After receiving the Gunzo Award for his 1979 literary work "Hear the Wind Sing", Murakami did not aspire to meet other writers. Aside from Sarah Lawrence's Mary Morris, whom he briefly mentions in his memoir "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" alongside Joyce Carol Oates and Toni Morrison, Murakami was never a part of a community of writers, his reason being that he was a loner and was never fond of groups, schools, and literary circles. When working on a book, Murakami states that he relies on his wife, who is always his first reader. While he never acquainted himself with many writers, among the contemporary writers, he enjoys the work of Kazuo Ishiguro, Cormac McCarthy, Lee Child and Dag Solstad. While he does not read much contemporary Japanese literature, Murakami enjoys the works of Ryū Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto.