What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir (Vintage International), Book Cover May Vary Paperback – August 11, 2009

I must state that having heard so much about Murakami and of the immense popularity of "1Q84", I wanted to see what it was all about. Being a triathlete, I decided that this was the book to pick up first.A fast read, it is a memoir of how he first became a runner and his perception on life. He's a bare-bones sort of guy, wants no embellishment and doesn't glamorize anything. He is practical on his outlook on life but has that part that all athletes can relate to: the training. I was intrigued by the fifth and sixth chapters because it became more introspective (the image of the young college students running past him, their strides reflecting their attitude that no one can beat them was especially poignant).As an intro into his world and writing, I found the book a pleasant and welcome addition to my library as well as an inspiration. In the first chapter, the quote "pain is inevitable, suffering is optional" is something any endurance athlete can relate to. He asks for no pity when he doesn't do as well as he planned and hoped (which was more or less all of the competitions he wrote about) but being Japanese, for as much as he has wandered away from a Japanese style of writing, he is very much of a Japanese heart and therefore, writes in that mindset.I do get the feeling that his other work is a bit different in style because here he adheres to the truth of how his competitions played out, how he felt and how hard he worked to reach that unattained goal. Perhaps I err but I felt that he felt more free because it was that much easier to write; I mean, he was there.All in all, I would read another book of his. He is an honest writer and doesn't care what people think of this memoir. He just wanted to do it for himself and that gets high marks in my book.

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

Loved this book for so many reasons. I know youwill for your own reasons. It.just resonates on so many levels and in so many ways.

this is a gem. short, sweet, honest, thoughtful. as a runner, nurse and student, I found this to be a very relaxing, motivating, simple and also thought-provoking read about the work-life balance and running as a meditative companion throughout life's chapters.

As a fairly consistent runner myself I was drawn to this book to hear the mindset of another runner. I’d say there were no surprises. The book reads very straight forward, measured, nonchalant - qualities I think a long distance runner possesses in order to repeat the same activity daily. But it is insightful as someone that mostly runs solo as well to see how Haruki has just built his life around this activity. Great takeaways are the consistency and discipline required to build a life long practice!