Showing posts with label i. Show all posts
Showing posts with label i. Show all posts
Friday, February 10, 2017
What I talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Murakami
What I talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Murakami
An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect, from the incomparable, bestselling author Haruki Murakami.
While simply training for New York City Marathon would be enough for most people, Haruki Murakamis decided to write about it as well. The result is a beautiful memoir about his intertwined obsessions with running and writing, full of vivid memories and insights, including the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer.
By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is rich and revelatory, both for fans of this masterful yet guardedly private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in athletic pursuit.
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Download Links for the Ebook
- Free Download What I talk about when I talk about running EPUB eBook [Box]
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An Excerpt from What I Talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Murakami Ebook
As everybody knows, I’m no gentleman, so maybe I shouldn’t be worrying about this to begin with, but still, I’m a little hesitant about writing this book. This might come off sounding like a dodge, but this is a book about running, not a treatise on how to be healthy. I’m not trying here to give advice like, “Okay everybody—let’s run every day to stay healthy!” Instead, this is a book in which I’ve gathered my thoughts about what running has meant to me as a person. Just a book in which I ponder various things and think out loud.
Somerset Maugham once wrote that in each shave lies a philosophy. I couldn’t agree more. No matter how mundane some action might appear, keep at it long enough and it becomes a contemplative, even meditative act. As a writer, then, and as a runner, I don’t find that writing and publishing a book of my own personal thoughts about running makes me stray too far off my usual path. Perhaps I’m just too painstaking a type of person, but I can’t grasp much of anything without putting down my thoughts in writing, so I had to actually get my hands working and write these words. Otherwise, I’d never know what running means to me.
Once, I was lying around a hotel room in Paris reading the International Herald Tribune when I came across a special article on the marathon. There were interviews with several famous marathon runners, and they were asked what special mantra goes through their head to keep themselves pumped during a race. An interesting question, I thought. I was impressed by all the different things these runners think about as they run 26.2 miles. It just goes to show how grueling an event a marathon really is. If you don’t keep repeating a mantra of some sort to yourself, you’ll never survive.
One runner told of a mantra his older brother, also a runner, had taught him which he’s pondered ever since he began running. Here it is: 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.
It’s been some ten years since I first had the idea of a book about running, but the years went by with me trying out one approach after another, never actually settling down to write it. Running is sort of a vague theme to begin with, and I found it hard to figure out exactly what I should say about it.
At a certain point, though, I decided that I should just write honestly about what I think and feel about running, and stick to my own style. I figured that was the only way to get going, and I started writing the book, bit by bit, in the summer of 2005, finishing it in the fall of 2006. Other than a few places where I quote from previous writings I’ve done, the bulk of this book records my thoughts and feelings in real time. One thing I noticed was that writing honestly about running and writing honestly about myself are nearly the same thing. So I suppose it’s all right to read this as a kind of memoir centered on the act of running.
Though I wouldn’t call any of this philosophy per se, this book does contain a certain amount of what might be dubbed life lessons. They might not amount to much, but they are personal lessons I’ve learned through actually putting my own body in motion, and thereby discovering that suffering is optional. They may not be lessons you can generalize, but that’s because what’s presented here is me, the kind of person I am.
Available link for download
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
6 Phones I Would Love To Get This Christmas
6 Phones I Would Love To Get This Christmas
There are only 7 days to go before Christmas arrives, so for anyone still wondering what to get me here are my top picks.
We all know that there are hundreds of Chinese phones on the market, but there are only 10 that I would love to find under my tree this Christmas! Below are my top 6 phone picks for this Christmas with a few reasons why I would love to get one!
OnePlus 3T
Ok so at the top of my list would be the OnePlus 3T for the very simple reason that I am not prepared to buy one. My current go to phone is the OnePlus 3, you know, the Snapdragon 820 phone that launched earlier in the year. As the OP3 is so good I really don’t feel the need to buy the OnePlus 3T, but if Santa were to give me one I wouldn’t complain.
Nubia Z11
The Nubia Z11 just launched in China a few months back, but only this week has it officially arrived in India (I’m also hoping to receive one for review soon, watch this space). The Nubia Z11 is a very slender and high-end looking device available in either black with gold trim or all gold with white face.
Specs for the flagship Nubia Z11 include a Snapdragon 820 chipset, 6GB RAM, 5.5-inch FHD display, 2.5D curved panel, and a 16-megapixel rear camera with F2.0 aperture.
LeEco Pro 3
The LeEco Pro 3 is another lightning fast Snapdragon 821 powered Android smartphone with 4GB RAM, and 64GB internal memory. This latest handset boasts a 4070mAh battery, 4K video support and amazing audio plus Dolby Atmos!
Vivo Xplay 6
I’m a bit of Vivo fanboy and already own one Vivo with a curved display but the Vivo Xplay 6 is pretty stunning! Vivo have given the Vivo Xplay 6 a curved 5.46-inch display, Snapdragon 820 processor and 6GB RAM.
This new model also gets a fingerprint scanner in a home button on the chin. Where the fingerprint scanner once was is a second rear camera. Other top features are a 16 megapixel front camera, 4080mAh battery and it measures just 5.2mm thick! Dream phone!
Xiaomi Mi Mix
Xiaomi really did wake up the phone world with the Concept Xiaomi Mi Mix phone, it’s far from perfect but it would make an amazing gift to find under the Christmas Tree.
The Snapdragon 821 powered phone has a near bezel-less display, a huge amount of internal storage and looks really really classy!
Huawei Mate 9
Really saving the best for last here! Of all the phones that I’d like to find under the Christmas tree this year, the Huawei Mate 9 sits above the rest.
Not only is this one very classy beast, it was designed by Porsche Design,but it comes with a very capable dual camera design and really nicely polished UI
Available link for download
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