What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami Review

While I was living overseas, I tried valiantly to read Murakami's 1Q84.  I enjoyed the prose and the even style of writing - level, calm, and unhurried.  Unfortunately, I had a copy with all three or four volumes in one, which made for something like over 300 pages of calm, unhurried writing...and I put it down.  Alas alack, etc.

This, however, was just right - a lovely introduction to the writer, and also gave some insight into his style and mindset.  I'd only heard good things about both Murakami and this book before reading, and was not disappointed.

If you're looking for a slow-paced summer read for sitting in cafes or on the stoop, pick it up.  It's not an "athletics" book, and it's not just about writing.  I think it's fair to say it's about life changing, making choices and sticking with them, community, and how we respond to challenges in life.

Basic plot: (from back cover) An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect, from the incomparable, bestselling author Haruki Murakami.  While training for the New York City Marathon, Haruki Murakami decided to keep a journal of his progress.  The result is a beautiful memoir about his intertwined obsessions with running and writing, full of vivid memories and insights, including the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer.  By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich and revelatory, both for fans of this masterful yet guardedly private writer and for the expanding population who find similar satisfaction in athletic pursuit.

On a scale from 1 to Cripplingly Depressing: 0

Memories from reading: I read this while waiting for graduation ceremonies to start and for my plane to arrive, which I think added something to it.  There was never one period where I just sat and read for ages, and the book is good for that - when you have a moment, the pieces you do read are engaging and thought-provoking.

Teeth-gnashing: Nothing, really.  I can't think of any bits that I wish had been longer, or cut short.  It all seemed to be put together very well.

Weapon of Choice: Paperback, from The Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, MA.

Other titles by this author:

After Dark

After the Quake

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Kafka on the Shore

Norwegian Wood

Have you read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, or any of Murakami's other books? What did you think?

this time last year

church of the holy sepulcher, jerusalem, easter sunday 2013.

around these parts

Hello!

Long time no see! Well, yes.  Here we are, one week post-craziness, and I for one am ready for the blessed weekend.  The past week has had me in four cities and at multiple events, leaving the house at 6:30am and not getting back until close to 10pm.  Exhausting.  Ruh-diculous.  But also wonderful. 

How the heck have you been? What have you been up to lately? 

I haven't had the chance to sit down to write a book review in ages, but here's hoping you're just as happy to see some pictures from some of my escapades.  Here we go.

^^I volunteered at the Young Women of Achievement Awards hosted by the Women's Information Network at the Carnegie Institute of Science on Thursday.  This was the only shot I got out of the night, but it was absolutely one of the best things I've done lately.  I grabbed some awesome cookies, mingled with the nicest ladies, and was incredibly impressed and inspired by the work that all of these women are doing.  Go check out their profiles! Added bonus? All of them are in their 20's and 30's.  Incredible.^^

^^New York City, best city in the world, hands-down, was where I went for a graduate student open-house weekend, and again, this was the only picture I took (what?!).  This was the hilarious gum they gave out our first day, and it actually tasted pretty yummy.  I saw some wonderful family friends who are more like family, got to visit with friends from Israel that I haven't seen in months, and managed to nearly talk my face off about philosophy, theology, and pedagogy.  I also came back with five extra books, but what I lost in packing space I gained in upper-body strength. ;) ^^

^^I visited my alma mater for the first time since graduating nearly three years ago, which was very weird.  The same, and yet not.  I went for a meeting and wished I could have stayed a bit longer, but - who am I kidding - the best of all worlds would have been to have had the old gang gallivanting around campus catching up and laughing.  Another few years till then! ^^

^^I moved! I am still in the "I don't know where anything is,"/"I think there's an axe-murderer in my closet" phase, but things look much better today than they did two days ago.  We managed to semi-reconstruct my Ikea furniture, and let me tell you...nothing brings out the cray in people more than trying to figure out how to put together anything bought a year ago from Ikea.  This does mean, however, that the countdown till Sheba returns to the premises is whittling away.  We're talking single digits here, people.^^

I'm off to buy some shower curtain rings (I know I packed them, I saw them in their bag before we got here, and yet...gone.  Totally, completely disappeared.) and get things straightened up before Shabbat.  Enjoy your weekend!

Yours in sweltering apartment heat,
Cornelia