Category: Book Reviews
Runner’s World Complete Book of Running
Runner’s World Complete Book of Running: Everything You Need to Know to Run for Fun, Fitness, and Competition by Amby Burfoot, 4/5
This is an encouraging book, with lots of advice for beginning to intermediate runners (like myself) – basically, anyone who hasn’t yet settled on a rigorous training program. Several concise, entertaining articles are provided on the following topics:
1. Beginning Running
2. Nutrition
3. Injury Prevention
4. Women’s Running
5. Building Strength, Endurance, and Speed
6. The Mental Side of Running
7. Cross-training
8. The Marathon.
One of the main themes of the book is training smart as opposed to just training hard. The authors point out that, in conjunction with a good training program, lowering weekly mileage can actually be beneficial to performance. There is also a lot of emphasis on taking an appropriate number of rest/recovery days. These ideas and the training concept of “Yasso 800s” (which I am looking forward to trying out soon) are the most important things I got from this book.
I would suggest reading the newest version, since several aspects of this 1997 version feel a bit outdated.
Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin and Other Poems by Alexander Pushkin, trans. by Charles Johnston, 3/5
This piece of literature ended up on my to-read list in a rather roundabout way. I was first motivated to watch the Ralph Fiennes/Liv Tyler movie version, Onegin, after encountering beautiful screenshots from the film used to illustrate camera techniques in the book Master Shots. The movie was captivating and I became curious about the novel-length poem behind it.
Top hats, duels, snowy landscapes…this movie has it all…
It is difficult to talk about the story without completely spoiling it; I am certain that knowing the ending would have diminished my enjoyment of the movie greatly, in which case I might not have even bothered to read the poem. Themes are safe to mention, I suppose, and Pushkin examines a variety of them, including love, flirtation, death, ennui, infatuation, the meaning of life, and the power of social norms. It’s not the cheeriest fare to start with and the treatment is very…Russian.
The Johnston translation is impressive, somehow managing to preserve the original rhyme scheme, but I still sensed something lost in translation. Though some stanzas were touching, witty and insightful, a great many more were difficult to understand and felt completely disconnected from the main story arc. Given the rambly plot, I was unsurprised to later find out that Onegin was originally published in serial form over a span of some 8 years. I found it challenging to connect with the characters and a lot of what I did get out of it was likely thanks to having seen the movie already. This worked out well for me but, because of the overwhelming visual power of the film, I would be tempted to recommend reading the novel first, if possible.
I also read the two additional poems in this collection, “Onegin’s Journey” and “The Bronze Horseman,” but they failed to interest me in the slightest and I shall leave their reviewal to a more appreciative reader than I.
Mystic River
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, 3/5
I hope Clint Eastwood is considered a “great mind,” because I only found out that he directed a film based on this book after reading it and thinking That felt exactly like a crime/drama/thriller movie starring Sean Penn (ok, maybe not that specific). It is very well written and dramatic, but I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t so R-rated. On thinking it over, I guess I have different (more sensitive) standards for books than for movies, which is a new and interesting realisation.
Cloud Atlas
The book, not the movie.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, 2/5
After the disappointing discovery that this David Mitchell is the “wrong” David Mitchell and the marginal experience of reading his first book, Ghostwritten, I had not planned to read anything else by him. However, I changed my mind when my old hold on Cloud Atlas finally came in at the library and I realised how many people were lined up, waiting to read it after me.
First, the positive: I love the opening sentence – “Beyond the Indian hamlet, upon a forlorn strand, I happened on a trail of recent footprints.” Stylistically, Mitchell’s writing has matured, with a more unique voice and a very chewy vocabulary. There are even a couple brilliantly poetic/philosophic sentences.
Unfortunately, the book’s framework relies on the same plot gimmicks as Ghostwritten, making Mitchell seem like the sort of diminutive equine that is only capable of one trick. Instead of the added depth and skill of execution that I expected from a more experienced Mitchell, Cloud Atlas seemed to compound the faults of Ghostwritten. The connections between the stories are laboured and glaring, the plot seemed ultimately pointless, the characters/scenarios preachy and the vignettes cliched.
The Hobbit
The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien, 5/5
I made the mistake of re-re-re-re-reading this book right before I went to see the new movie version. It’s a sad commentary on the film that I spent a good portion of the movie review praising the book and bemoaning the filmic misadventure that masquerades under its name. Since I am lazy and thinking any more about how awesome this book is will just make me sad, I’ve excerpted the relevant part from my movie review below.
The Hobbit may be a slim book, a classic adventure tale for children, but it is written skillfully, with wit and humour, character development, a sense of the epic and a mythological backbone that makes it not inconsistent with its titanic offspring, The Lord of the Rings.
The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw and Other Short Novels by Henry James, 3/5
The six short novels in this collection were written over a span of 25 years (1878-1903) and the distinct progression in style and quality is startling. The first two stories, An International Episode and Daisy Miller: A Study, are notably pointless, with a relentless use of national stereotypes and leaden, tedious dialogue that is even more pathetic for so obviously aspiring to the heights of Oscar Wilde.
The Aspern Papers is much more interesting, with its portrayal of human manipulation and rationalisation. Unfortunately, an unsatisfying climax and denouement left me resentful of being tricked into thinking there was going to be much of a story.
I feel that The Altar of the Dead is the first good piece in the book – fascinating, suspenseful and deeply psychological, with just enough story to hold it together. The Beast in the Jungle is very similar in style and was probably my favourite work in the book.
Reading The Turn of the Screw was the whole point of my Henry James expedition and it was worthwhile, if unsatisfying. A Gothic thriller, many aspects of it reminded me of Jane Eyre and I could picture Northanger Abbey‘s Catherine Morland enjoying it rather more than I did. James’ devious ambiguity and slow build-up of suspense left me annoyed but grudgingly admiring.
I should also mention Fred Kaplan’s exasperating introduction to the book, which provided numerous spoilers while insisting on laboured homosexual interpretations of even the most innocuous points of the stories.
Cutting for Stone
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, 4/5
Despite my friend Alison’s positive recommendation of ages ago, I approached Cutting for Stone somewhat warily because I was unfamiliar with the author, not particularly interested in the topic (a sort of medical-themed coming of age tale, set in Ethiopia) and found the hardback sizeable enough to likely kill me if I fell asleep and dropped it on myself while reading in bed. However, these reservations quickly faded as I became interested in the dramatic scenarios and characters involved in them. I enjoyed the sense of trust I could place in Verghese’s real-life medical expertise, which was showcased often in his portrayal of the experiences of Marion Stone, who uncovers the twisted histories of his nurse/nun mother and brilliant but antisocial surgeon-father, while growing into his medical heritage and discovering what it means to live, love and work.
This book has its profound moments and emotional scenes – a well-crafted story that is communicated with a straightforward writing style that makes its 530+ pages fly by. Some people would undoubtedly find it to deserve a 5/5 rating, but my enjoyment of it (and indeed, my ability to recommend it) was marred by the sordidness of some of the more sexual scenes, the inevitable inclusion of which is one of the reasons I generally don’t tend to enjoy coming of age stories. Call me oversensitive or prudish, but if I wouldn’t want to know it about my best friend, I probably don’t want to know it about a fictional character either. Still, an impressive and meaningful read.
Who Could That Be At This Hour?
Who Could That Be At This Hour? by Lemony Snicket, 4/5
This book is so witty and fun that it took me quite a while to realize that it basically has no plot.
Master Shots
Master Shots (2nd edition) and Master Shots Vol 2 by Christopher Kenworthy, 5/5
Between them, these two books cover 200 camera shots, providing descriptions, diagrams and screen captures from famous movies. Kenworthy’s efficient and unpretentious style makes these books uniquely informative. He explains the hows and whys behind camera techniques in plain language, revealing some very interesting cinematographic nuances that I would never have noticed or guessed on my own.
For example, in Master Shots Chapter 6.4 Kenworthy points out that “keeping the camera in place creates the sensation of the character walking into the new scene; if you dolly backward, the actor doesn’t feel like he’s moving into the scene so much as passing through.” Or, during a chase scene, he suggests using a long lens to make the goal appear nearer, whilst also more unattainable since the hero makes less apparent progress towards it during the shot (26). These are just two examples of the kind of fascinating insight provided by these excellent books. Reading them has made me a better movie-watcher and if I ever need to make a film, I will read them again in order to be a better movie-maker.
The Little Prince
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, trans. by Richard Howard, 5/5
This beautiful story offers a gentle, insightful commentary on life and love. Gilded with good humor and charm, I think that this is a rare case of a very popular book actually living up to its reputation.
OmniRambles 