Given that the world feels like it's ending, I thought you might want to read some Haruki Murakami, so I put together a quick list of some of my faves.

Dance, Dance, Dance

A great place to start with Murakami for an accessible, mysterious, fun, but not-too-dark story.

This noir-vibe novel follows a lonely writer drawn back to "the Dolphin Hotel", a hotel rich with memories from his distant past, only to find it transformed and strangely unsettling. He's drawn into an unfolding mystery and called to find and confront something (or someone) hidden in an unexpected place.

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Deeply enjoyable and fun, and great for Murakami's more fantasy-based vibes, but personally not my favorite of his. A must-read for sure but not a "must-read-first."

One of Murakami’s most fantastical novels, this story weaves two parallel but connected narratives that take place in different worlds—one a noir thriller involving underground passages, data encryption, a shadowy conspiracy and a scientist and his daughter; the other a dreamlike world set in a walled town with magical creatures and a librarian of memories.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles

Probably my favorite novel of all time. Graphic and dark at times, and quite long, but worth it. This novel actually pulled me into what felt like a waking-dream. During the course of reading it I felt as though I was navigating an "other world" while just out and about living my life. I think the book is actually a spiritual gateway. So be careful, it'll suck you in.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicles is an epic, surreal detective story about a man in Tokyo whose cat goes missing—soon followed by his wife. His search leads him to strange underground spaces apart from normal reality. His story is entangled with characters from other time periods in Japan's history, and includes graphic Japanese war stories, mystics, and strange metaphysical forces connected to a dry well in his backyard. You won't return from this novel the same.

1Q84

Probably my second-favorite novel of all time. Also a noir-like story, this one follows a femme fatale through a gateway into an alternate reality, and a writer who's tasked with helping to write a book about an alternate world that blurs the boundary between fiction and reality. So this novel also makes you wonder if you're somewhere in the novel or in some kind of parallel world. It's pretty bizarre.

This book also includes weird, dark shit and graphic descriptions of violence, including some involving a weird cult-leader who's also an abuser. So consider that a content warning. The parallel worlds and entanglements are deep in this novel, and at times it's gripping, at times disturbing, and at others moving very slowly, with time almost stopping in a cyclic stall-out of strange dreamlike eternity. Can't recommend highly enough.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

A delight to read. A great entry point for new readers, or something to mix it up if you're hungry for Murakami but don't want to spend full months slowly devouring a trilogy.

A collection of 24 short stories, some shorter sketches, some much longer and more developed, that span a wide emotional and stylistic range, from surreal and philosophical to poignant and quietly mundane. Overall, the collection feels like a cabinet of Murakami’s motifs including drifting narrators, cats, mysterious disappearances, jazz, wells, and existential discomfort.