Devouring Books: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

"I can't see my readers faces, so in a sense it's a conceptual type of human relationship, but I've consistently considered this invisible conceptual relationship to be the most important thing in my life."

As I've already mentioned, I've started running recently, and it's kind of opening me up to the idea that actually, even though I might think there are certain things I can't do, I actually might be able to do them (after a lot of hard work and maybe some pain, but still. It's a revelation.) It's still going on, so I shouldn't really say too much about it yet, but at the same time it's kind of all I want to talk about- about how 3 weeks ago I could barely run for 60 seconds, and here I am now, having run for 5 minutes without stopping (and still going). It's kind of amazing to me, and kind of ridiculous, all at the same time.

But enough about me, this is about Murakami. Since my mind is on running a lot these days, I decided to pick up What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which Bex sent me for one of the Ninja book swaps. This book... Well. If I say it was everything I wanted it to be and then some, would you just think I'm on one of my Murakami rants again? Maybe. But it's definitely true. I think what I wanted from this book (which is sold as a memoir of running) was just some assurances that running gets amazing when you do it a lot, and that it makes you feel amazing and also makes sure you write so well that you're mentioned in relation to the Nobel Prize for Literature every year. 

I kid. I actually didn't want that last bit, but weirdly, I got that a little bit, too. This really is ostensibly a memoir of running, but it's also intensely personal. From the outset, Murakami makes it clear that this isn't a running guide, that he's not guaranteeing running will change your life, that he doesn't even think everyone should run- just that this is his experience. This is something that has been crucial to his life. This is how he does it. That's awesome to begin with- if this was some kind of terrible 'this is how to run and I've done it and you can too!' self help bullshit, then I would not be impressed. But this is Murakami, so of course it's not.

Instead, it's about his experience of being a writer, and a runner; the way those two things are connected, and the way that they've had a profound impact on his life. The emphasis is much more on the running (hence the title), but there's a definite link that Murakami sees and points out. More than that, actually, he sees a connection between running and life, in a number of ways: for example, after completing an ultramarathon (62 miles), he thinks that, even though races and life both have an end point, it doesn't mean that they essentially have meaning, and that people may think that running is a way for people to prolong their lives, when really it's just another way to live one's life. We've all got to do something to fill the hours.

Essentially, you're going to want to read this if one of three things appeals to you:

• Finding out more about Murakami, his lifestyle and character and really just what makes him tick.
• Thinking about the kind of philosophy of running and just generally trying to relate to someone who has just kept on trucking all these years, and done a marathon a year since 1982
• You think maybe you want to be a runner AND a writer and want to be encouraged that these two things are really compatible. Which, it seems like, they are.

And other than that? You should probably just read it anyway. Before I started running (so, like, a few weeks ago) I think reason one would have been the thing, but now my viewpoint has shifted a little bit and two came into play, whereas three has kind of played on my mind after finishing the book. To me, it feels like something I'm going to return to more than once, whereas to you it might just be mildly interesting. But still, it definitely is. Interesting, that is.