What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
by: Haruki Murakami
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Product Description:
In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he’d completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, not to mention triathlons and a dozen critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and—even more important—on his writing.
Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and takes us to places ranging from Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvelous lens of sport emerges a panorama of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his greatest triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs, and the experience, after fifty, of seeing his race times improve and then fall back.
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 exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in running.
In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he’d completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, not to mention triathlons and a dozen critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and—even more important—on his writing.
Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and takes us to places ranging from Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvelous lens of sport emerges a panorama of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his greatest triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs, and the experience, after fifty, of seeing his race times improve and then fall back.
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 exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in running.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - asubtle viewpoint
Since I have run for years and suffered all the requisite injuries, this book struck a chord with me. Murakamiexplores the subject in depth bringing up points that are not instantly obvious No one will suffer from reading this more than once.
Rating: - Meditation on running
This book is part personal diary, part biography, and part meditation on running. I have not read Murakami Haruki's other works, although they are on my wishlist, and came to this book while exploring the literature on running as a sport and a recreational activity. If you are exploring running as a sport, this book is more contemplative than instructional and I would recommend you take a look at "Born to Run", or "Confessions of Ultramathon Man" instead. Having said that, if you have an interest ... Read More
Rating: 
- Engaging but slight
Like the author, I am both a novelist and a runner -- but he's far better at both than I will ever be. Murakami has run more than 30 marathons -- me just one. He's written numerous novels -- me just three (and two of those still to be published). So it was with great anticipation that I began this book.
I found it clearly written and engaging but disappointingly slight -- the kind of book an author writes to make a few extra bucks when he's become well-known and successful enough to sell just ... Read More
Rating: 
- dissapointing
I was disappointed with this memoir. The only thing I got from this book was his preternatural gift for running. He doesn't stretch, never gets sick, and has never been injured! I enjoy his novels, and had hoped he would have something insight to say about the transcendence of long distance running. He didn't deliver.
I recommend the New Yorker article over the book, which is totally worth reading.
Rating: - ...when I talk about running and triathlons
This is a good book for those interested in running or in the author.It's a very quick read, and brief, probably too brief in parts.At less than 180 pages, that's not a lot of space to talk.In addition, he wanders into discussion of triathlons for several pages, which those running purists will not like. However, for the space involved, it is worth reading as there are a lot of insightful things said about how running interacts with one's head and with one's life and work, even if you are not ... Read More
- asubtle viewpointSince I have run for years and suffered all the requisite injuries, this book struck a chord with me. Murakamiexplores the subject in depth bringing up points that are not instantly obvious No one will suffer from reading this more than once.
- Meditation on runningThis book is part personal diary, part biography, and part meditation on running. I have not read Murakami Haruki's other works, although they are on my wishlist, and came to this book while exploring the literature on running as a sport and a recreational activity. If you are exploring running as a sport, this book is more contemplative than instructional and I would recommend you take a look at "Born to Run", or "Confessions of Ultramathon Man" instead. Having said that, if you have an interest ... Read More
- Engaging but slightLike the author, I am both a novelist and a runner -- but he's far better at both than I will ever be. Murakami has run more than 30 marathons -- me just one. He's written numerous novels -- me just three (and two of those still to be published). So it was with great anticipation that I began this book.
I found it clearly written and engaging but disappointingly slight -- the kind of book an author writes to make a few extra bucks when he's become well-known and successful enough to sell just ... Read More
- dissapointingI was disappointed with this memoir. The only thing I got from this book was his preternatural gift for running. He doesn't stretch, never gets sick, and has never been injured! I enjoy his novels, and had hoped he would have something insight to say about the transcendence of long distance running. He didn't deliver.
I recommend the New Yorker article over the book, which is totally worth reading.
- ...when I talk about running and triathlonsThis is a good book for those interested in running or in the author.It's a very quick read, and brief, probably too brief in parts.At less than 180 pages, that's not a lot of space to talk.In addition, he wanders into discussion of triathlons for several pages, which those running purists will not like. However, for the space involved, it is worth reading as there are a lot of insightful things said about how running interacts with one's head and with one's life and work, even if you are not ... Read More
