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A review by wanderonwards
Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, Running with Sherman wasn’t the book for me, but the author is clearly talented with storytelling and I liked his humorous outlook on life. I did enjoy many of the interesting tidbits throughout, especially the short section on animal therapy with inmates (which decreased the percentage of repeat offenses in the example included) and the author’s experiences with a part of the Pennsylvania Amish community.
Running with Sherman started out slow, but began to pick up by chapter 5. However, I quickly began to lose interest as the chapters seemed to get more and more disjointed. Since this is my first book by McDougall I’m not sure if this is his writing style, but each chapter goes off on a tangent that eventually connects with the main story. But, by the time the author reaches that connection the chapter is over and I’ve forgotten both the point of the chapter and lost track of the main story, which I found increasingly distracting.
Don’t get me wrong, the author’s stories are entertaining and I generally enjoyed reading them, but they weren’t the reason I picked up the book. I picked up Running with Sherman to read about Sherman and the author’s journey to get a rescue donkey ready for a burro race the following year in Colorado. I would have enjoyed more time spent on that and less time spent on tangent stories and the author’s friends and family. Additionally, I was really uncomfortable reading the author’s account of others’ personal struggles, especially since it was unclear if he had gained prior permission to share those stories. I did not feel these stories were the author’s to share, and I hope the ambiguity surrounding that issue is cleared up in the final version.
Overall, this just wasn’t the book for me but thank you again to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.
Unfortunately, Running with Sherman wasn’t the book for me, but the author is clearly talented with storytelling and I liked his humorous outlook on life. I did enjoy many of the interesting tidbits throughout, especially the short section on animal therapy with inmates (which decreased the percentage of repeat offenses in the example included) and the author’s experiences with a part of the Pennsylvania Amish community.
Running with Sherman started out slow, but began to pick up by chapter 5. However, I quickly began to lose interest as the chapters seemed to get more and more disjointed. Since this is my first book by McDougall I’m not sure if this is his writing style, but each chapter goes off on a tangent that eventually connects with the main story. But, by the time the author reaches that connection the chapter is over and I’ve forgotten both the point of the chapter and lost track of the main story, which I found increasingly distracting.
Don’t get me wrong, the author’s stories are entertaining and I generally enjoyed reading them, but they weren’t the reason I picked up the book. I picked up Running with Sherman to read about Sherman and the author’s journey to get a rescue donkey ready for a burro race the following year in Colorado. I would have enjoyed more time spent on that and less time spent on tangent stories and the author’s friends and family. Additionally, I was really uncomfortable reading the author’s account of others’ personal struggles, especially since it was unclear if he had gained prior permission to share those stories. I did not feel these stories were the author’s to share, and I hope the ambiguity surrounding that issue is cleared up in the final version.
Overall, this just wasn’t the book for me but thank you again to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.