What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (Vintage International) by Haruki Murakami (EPUB)

Description

An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is an illuminating glimpse into the solitary passions of one of our greatest artists.While training for the New York City Marathon, Haruki Murakami decided to keep a journal of his progress. The result is a memoir about his intertwined obsessions with running and writing, full of vivid recollections and insights, including the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer. By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, here is a rich and revelatory work that elevates the human need for motion to an art form.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Having never read any of Murakami’s work, this book was a gift from my son since I run. This is an excellent and relatively easy read that gets at many of the ins and outs of running. While some of it is pretty basic and reads like a memoir, there are moments where he quite poignantly hits on why running is a form of therapy — part meditation, part exercise, and a welcome part of daily routine. Murakami deftly weaves his thoughts on running with his life of writing, and these moments prove the most thought-provoking. Whether or not you are a runner, if you are a fan of his writing you’ll likely enjoy this book. I know I’m excited to read his other works!

⭐Lots of things go through our minds as we run. It helps us deal with our lives and the world around us. Running is one of the world’s best kept secrets that everyone knows about, if that makes sense. I’ll think about it on my next run. Great book to read and pause from time to time to reflect.

⭐”All I can see is the ground three yards ahead, nothing beyond. My whole world consistes of the ground three yards ahead. No need to think beyond that….this was my tiny reason for living.”Haruki Murakami, best know for his `stream of consciousness’ and brutally honest writing style, goes introspective on the weird random thoughts he has when he runs. In a memoir (of sorts) he draws from his life as a hugely successful novelist, seasoned bar owner, and, on most frigid New England afternoons, long distance runner, to bring us his views of the world, writing and running.I read this book for Murakami’s thoughts on writing first and foremost. I’ve known of his quirky writing style for some time, and thought I might get a little insight into that groovy brain of his. Little did I suspect this book would be so spiritual. As it turns out, the writing `advice’ or `tips’ are pretty scarce: Haruki describes it mostly as painful, grinding manual labor. In fact, for a guy that runs as much as he does, it turns out he almost never gets any new ideas for novels while running. I found this somewhat disappointing. Of all the time he spends running, and he doesn’t get any inspiration at all? But then I realized, that his job is writing and selling books, why would he want to think about work, in what is meant to be an escape from the office.As boring as it sounds, Murakami seems to get all his great ideas from….pushing himself to keep writing, in much the same way he pushes himself to run. It looks glamourous and “fun” from afar, but it really is work. If you want to be good, there is no secret, you just have to work. I’ve heard of writers that force themselves to write in volume, either 10 pages a day, or a notepad per week, whatever-they force themselves to get it all out on the page, and then the real fun comes later: editing (sometimes tossing 80-90% of their original draft).The beauty of Murakami’s writing is that he’s able to revisit a past moment, and relive it so vividly, that he can recapture the stream of consciousness, the wild ramblings of his inner mind, that seems the most impossible thing to recall, the hardest thing to fake. He’s either brilliant at making this up, or has an amazing memory. Either way, we get to tag along (not just in this, but his other novels as well).When it comes to running, Murakami goes the distance. Sprinting for 40 metres is wild, electric and explosive, whereas long distance running is something else entirely: it’s almost pointless in its repetitiveness and slow plodding pace; it can be dull, it can be lonely, it can be brutally painful and intimidating-what can we possibly learn from running? In many ways, Murakami reflects in Spiritual, almost ascetic tones on the breakthroughs he’s had while running marathons: it’s only when he’s been pushed to the physical breaking point, that his perceptions of pain and thirst, and ego, and struggle, truly shattered into a million pieces, like when he describes his 62-mile ultra marathon run. The last 30 minutes, he recounts, as a blissful breezy union with nature, where the plants and the birds, and all the clouds seemed to cheer him on, and he passed about 30 other runners. He seemed to break free from his own body, for just a brief period, but as they say, a mind once learned, will never see the world the same way again.And all those races, what’s it all for? Ego? Fame? Publicity? Not at all. Running is one of the few sports where, you’re racing against yourself, so you can’t lie. You have to be brutally honest, because no one else cares. There is no publicity and the awards are few and far between. You can walk. You can quit. No one will ever push you to run (and most will even talk you out of it, because you’re ultrafit lifestyle is incredibly annoying). But you don’t run because it’s easy, you do it, because you want to push yourself, and be as strong at 52 as you were at 25. Murakami, again, in brutal honesty, recounts with some regret that he may never be as strong as agile as he once was. It’s nature. It’s reality.It’s not just a race, it’s a struggle with mortality. Ultimately, the rewards come as glimpses of some great awakening-glimpses that we don’t get if we walk the last 2 miles of the marathon. The great battle against our tired racked bodies (and what they may or may not be capable of) can only be won out there, on the lonely road, at the crack of dawn, with our bleary eyes focused on the next 3 yards, and nothing more.More Reviews like this on 21tiger

⭐WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNINGMe running together with MurakamiThis is a very special kind of book. I wonder whether anybody having nothing to do with running would be interested in reading this book. On one hand the subject matter of the book calls for personal engagement with running, but on the other, the author is a big master of formulating his ideas so that…. He could make an interesting story out of a block of wood, why then not of his personal experiences of looking around while using the simplest means of transportation in a most effective way.Murakami really runs his eyes open and observing. Having done that already a quarter of a century as a means to writing books and distributing them in millions of copies in tens of languages all over the world is utmost impressive. What a fantastic simplicity in combination! Just running, seeing and writing!While reading this book I felt myself his co-runner, already for the reason that I started my running only a few years before Murakami, in 1977 at the age of forty years. But sadly enough, especially looking at it now, in the light of this story, finished my career only seven years later, physically, but not spiritually. Twelve marathons, half an hour faster than Murakami – proud to say. Once runner, always runner, that is the main thing and the motivation to read this book.The second chapter of the book is a good rough description of my own career. The same steps, same transformation of every day habits in eating, resting, body hurting and enjoying a new way of life. Murakami started his career as writer about parallel to his running. I also wrote books, text books in economics, but was at that time already finishing my career after tens of thousand books and going over to computer programming, still continuing it today. And differently from Murakami, never have I been able to see any direct connection between my motioning and writing.Murakami’s devotion and stamina are impressive. At several occasions he is telling, how important it is to make running an everyday habit. I found it shocking, when he tells about leaving his smoking. Perhaps, instead of pills, running should be advised as a means of getting rid of smoking! Running and smoking – a completely impossible combination, it really seems to me. My big thing was getting rid of 20 kg overweight. Another big was that I first time found myself a long distance runner after having been a sprinter in my young days, up to 20 years of age.Starting this running book I was already familiar with Murakami’s grass root level writing style from his later book about the lone rider Tsukuru in ‘Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage’. Now having finished this running book I only remember, how I was somewhat disappointed with some overly detailed description of certain technicalities after the takeoff of the flight in running and even more interesting in the parallel start of his author’s career. There are two more very big causes of disappointment in this otherwise so excellent and under the skin going story. One is his, or the editor’s, or the translator’s, or the publisher’s harring to miles as the measure of distance. Is it only the English translation that requires miles, or is this true also in Japan in general? Another disappointment was that he never gives his exact running times in plain numbers. I would have preferred that way in stead of roughly putting it in words like three hours forty five minutes etc.There is still another very personal disappointment to me. I expected that I would find in this book the solution of the main riddle after the other book mentioned above. How on Earth does Murakami give my country Finland a special treatment in that other book? Perhaps something to do with running? With the Finnish great champion, his exact coeval Lasse Virén, double gold medal winner of long distance running in two olympic games, that is: one man, four gold medals! No answer to this question. Not in the other book, not in this, not even in Wikipedia. So perhaps I must continue reading Murakami. Not an unpleasant undertaking for the future! Do I dare to give only four stars – mainly because of the continuous nuisance of miles in stead of kilometers?20150204

⭐Grand Daughter is enjoying the book

⭐Another non fiction book by Murakami so dont expect a story.I was hoping for a biography/documentary type book by and on Haruki Murakami and he wrote this.I was unsure of it when i bought but i ended up loving it.I love the author but also wanted to start running so it was 2 birds one stone.I really enjoyed his routine, his diary like running and experiences in different countries.This is a must if you are thinking of running.He was after all 33 when he decided to start running and still does religiously at nearly 70!!Very inspirational to me.A great background into his running,some humour involved,albeit shorter than his fiction novels but perfect length although i didnt want it to end.Funny enough i did visualise what i was doing in the past when he mentioned preparing for famous past marathons.Overall it wont be to everyones taste but to me i enjoyed it, i just hope he releases an in depth book into his life.Highly recommend to the reader interested in the subject.

⭐Murakami makes this book a super light, interesting memoir about personal development, discipline and progress – easy to get through in a couple of days at the most.I have no interest in running (though I did consider starting after reading this) and bought a copy for my girlfriend who also has no interest in running, just because I loved it so much, and leant my copy to a colleague who I never got it back from! I need to get myself another copy I think!

⭐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?

⭐`What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’ is a part running and part writing memoir from Haruki Murakami and although relatively short it kept me engrossed the whole way through. This follows Murakami as he talks about how he started running and how he trains for various events. It also looks at how his running has affected his writing and how one often helps the other. It is made up of many short essays that follow on from one another and flow well chronologically and sit well together as a complete book. It is written in a deceptively simple way and although this has many short sentences, each one is expertly crafted and is describes what he is writing about perfectly. He also talks about his triathlon training which breaks up the book slightly and adds to the overall dynamic of the book. His tenacity whilst running ultra marathons is impressive and his resolves in maintaining his training schedule, come what may, should be an inspiration for those of us (I.e. all of us) runners who struggle to get out of the door sometimes. The part where he runs the Athens to Marathon route was especially good but to be honest this is packed full of many such stories to keep you reading and interested. I’d suggest you will enjoy this more if you run regularly, but that is in no way a prerequisite and you can enjoy this just as much if you are a couch potato. Well worth checking out.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

⭐Murakami is surely one of the most likable authors around and this deft and heartfelt little book about running entertained me throughout.This is not a book for people who are looking to learn about running techniques, nutrition, or time improvement. It is simply a series of essays by Murakami about his running experiences, loosely structured around his training for the New York marathon. Long distance runners will understand and empathise with his tales of grueling training and motivations for running. Writers will find the comparisons he draws between running and writing fascinating.Those who are active in measured sports like distance running are more likely to see the marching of the years add onto their times than most, and Murakami is no exception. Some of the most interesting and poignant passages are about his aknowledgement and acceptance of encroaching old age.Definitely one for both runners and fans of Murakami.

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