"What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami

This is an odd book. 

The author is a runner and has been for the past 23 years.  He's run marathons and ultramarathons.  He has a refreshing perspective and some of his comments resonate.  For example, he freely admits that he does not much care for people and that running is a way to get away from them.  That is a sentiment that is completely un-American (the author is Japanese).  We have a need to be popular and universally liked; we all aspire to be Ronald Reagan or Dale Carnegie. 

The writing style is easy and compact, and thoughts are succintly wrapped and expressed.  An advocate of sparsity and directness of prose could easily fall into the general mood of this work. 

I read it once, fast, and then again about six months later, slow this time.  The second time I wrestled more with the philosophical concepts.  It seemed to me his thoughts were contradictory.  For example, he states that people fall into activities they are naturally inclined to and find enjoyable.  A few pages later he mentions an interview in which he asks an elite marathoner if they still find it difficult to muster themselves up to run every day, and the runner says 'of course you idiot', which he states verifies his own feelings.

Aside from my own opinion on running (it is good for everyone to do and everyone should do it; it is not always enjoyable, though can be at times; enjoyment should not be the measurement for doing something), I do like it when the ideas expressed are logically consistent.  Perhaps he is a zen writer though - given to koans?

But the ideas stay with you: that your legs are animals you have to train; if you set yourself into a rhythm and habit, anything can be accomplished; that he is not a good runner, but a strong runner.