What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (2008) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

show spoilers

Characters/People edit see section history

• Haruki Murakami: course marathon écriture; Jazz club owner turned accidental author
• Illy: Add a description of this character.

Quotes edit see section history

• “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

• “Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but they want to live life to the fullest. If you are going to while away the years, it is far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive, and not in a fog, and I believe running helps you do that.”

  Murakami

• “No matter how long you stand there examining yourself naked before a mirror, you'll never see reflected what's inside.”

• “Human beings' emotions are not strong or consistent enough to sustain a vacuum.”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• Emotional hurt is the price a person has to pay in order to be independent.

  Highlighted by 265 Kindle customers

• The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school.

  Highlighted by 224 Kindle customers

• I’m struck by how, except when you’re young, you really need to prioritize in life, figuring out in what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don’t get that sort of system set by a certain age, you’ll lack focus and your life will be out of balance.

  Highlighted by 205 Kindle customers

• 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. The problem is getting the flywheel to spin at a set speed—and to get to that point takes as much concentration and effort as you can manage.

  Highlighted by 196 Kindle customers

• Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and I believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that’s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life—and for me, for writing as well. I believe many runners would agree.

  Highlighted by 190 Kindle customers

• Nothing in the real world is as beautiful as the illusions of a person about to lose consciousness.

  Highlighted by 189 Kindle customers

• No matter how mundane some action might appear, keep at it long enough and it becomes a contemplative, even meditative act.

  Highlighted by 164 Kindle customers

• Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you start to think, Man this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The hurt part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand any more is up to the runner himself. This pretty much sums up the most important aspect of marathon running.

  Highlighted by 154 Kindle customers

• It’s pretty thin, the wall separating healthy confidence and unhealthy pride.

  Highlighted by 147 Kindle customers

• I just run. I run in a void. Or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void.

  Highlighted by 116 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Japan
• Cambridge
• Tokyo
• Athens
• New York City Marathon
• Hawaii
• Kauai
• Central Park
• Greece
• Murakami City
• Hokkaido

First Sentence edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Running Philosophy: Describe this theme.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Haruki Murakami (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Philip Gabriel (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 895.635

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › United States › History & Criticism
• Books › Sports › Individual Sports › Running & Jogging
• Books › Biographies & Memoirs › Memoirs
• Books › Religion & Spirituality › Occult

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Haruki Murakami Resources - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: Unofficial site covering books by this author.

More Books Like This edit see section history