Haruki Murakami Releasing A New Book

Squashing bookshelves the world over, Haruki Murakami continues to be as recognized for his weighty tomes as much as his literary prowess.

So, now the Japanese author has announced that The Strange Library, originally published in Japanese in 2008, is being translated into the English language by Ted Goossen, you might want to make some more space on your shelf ahead of its December release.

Although don't go too crazy, as it's a lean 96-page work. As for the novella itself, it's as mind-bending as you might expect, telling the scare-filled tale of a boy taken hostage in a library by an old man who forces him to memorize a number of books with the eventual idea of eating his brain to absorb that information. Soon the boy plans to break out with the aid of a girl and, yes, a doughnut-making man dressed as a sheep.

Given that this announcement comes only a fortnight after we ran an exclusive extract of his latest English language masterwork - Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage, to say we're excited is an understatement.

This December really will feel like if all our Christmases have come at once.

AND FOR MURAKAMI BUFFS, HERE ARE 20 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE AUTHOR