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Yes. Another Haruki Murakami's work :) finally finished reading this book. Different from others work, this book is not a fiction but more like a heart-telling or mind-telling from Haruki Murakami's other passion: Running.


Yes. Who would have thought that Haruki Murakami is addicted to run ^^ considering to writing a novel and being a runner is exactly much different like two different sides of the coin. But he does. He writes novels while he also runs marathons. a lot. even triathlon.




Yes. This book is all about running. Wait. This book is not about how to run faster or how to be a marathon athlete, but this book contain Haruki's thoughts and feelings while he was running, participating in a marathon, and triathlon. He said "life is full of metaphor" and here it is, running was kind of metaphor in life.


Yes. Finished reading this book make me feel being closer to Haruki Murakami's thoughts. Truth be told, I like running too. Running sometimes make me feel alive, and my heart become a little lighter. I've never expected that spending a lot of sweat could reduce some stressed out of my body.


Yes. I recommended this book. A runner or not, you have to give it a try both reading "What I Talk About When I Talked About Running" or trying to run on yourself. After reading this book I managed to practice running once or twice a week (does not ruled out possibility it would become daily practice) even I want to try participate in the next year marathon event ^^ well lets give it a try at least.

QUOTES:

"To keep on going, you have to keep up the rhythm. This is the important thing for long-term projects. Once you set the pace, the rest will follow."

"Commonplace they might be, but the accumulation of these memories has led to one result: ME."

 "I don't know why, but the older you get, the busier you become."

"It doesn't matter what field you're talking about-beating somebody else just don't do it for me. I'm much more interested in whether I reach the goals that I set for myself."

What's crucial is whether your writing attains the standards you've set for yourself."

"The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be."

"I'm the kind of person who likes to be himself. To put a finer on it, I'm the type of person who doesn't find it painful to be alone."

"So the fact that I'm me and no one else is one of my greatest assets. Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent."

"I felt like I was living enough for two people's lives."

"Life just isn't fair. Some people can work their butts off and never get what they're aiming for, while others can get it without any effort at all."

"Life is basically unfair. But even in a situation that's unfair, I think it's possible to seek out a kind of fairness."

"Muscles really are like animals, and they want to take it easy as possible; if pressure isn't applied to them, they relax and cancel out the memory of all that work. Input this canceled memory once again, and you have to repeat the whole journey from the very beginning."

"I have only a few reason to keep on running, and a truckload of them to quit. All I can do is keep those few reasons nicely polished."

"If you don't have any fuel, even the best car won't run."

"The pain blocks concentration."

"Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest."

"Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life."

"As you age you learn even to be happy with what you have. That's one of the few good points of growing older."

"In the midst of this flow, I'm aware as one tiny piece in the gigantic mosaic of nature."

"There are plenty of things in this world that are way beyond me, plenty of opponents I can never beat."

"One generation takes over from the next. This is how things are handed over in this world."

"You have to wait until tomorrow to find out what tomorrow will bring."

"No matter how slow I might run, I wasn't about to walk. That was the rule."

"That's life. Maybe the only thing we can do is accept it, without really knowing what's going on."

"And one of the privilege given to those who've avoided dying young is the blessed right to grow old."

"And once more I'm struck by how pitiful and pointless this little container called me is, what a lame, shabby being I am. I feel like everything I've ever done in life has been a total waste."

"It doesn't matter how old I get, but as long as I continue to live I'll always discover something new about myself. No matter how long you stand there examining yourself naked before a mirror, you'll never see reflected what's inside."

"To be able to grasp something of value, sometimes you have to perform seemingly inefficient acts. But even activities that appear fruitless don't necessarily end up so."