What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Ratings271
Average rating3.9
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running was okay, I suppose. Not only do I admire Murakami, but I'm also a runner and a writer. So I expected to love this book. In fact, I couldn't wait to start it. My enthusiasm, however, was soon quelled. There were a few interesting insights about how his running fuels his writing – he believes that the former relies on the latter – and the first couple of chapters did inspire me to think about running differently, so as far as that goes, it was a success for me. However, I found the book quite dull on the whole. Ironically, it felt like a long-distance run and I was most definitely flagging towards the end. I'll stick to his wonderful fiction in future.
Memoir / series of essays on running done by a great writer. Very well written and I can see myself in lots of the stories he experienced. Nothing profound in this book though.
Stop it, Amazon. Reading this book doesn't mean I'm a runner and need more recommendations for how to up my running game. Nor (sigh) am I a writer either, in need of recommendations for how to finish a book (though I kinda-sorta do need a book like this, if one exists).
I read this book because it was recommended as a good read by a book friend. It is. It's a book about how Murakami became a writer and how he became a runner and it's a little bit of a memoir, but it's about more than that. It tells about how Murakami gets into a meditative state when he runs and when he writes. It tells about how running and writing are alike and difficult and good. It doesn't proclaim to know the truths about either of these; it's not a self-help book but I did take away a lot of self-help that wasn't explicitly stated...good books are like that.
As a mediocre endurance athlete, I identified with a lot of this book, and it inspires me to get out there, even on bleh days. Murakami incisively describes the personality traits that motivate people who run crazy distances, and how it informs our approach to life and work (in his case writing). But it also could feel rote and banal, and at times like Star Trek's Data describing human behavior. Overall a good read.
This absolutely sang to me. I wished it wasn't so short. Who better than Murakami to describe the painful and mundane details of long distance running? He is a master at turning tedium into beauty.
It's not just about running. It's also about writing, and about growing old. It's about challenging yourself and finding peace with yourself. A delightful insight into Murakami's mind.
It's not terrible, but it certainly didn't set me on fire. My main problem perhaps is that I am mostly ambivalent towards long distance running, especially after I know the long term health problems you get from it. The deification of the sport had always puzzled me, so Murakami's poetic musings did not stir me. And although he does give some insight into writing, they were not mind blowing. He just doesn't go deep enough: it's all very surface though they were some good tips. Therefore, it wasn't impactful to me, not on the level of Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott or Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Those were fantastic! This book was an all around meh to me. I STILL don't get why he's so popular.
Thought it was a good idea to read it as an introduction to Murakami, and I was half right. Even though I enjoyed it greatly, it would've been more engrossing if I were more familiar with his work. I would've been even more interested in his writing process and how it mirrors his running technique, or maybe just understood more his writing style.
As it was, I had no idea where to go with my analysis as I had no point of reference, but at least I'm finally inspired to start reading his novels.
Loved this. It's not so much about running as it is about life. At the age of 43, I got a lot from this. I expect I'll come back to it some day.
It's got a straightforward, matter of fact clip to it. The words have the persistent cadence of a light jog. It's a stream of consciousness diary of Murakami wherein I find out this amazing novelist is also an avid runner. We're talking marathon, ultramarathon, triathalon runner now into his 50's.
It didn't shed any new light on his books. It doesn't have the wind in your hair, running narrative that Once a Runner employs to great effect. It's just a literary sort of emptying of pockets accompanied by a wry “So there you go.”
This book got me back into running after a hiatus spent in the gym over winter. It's my first Murakami, but it has also inspired me to explore his work further. Quick read, equal parts about life as a runner, novelist and human being.
I was disappointed in this book. The writing felt so amateurish and unpolished, like a collection of stream of conscious notes that were in the process of being turned into a first draft. He repeated points over and over within paragraphs as well as throughout the book, over-explaining and in the process killing the vitality of the ideas. Also, there was the big problem that the book didn't make any point - it felt like listening to a very detailed and long-winded description of a mildly interesting person's day.
I read this book 8 years ago and I remember how much I liked it. I never read sport book or athlete's memoirs, but there is something about this book that really spoke to me. A reflection on his daily life, on the habit of writing and working out, on experiencing your body beyond its limits, on the silence that occurs when you've been running for hours... I would need to re-read to write a more accurate review, but I enjoy the warm feeling I still have for this book.
This book is less about running than it is about Murakami's life experiences, quips, and personal development. I think many readers will find reflections of themselves in this quiet, simple memoir.