Novelist Haruki Murakami of Japan attends a news conference in Prague October 30, 2006. He was in Prague to receive the Franz Kafka International Literary Prize
What's your favorite book?
Sarosh Shaheen
Ottawa, Canada
The Great Gatsby
. I translated it a couple of years ago. I wanted to translate it when I was in my 20s, but I wasn't ready.
How has distance-running affected you as a writer?
Pallavi Dixit
Minneapolis, Minn.
You need two things to write a big book: concentration and endurance. Running long distances gives me the power of endurance.