Rating: 5 out of 5
To begin with, I think there is one very clear mistake people can do with reading this: they can read it sitting down. This book should be ‘read’ while moving — though I guess this automatically means “listen” and not “read”. I listened to this while cycling, and it was perfect!
Why? The human mind and body are wonderful. Our capacity for forgetting the ache in a joint and the fatigue in our legs means that while not actually moving, any previous achievement will seem less hard than it actually was. It might still seem hard, but it’s already less hard. And Murakami, in this book, speaks of how hard it actually was.
That makes it a perfect listen while going through the same grind – another hundred yards, another half a mile, another mile, another, and once again, one more. While hearing the story of how the 33-year old Murakami started running, one can reflect on their own reason of why running (or cycling!) and what caused that something in oneself to break such that we want to be out on those paths.
Plenty of food for though and plenty of options to reflect make me recommend this book. Just note that first recommendation above as well!
