The night began with Murakami reading (in Japanese) a short story he wrote in the early ‘80s, “The Rise and Fall of the Sharpie Cakes.” Kelt’s animated though not corny English reading of the story did it justice, especially as he described crows ripping apart and gorging on Sharpies (a cake of some sort). The story, a metaphor for Murakami’s books being thrown into the world to be attacked by critics, was referenced throughout the night’s discussion.

To the delight of the audience, Murakami announced that he had finished his latest novel the previous week. Many of Murakami’s books require more than 400 pages, and this one will be long as well. Murakami said he feels sorry for commuters who have to hold his heavy books with one hand while on the underground -- especially since these commuters sometimes have to deal with the thin pages flapping around due to the wind or air conditioning. While he made it clear he’s sympathetic, Murakami also stated without doubt that he will continue to write long novels.

In addition to Kelts’ insightful questions, queries from the audience were selected as well. When asked if he read his own novels, Murakami said, “I don’t read my books in Japanese, it’s embarrassing. I do read them in English, because it’s not what I wrote.” Murakami was humorously confused by the English title of his book South of the Border, West of the Sun, which he mistakenly called “West of the Moon.”

Not all of the discussion focused on Murakami’s novels. Lifestyle also came into play, with one question from the audience being “Who are your favorite bands?” Murakami said he is a fan of Thom Yorke -- who happens to be a fan of Murakami. Unfortunately, Yorke was in Japan at the time of Murakami's trip to Berkeley, so the mutual fans missed each other. It is evident in Murakami’s books that he is a lover of music, and while in Berkeley, the avid collector of vinyl visited two record shops, Rasputin and Amoeba. “They're strange names,” Murakami said. “Something's wrong with this town.”

It was a good thing Murakami was able to stay up past his 9 p.m. bedtime on Saturday night (the man also wakes up at around 4:00 a.m.), for his discussion allowed readers a deeper understanding of his novels and of his writing process. The event also gave a window into present-day Murakami mania in the Bay Area, a phenomenon that included an insanely long line outside of Books Inc. for a San Francisco book signing. The man is worth the mania, and we should expect his newest novel (as of now, untitled) within the next two years.