird, and wonderful books, like Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, in which unicorn skulls have dreams. His latest book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, talks of his passion for long-distance running. Check out Laura Miller's interview with him, here, and a more recent one about the relationship between marathons and writing, here.
Speaking of Laura Miller (who may or may not eat cheerios while watching Battlestar), To the Best of our Knowledge talked with her yesterday as part of their program on "Magical Thinking." She discussed, among other things, how she learned to be both a skeptic of, and believer in, Narnia. Other guests included, Robert Price, who discussed "pop mysticism" and The Secret. As well, Mark Barrowcliffe, author of The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons, and Growing Up Strange, and Holly Black, author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, both stopped by to talk about the value of alternate realities.
Finally, McSweeney's has published a children's illustrated guide to cold fusion. One suspects there may be some kind of chicanery afoot.So long, gentle readers. Remember, the magic was inside you all along.
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