What I Talk About When I Talk About Running ~Haruki Murakami

–2008, Alfred A. Knopf
–180 pages
–4/5 stars

In 1982, Haruki Murakami did two things–he began writing, and he began running. For more than 25 years he has not ceased doing either activity and both have brought him degrees of success and pleasure. In this, a memoir of sorts, Haruki Murakami uses the framework of running to showcase his view of life over the last two and a half decades and in so doing shares a variety of things with the reader that reveal at least some of the reasons that he writes unforgettable, hauntingly beautiful novels.

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Shakespeare Wrote For Money ~Nick Hornby

–2008, Believer Books
–131 pages
–4.5/5 stars

“Two years of reading begat by more reading, presented in easily digestible, utterly hysterical monthly installments”

The title tag nearly says it all, and its truth held very true with me: reading one collection of Nick Hornby’s Believer columns begat reading another! His second collection was not available at my local bookstore or the library system and so I went straight to the finale and picked up–and need I say, devoured–Shakespeare Wrote For Money.

As much as I enjoyed The Polysyllabic Spree, I enjoyed this one even more.

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The Polysyllabic Spree ~Nick Hornby

–2004, Believer Books
–143 pages
–4.25/5 stars

There are times when I am in the mood for something that I know will make me feel very good. Sometimes that ‘something’ is one of those large candy bars. You know the kind, the fancy ones that cost a bit more. Rich dark chocolate with real berries and possibly the tiniest bits of nut mixed liberally throughout (insert your own favorite here). These candy bars are generally scored in such a way that you can break off a little piece at a time and just savor it over the course of several days. And often that is exactly what I do. But then there are times when one bite leads to another which leads to another…and before I know it I am surprised to find myself licking my fingers and looking for the shavings that might be left over in the wrapper. And sometimes it is no surprise at all because I realize that eating the entire thing in one sitting was exactly what I wanted to do in the first place.

To all outward appearances, this day at work was a particularly nonchalant, calm and pleasant day. The reality is that the quiet simply left more time for inner doubt and turmoil to threaten to drown me. Thus I found myself stopping by Barnes and Noble for my first session of retail therapy in a long, long time. One of the books I came home with was Nick Hornby’s The Polysyllabic Spree. After reading Nymeth’s review and, later, Chris’ review, I knew this was one that I would enjoy. While this book is a series of 14 bite sized essays, I knew on the drive home that my intention was to eat my way through the entire book tonight. I needed something to get lost in (besides my hour reprieve for Fringe), and this book proved to be a satisfactory distraction while being enriching at the same time.

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