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The Desk of Haruki Murakami

harukimurakami.com

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Re: The Desk of Haruki Murakami

#21

Post by TurboHaskal »

sleepyhead wrote: post #19
TurboHaskal wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How come? That's hardly an office but a living room with sub-par ergonomics when it comes to getting work done.

> sub-par ergonomics uh, you can't even see what type of chair he uses. > hardly an office So to be an office there is some strict requirements that it has to fulfil? I'll tell the local startup incubator in Phnom Penh where developers sat outside in 40c on wooden benches (with plastic container over power outlet for protection on rainy days) because the few rooms inside were occupied (no a/c).

I don't even need to see the chair. Just the mere positioning of the screen makes me cringe.

The article mentions vinyl records, a coffe mug, a baseball figurine... That's hardly the kind of equipment that comes to my mind when I think of an office. How does it make it a dream office when the only relevant material mentioned are a bunch of pencils?

This is just some guy showing off his music collection.

Re: The Desk of Haruki Murakami

#22

Post by rodgerd »

TurboHaskal wrote: post #21
sleepyhead wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sub-par ergonomics uh, you can't even see what type of chair he uses. > hardly an office So to be an office there is some strict requirements that it has to fulfil? I'll tell the local startup incubator in Phnom Penh where developers sat outside in 40c on wooden benches (with plastic container over power outlet for protection on rainy days) because the few rooms inside were occupied (no a/c).

I don't even need to see the chair. Just the mere positioning of the screen makes me cringe. The article mentions vinyl records, a coffe mug, a baseball figurine... That's hardly the kind of equipment that comes to my mind when I think of an office. How does it make it a dream office when the only relevant material mentioned are a bunch of pencils? This is just some guy showing off his music collection.

Let me know when your vastly superior office has allowed to to produce work that makes you a perennial Nobel contender, or equivalent thereof.

Re: The Desk of Haruki Murakami

#23

Post by sirtaj »

TurboHaskal wrote: post #21
sleepyhead wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> sub-par ergonomics uh, you can't even see what type of chair he uses. > hardly an office So to be an office there is some strict requirements that it has to fulfil? I'll tell the local startup incubator in Phnom Penh where developers sat outside in 40c on wooden benches (with plastic container over power outlet for protection on rainy days) because the few rooms inside were occupied (no a/c).

I don't even need to see the chair. Just the mere positioning of the screen makes me cringe. The article mentions vinyl records, a coffe mug, a baseball figurine... That's hardly the kind of equipment that comes to my mind when I think of an office. How does it make it a dream office when the only relevant material mentioned are a bunch of pencils? This is just some guy showing off his music collection.

Are you sure you're aware what he does for a living?

Re: The Desk of Haruki Murakami

#24

Post by DomreiRoam »

sleepyhead wrote: post #19
TurboHaskal wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How come? That's hardly an office but a living room with sub-par ergonomics when it comes to getting work done.

> sub-par ergonomics uh, you can't even see what type of chair he uses. > hardly an office So to be an office there is some strict requirements that it has to fulfil? I'll tell the local startup incubator in Phnom Penh where developers sat outside in 40c on wooden benches (with plastic container over power outlet for protection on rainy days) because the few rooms inside were occupied (no a/c).

Can you tell more about this startup incubator? Where is situated? Does it have a website?

Thanks!

Re: The Desk of Haruki Murakami

#26

Post by benten10 »

martijn_himself wrote: post #7

I really like Murakami's work- my favourite is 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'. But I've just finished reading 'Kafka on the Shore' and came away thinking it was too much fantasy and a bit shallow. Because of his masterful style he sometimes gets away with unresolved plots and mysteries but this was just too much. I like magical realism though. Any recommendations for other writers?

Salman Rushdie all the way!

My favorite is satanic verses, by far.

Midnight's children is his most popular work though.

For both books, having even a basic knowledge of Indian history would make the experience much better.

The ground beneath her feet is incredible too. Shame is intense, and if you're feeling thin on South Asian history I'd go with either.

Or if you want to go with European/world history, enchantress of Florence is a good one. Very well reviewed but I personally never read beyond the first thirty pages.

His new book 1001 nights is coming out this Sept. The short excerpt published in new yorker from it was incredible, so that might be a good option too.

East/West is a great short story collection, but has less magic than his novels.

Re: The Desk of Haruki Murakami

#28

Post by tempestn »

brillenfux wrote: post #10

So everything looks neat, but he's twisting his back to look at the monitor? Of course it's a Mac ;-)

I thought that too, but it looks like it would be pretty easy to slide over behind the keyboard for serious use. Maybe that's what he does. (Although I do know people who work crooked like that all the time!)

Re: The Desk of Haruki Murakami

#29

Post by martijn_himself »

benten10 wrote: post #26
martijn_himself wrote: post #7

I really like Murakami's work- my favourite is 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'. But I've just finished reading 'Kafka on the Shore' and came away thinking it was too much fantasy and a bit shallow. Because of his masterful style he sometimes gets away with unresolved plots and mysteries but this was just too much. I like magical realism though. Any recommendations for other writers?

Salman Rushdie all the way! My favorite is satanic verses, by far. Midnight's children is his most popular work though. For both books, having even a basic knowledge of Indian history would make the experience much better. The ground beneath her feet is incredible too. Shame is intense, and if you're feeling thin on South Asian history I'd go with either. Or if you want to go with European/world history, enchantress…

Great suggestions, thank you very much (and the same holds for the other replies to my question).
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