L'arte di correre

Murakami's memoir joins two topics: a long career as a novelist and a long habit of running. He explains how, after giving up his jazz club at thirty-three, he started to run each day, and how the habit shaped his writing life. The chapters follow his preparation for the New York City Marathon, his ultramarathon in Hokkaido, a triathlon, and the aches and doubts that come with aging. He writes about pain, endurance, solitude and the need for a body to support an imagination, with the dry humor typical of his essays.

If you run, write, or follow a daily discipline of your own, you will probably find something to underline. Murakami fans curious about his methods get a rare personal view, and general readers get a calm book about doing something steadily.

Inward-looking and contemplative; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?