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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I just love this book. Re-reading this for comfort reading.
i picked this up because i enjoy murakami and i enjoy memoirs. a murakami memoir (of sorts) seemed like a good fit, even if it was about running (bleah). reading it, though, was an experience i can only describe as weird. his usual 'voice' as an author, which i like so much, was stripped away, leaving a very mundane style. if this were a blog, you probably wouldn't read more than one entry. unless you were really into running.. i suppose(?). i was just hoping it would be deeper than it was, but in the end i didn't come away with anything. bummer.
In my opinion, for a book called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Murakami sure spent many, many pages talking about writing and training for the non-running parts of a triathlon. It felt like a bit of a bait-and-switch. A more appropriate title may have been What I Talk About When I Talk About Myself. I guess I'm just not a fan of false advertising, and it's a shame because the sections where he did discuss running were quite relatable and insightful. There was just too little of it for my taste.
Didn't love the writing style at the beginning, but eventually got used to it and enjoyed the 2nd half.
informative
medium-paced
This is very good. It's a memoir of sorts of Murakami's life, but centered on running. Chapters are small notes Murakami wrote throughout his many years of marathon and triathlon training, which sometimes delve into what he was doing or how he was living at the time. He talks a lot about how running is a fundamental aspect of his life and work as a novelist, and that was very interesting to me. Murakami himself mentions how that goes against the "artist" archetype people commonly apply to novelists and the like where any physical exercise is abhorred, but to him writing is as about physical exertion as it is mental. I really liked the analogies in this book: about extracting the "thing" inside him for creative work, about thinking of himself as a machine during the most strenuous part of the ultramarathon he ran and some others sprinkled throughout the pages. In the end, this book is just another example of how I really enjoy Murakami's writing, be it fiction or non-fiction. He just has a way with words that is special, though it's like his style is not really having that much of a marked style. I'll have to think about it later. But I really recommend this if you enjoy Murakami.
As a final note, Murakami puts it well in the beginning of the book: running is something you either want to do or don't. To him, you don't really grow into it if it's not something you like. Though it's not a personal habit, I like running myself, but not the long-distance kind that Murakami favors. But reading this did make me more interested in that modality, I even tried running for an hour this week and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Digressions aside, it's a book that gives some (though small) insight on Murakami's quite private life and it's not only an easy read but entertaining as well.
Some quotes:
"Nothing in the real world is as beautiful as the illusions of a person about to lose consciousness."
"I don't think we should judge the value of our lives by how efficient they are."
"The body is an extremely practical system. You have to let it experience intermittent pain over time, and then the body will get the point. As a result, it will willingly accept (or maybe not) the increased amount of exercise it's made to do."
"Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent."
"Just as I have my own role to play, so does time. And times does its job much more faithfully, much more accurately, than I ever do. (...) And one of the privileges given to those who've avoided dying young is the blessed right to grow old. The honor of physical decline is waiting, and you have to get used to that reality."
As a final note, Murakami puts it well in the beginning of the book: running is something you either want to do or don't. To him, you don't really grow into it if it's not something you like. Though it's not a personal habit, I like running myself, but not the long-distance kind that Murakami favors. But reading this did make me more interested in that modality, I even tried running for an hour this week and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Digressions aside, it's a book that gives some (though small) insight on Murakami's quite private life and it's not only an easy read but entertaining as well.
Some quotes:
"Nothing in the real world is as beautiful as the illusions of a person about to lose consciousness."
"I don't think we should judge the value of our lives by how efficient they are."
"The body is an extremely practical system. You have to let it experience intermittent pain over time, and then the body will get the point. As a result, it will willingly accept (or maybe not) the increased amount of exercise it's made to do."
"Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent."
"Just as I have my own role to play, so does time. And times does its job much more faithfully, much more accurately, than I ever do. (...) And one of the privileges given to those who've avoided dying young is the blessed right to grow old. The honor of physical decline is waiting, and you have to get used to that reality."
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
An interesting take on an autobiography. Murakami is honest, funny and poignant. Warning: If listen to this on audible WHILST going for a run, you'll be inspired in places - but if it's during the Athens marathon chapter, you'll come home needing a cold beer...
Its not groundbreaking, its not earth shattering but its endearing and grew on me. Of course he is talking to a convert, so its an easy conversation. Enjoyed it, never got frustrated with it and like a gentle long run the perfect length.
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced