I need to talk to more people, more often

I am reading Murakami’s Men without women right now. I feel like I had read it earlier.

Men without women is a collection of stories. The story that I am reading now, Scheherazade, has made me almost sure that I’ve read this earlier. I remember this story. I do not remember the ones I had read before. But this one I remember earlier.

I had first started reading Murakami, actually I don’t remember when I first read Murakami. I had started with What I talk about when I talk about running. I was interested in running and writing. I had searched for a book that talked about writing, and this and Stephen King’s memoir - On writing were both highly recommended. I had read it and loved it so much that I had gone and picked up other books of him.

During this time, I am fairly certain I read Men without Women first. But I don’t have any record of having done so. I was not keeping notes then, nor was I publishing book reviews on my blog.

Anyway.

While reading ‘An Independent Organ’, the story preceding ‘Scheherazade‘, I realised I do not talk to people as often and as much as I should. Prerna had told me something similar after I published NL43. She said, ‘You did not talk to the owners of Toni’s place. You did not ask them when did they come here. When did they start the restaurant? What’s their story?’

And I realised I did not. I had not asked them anything. I used to do this. I used to talk to people, and then I used to write stories about them. I have not talked to anyone in a long time. That’s not good. If I want to write stories, I need to listen to stories too.

That’s what I love about Murakami. His stories are about people, going about their lives. Somehow he makes them engrossing.

I want to emulate some of that.