And speaking of things Japanese in origin yet universal in application (you see, there is a method to our madness) here's the new Murakami novel to start off 2005 with.  The expectations for this book are of such magnitude that the hyperbole surrounding its release is a bit over the top, but we'll give you this:  it involves an "odyssey" where "Cats and people carry on conversations, a ghostlike pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently unaged since World War II, and rainstorms of fish (and worse) fall fro the sky."

Yes, the "big book" of the year is here... and everywhere else, we know.  But we're not going to let that stop us from putting it out on the new arrivals table here at Copacetic.  The reviews are pouring in at such a torrential pace that we suspect that before all is said and done their combined word count will surpass even that of the novel itself, which is Murakami's most substantial yet, with the US edition clocking in at whoppin' 925 pages.  If you're looking for a book to get you through the long cold winter ahead, this may very well be your ticket.

Chip Kidd goes berserk and creates the most heavily arti directed short story ever, in this over the top treatment of Haruki Murakami's short story, The Strange Library.  You can some idea of what to expect here.

First Person Singular is the latest collection of short stories from Haruki Murakami.  What more do you need to know?  Well, how about that it includes two music themed pieces, "With the Beatles" and "Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova", the latter of which is the subject of the special secret cover illustration printed on the book itself (hidden by the dustjacket) which was quite a treat to discover hiding there.  There are nine stories total, six of which have previously been published in magazine form (The New Yorker, etc.) and three of which – including the title track – appear here for the first time.