Murakami on Writing, Dead Twitter Writers, Poet Stamps, and More Lit Links

- Ever wonder what it is like to pick up 27,000 books that have fallen after an earthquake? This Flickr page from the University of Maryland is for you. (via Galleycat)

- 10 novels that Flavorwire dares you to finish. The only one I’ve finished is Infinite Jest (yes, footnotes and all).

<p style="text-align: justify”>- 99% extracts some writing advice from Haruki Murakami’s memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running:

Most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day. These are practical, physical lessons. How much can I push myself? How much rest is appropriate—and how much is too much? How far can I take something and still keep it decent and consistent? When does it become narrow-minded and inflexible? How much should I be aware of the world outside, and how much should I focus on my inner world? To what extent should I be confident in my abilities, and when should I start doubting myself? I know that if I hadn’t become a long-distance runner when I became a novelist, my work would have been vastly different. How different? Hard to say. But something would definitely have been different.

- Speaking of Murakami, his highly anticipated novel 1Q84 comes out next month. The Millions has the scoop on the first lines:

The taxi’s radio was tuned to a classical FM broadcast. Janáček’s Sinfonietta—probably not the ideal music to hear in a taxi caught in traffic. The middle-aged driver didn’t seem to be listening very closely, either. With his mouth clamped shut, he stared straight ahead at the endless line of cars stretching out on the elevated expressway, like a veteran fisherman standing in the bow of his boat, reading the ominous confluence of two currents. Aomame settled into the broad back seat, closed her eyes, and listened to the music.

- The Millions also looks into why literary authors are writing genre books. An interesting discussion ensues in the comments section.

- Teju Cole’s top 10 novels of solitude featuring Ralph Ellison, Lydia Davis, Kazuo Ishiguro, and others.

- NPR takes a look at Twitter accounts of dead authors:

Among the new Twitter performers, the most popular seem to be those who have adopted the identities of famous authors, both living and dead. There is no pretense of reality in these imitations — it is a game, an inside joke — and people are really getting into it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all, and who better to flatter via the written word than one’s favorite writers? It only makes sense that Twitter, with its text-based delivery formula, would become fertile ground for literary mockingbirds.

- Lastly, the USPS is going to be issuing stamps of American poets in 2012. Check them out:

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