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A review by anoriega
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, Haruki Murakami
4.0
*4.5*
Like I mentioned in my status update, I really need to read more Murakami. His style of writing intrigues me and weirdly enough I think this was the perfect intro to get to know him more as a person and author.
I'm currently really enjoy running. I try to do it every other day and even though obtaining a better time is in the back of my head, it's not my main priority. Sometimes I do beat myself up because I can always do better, but then I realize that's not important in the scheme of just moving your feet consecutively for a certain amount of time and blanking out the rest of your mind. When you really get into running it's amazing to just feel the rhythm of your feet move up and down, your muscles stretching and hearing the soft scrapes of your shoes on the pavement.
Murakami understands all of this and more. He's a dedicated long-distance runner, with a much better pace than most people I know. More than just a leisure time activity, he has done numerous marathons and races around the world. I'm not at that level, and might not ever be, but that feeling and the reasoning behind why he runs and how it has shaped him as a person is mutual. This is a short, simple read. Like Murakami says, it's not intended to be a memoir or a quick autobiography. Perhaps in a way it is, but it's more of a sit-down chat with his readers.
The book starts out in the midst of Murakami training for the NY marathon. Along the way of hist training and other writing, he decides to recount his running history- how he started, why and eventually how it's shaped him as a person. There are several instances where I just stopped and reflected; minuscule sentences that were small but powerful. If you're a runner, whether you just started or are an old-timer at the sport, you should definitely pick up this book. Like he mentions, one day you just start running and that's it.
Like I mentioned in my status update, I really need to read more Murakami. His style of writing intrigues me and weirdly enough I think this was the perfect intro to get to know him more as a person and author.
I'm currently really enjoy running. I try to do it every other day and even though obtaining a better time is in the back of my head, it's not my main priority. Sometimes I do beat myself up because I can always do better, but then I realize that's not important in the scheme of just moving your feet consecutively for a certain amount of time and blanking out the rest of your mind. When you really get into running it's amazing to just feel the rhythm of your feet move up and down, your muscles stretching and hearing the soft scrapes of your shoes on the pavement.
Murakami understands all of this and more. He's a dedicated long-distance runner, with a much better pace than most people I know. More than just a leisure time activity, he has done numerous marathons and races around the world. I'm not at that level, and might not ever be, but that feeling and the reasoning behind why he runs and how it has shaped him as a person is mutual. This is a short, simple read. Like Murakami says, it's not intended to be a memoir or a quick autobiography. Perhaps in a way it is, but it's more of a sit-down chat with his readers.
The book starts out in the midst of Murakami training for the NY marathon. Along the way of hist training and other writing, he decides to recount his running history- how he started, why and eventually how it's shaped him as a person. There are several instances where I just stopped and reflected; minuscule sentences that were small but powerful. If you're a runner, whether you just started or are an old-timer at the sport, you should definitely pick up this book. Like he mentions, one day you just start running and that's it.