What I Talk about When I Talk about Running: A Memoir (Vintage International) Paperback – 1 Jan. 1900

I.am not a runner. But I am a cyclist, and I ride long distances. I am also a writer, though of business content, not fiction. And I'm getting on a bit. I found this to be a meditation on running, but for running I could easily substitute cycling, a bit on writing, and a little bit on ageing, though the last is what resonated the most with me. I too note that my race times at getting slower, despite no reduction in effort. I blame myself for not working hard enough and feel dejected when my times are slower than they were five years ago. Murukami reminds me I am normal. Ageing is normal. More than that, it is a privilege. He describes his personality as not very attractive. He is an introvert. So am I. I'd love to meet him. I think I'd like him very much. A book to read and re-read at different stages of life.

I enjoyed reading this as a novelist who is also a runner. I've enjoyed the author's novels and it was intersting to get an insight into his life and background, but I was glad it was relatively short.

Engaging. Great read.

This product was bought as a gift for a friend who has participated in lots of half marathons and who motivates me to go out running.I have read it in Greek (gift from mum) and it was quite interesting to go into the mind of a frequent marathon runner!I have done a half marathon and doing another one soon, maybe a full marathon in the future, gets more interesting towards the second half of the book. Would recommend to first time half marathon runners that want some idea of what it is all about.Interesting to find out how running affects your life and clears your mind, as well as contributing to travelling for races and socialising. Setting goals and accomplishing them....its all in your mind and mental strength.My friend said it was good and enjoyable to read.Put those shoes on, look up and keep smiling!Thanks

Not for everyone, although there are some meditation aspects but runners can relate. Interesting read and account of a runner.

Yes, if you've ever read a Murakami story. Yes, if you ever lace up a pair of trainers and run to your own personal rhythm. Yes, if you're interested in the art of the novel. Yes, if you're none of those. You'll find a friend in these pages.As you would expect from a writer of his pedigree, a book about the activity he has pursued since 1982, running, is about much more that the non-runner/running-averse can get their teeth into. As the writer himself says in Chapter One: "running is both exercise and a metaphor." (p10) This philosophy is made apparent in the approach he has taken to writing and presenting this book, and he subsequently reveals much of his inner-self as reflected upon the choices he has made and those activities he has chosen to pursue.This is not a brash book revealing a brash personality boosted by the buzz of running. No, it's a book about an individual constantly reinventing and fighting to find elements of a self that he is content to call his own. I think this is something we can all relate to, whatever lifestyle choices we make or have made.Of course, as a runner, a reader of Haruki and a bit of a word-doodler, you could say that this is a book tailored to me. Again, I think the book's reach is far broader than that: as a reader, I enjoy opening my mind to experiences that lie beyond my own world, as you can only really be enlightened by that which you don't already know or have realised.That's not to say that this book, as I have already mentioned, doesn't have any value for those to whom it appears to be made, such as me: far from it. Through reading the reflections of someone as perceptive as Murakami on issues we - well 'I', for sure - have all wrestled with or experienced, you are able to smile at a metaphorical moment shared and/or be comforted by a familiar problem or obstacle surmounted.Yes, I guess, for me, the time with this book was like time spent with a good friend: we talked, we laughed, we consoled, we supported, and then we went home. It was all-too-brief and we haven't changed the world, but the time we spent together was special and a great comfort to us both.And for those of you whose world of experience falls beyond that of Haruki, running and writing, you are, therefore, in a position to be enlightened, in some small way, about an aspect of each, which takes me back to what I enjoy about a book and, consequently, makes me think that you'd enjoy it, too.Which is a long-winded way of reiterating that I think there is something in this short book for everyone that, whilst not maybe world-changing, is life-affirming and entertaining, and isn't that really enough to expect?

Unlike some of Murakami's books, which I found a bit of a hard slog at times, I whizzed through this book.It's more of a memoir than a novel and although it relates principally to the place running has in the author's life, it's not really a book *about* running. For me, it was more of a book about achieving goals as well as contemplating getting old in a positive way.I found myself underlining many passages in this book. In fact, on reflection, I see this book as a kind of "thinking person's" 'The Alchemist'. There are definitely some lessons that Murakami has learned that we can learn from and/or be inspired by, but without the wishy washiness of Coehlo (IMHO).Others have described the content of the book so I wont bother re-doing that. This book is an easy read and not a book only for runners at all. Five stars.