My Brillant Friend

The NYT Book Review created a list of the best 100 books of the 21st Century so far. My brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante was voted the number book.

I've heard people discuss Ferrante. I knew she had a strong following. I knew there was speculation and conspiracies about her identity. I wasn't completely in the dark, but I had never read anything of hers.

I finished My brilliant Friend today.

Wow!

I've only read six of the books on the list of 100, but My Brilliant Friend has instantly jumped to my top 5-10 books all time. I'm already looking forward to rereading it in the future.

Ferrante is Italian and the setting of the story is post World War II Italy, Naples more specifically. This is an unfamiliar time and place in history for me. Having a grandmother born to Italian migrants, makes this unfamiliar time and place seem familiar. In general, there are many universal themes at play.

Ann Goldstein is the English translator, and I've heard her translation magnifies the story. I can't commit, but I'll pass on the info.

The narrator and voice are excellent.

I went back to the opening chapters after finishing, and the opening popped. The craftsmanship is beautiful. The opening of the story is sharp and concise, yet so much is being told. The frame is set up extremely well.

It's coming of age, but extremely mature. The narrator is telling the story in hindsight as a mature woman, giving wisdom and an intellectualism to the voice.

Within the wisdom is action, violence, assault. It's not cheap; it's authentic to the story, time, and place.

The drama and relationship dynamics are brilliant.

For readers who know, this will carry more weight. I tempted to say the story is flawless!

Right now, it is difficult to comprehend why everyone isn't reading and talking about this book. I feel like Kenton Grua talking about dories. He said; I'm paraphrasing:

"Everyone should ride one at least once, but you can't. You can't because once you do, you won't be able to do anything else."

This sentiment comes to mind. I want to say more. I want to discuss the book, but I also don't want to take anything away from someone's reading of the book. So this is my pitch. Go read the book.

Luckily for me, My Brilliant Friend is book one of four in the Neapolitan Novels.

The Enemy Within by Glenn Loury

I binged Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative by Glenn C. Loury. It's a page turned. The first years of his life are at a much slower pace, but by the time he is a teenager the story really takes off.

I regularly listen to Glenn Loury's podcast The Glenn Show, so I'll admit to having a bias for him and his ideas.

With that said, I think the book is great regardless of someone being a fan of Loury. It's a piece of literature. Loury uses literary devices to craft the story. Early events of his life are foreshadows of later events. Everything comes back together almost as if literary fiction (maybe it is more fiction than memoir). It is a very well written and structured book.

There is a common theme of "the enemy within," which Loury originally wanted to title the book. You should read or listen to the book, so I will not say more besides that the ideas has multiple layers.

Loury opens the book with a meta-analysis of his goal using game theory. He then, of course, comes back to it at the the end of the book. This makes for an interesting read and relationship. It will affect how I read memoirs and biographies going forward too, trying to gauge how well and deliberate an author is using such tactics. Loury is very aware; he says as much in the opening. He is very deliberate in each word, phrase, sentence, etc. He is very aware of how each element might affect readers. He creates a suspicious with his readers to earn their trust. I'm not sure if this will be successful, but it sure makes everything a lot more interesting. This is a book I look forward to rereading in the future. What does he really want? Why is he really writing this book? I'll look closer into those ideas next time I read it.

Glenn Loury, the character in the book, makes mistake after mistake. It's a little painful reading. How and why can he keep doing this? It's surprising how far and bad it gets for Glenn. It really makes the reader question his character. How and why?

He gives an answer. It may or may not be the most honest answer. It's impossible to know, especially after detailing his use of game theory in writing the book. Loury tells all to gain our trust, but something is missing for my tastes. I wanted to get more Loury diving deeper within. Maybe only a confession of being a complete narcissist or something to that degree would suffice. He seems too self-centered and narcissistic. He admits it, but it isn't explored it enough to make me think he has changed. He's older and he certainly has changed. But I guess more of that change is biological than his personality. This would be consistent with modern pyschology. But a deeper, significant growth that a readers want, isn't there. I can't buy it. He briefly comes back to what I'm calling "it" in the end, but my suspicion is that Loury knows and is hiding how narcissistic he still is.

Loury defends and supports his idea each week on his podcast, so the book isn't to spread his ideas. Maybe the book is really intended to his family. But still, I think they might see through it too. All this makes me unsure if this book is or isn't written in good faith.

This level of criticism could be applied to all memoirs and or writing in general, and I'll probably apply it, as I mentioned, going forward, maybe even give myself an inward examination.

Still, the story and life is well worth reading.

The Running Fiction Challenge

Introduction

I may have discovered a market failure in running fiction, see previous post here. I think running memoirs, histories, and biographers are reasonably represented, but running fiction is either underrepresented in publishing or under appreciated by readers, maybe both. I'm curious how others would respond to those claims.

What Makes Fiction Running Fiction

This is obviously up for debate. If anyone feels strongly about a book that should or shouldn't be on the list, I'm open to a changing the list. I'm a reader who loves running, or a runner who loves reading. Other than that, I don't have any authority over what makes or doesn't make a piece of fiction in the genre running fiction.

The Challenge

Pay some respect to running fiction. Buy, loan, or download the most popular running fiction novels below. Read enough of the story to decide if you like it. Share a review on twitter, goodreads, amazon, or reddit so other readers can sample more running fiction. And of course discuss the books here on this post.

For twitter users use #runningfiction

Most Popular Running Fiction

The following books are the most rated running fiction on goodreads.com, as of 6 July 2024. Goodreads readers can vote here for the best running fiction. The books are in order by total ratings. I've added more specific genres and brief spoiler free descriptions of each novel.

1. *Forrest Gump by Winston Groom - historical running fiction. The novel isn't specifically focused on running throughout, but many chapters feature Forrest's physical running as important aspects of the narrative. (68,999 ratings)

2. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen - young adult running fiction*. The story chronicles a high school 400m runner's physical and emotional journey of recovery and how running remains a central part of her life. (30,771 ratings)*

3. Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr. - running fiction*. The novel is regarded as one of the most iconic novels about running. Its entire narrative is centered around the sport, both literally and metaphorically. Centering around the life of a competitive runner who vividly captures the intensity of training, the experience of racing, and the subculture of competitive running. (15,114 ratings)*

4. *The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker - dystopian running fiction*. Running plays a significant role both literally and metaphorically. While it’s not strictly a "running novel" in the sense of being about the sport of running, running becomes a key element of the story’s structure and themes. (14,848 ratings)*

5. Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron - historical running fiction*. A novel that centers around running, both as a literal sport and as a metaphor for survival, identity, and hope. The novel is set in Rwanda during the years leading up to and during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. (7,104 ratings)*

6. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe - running fiction. Once again, running is a central role, both literally and metaphorically. The story explores themes of personal rebellion, social class, and individuality, with running serving as a powerful symbol for the protagonist’s inner life and resistance against societal expectations. (6,686 ratings)

* Novel might be demoted due to not being enough about running 

Honorable Ineligible Mentions

• What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by novelist Haruki Murakami - memoir, not fiction. (171,386)

• The Running Man by Stephen King - dystopian fiction. There is a lot of running and some overlap between running qualities like endurance and stamina, but the sport or recreational activity of running is absent. The Running Man is really about survival, society, and oppression. (137, 820 ratings)

My Reviews

I'll be review each of the novels here on my blog. I'd love any and all feedback. Leave a comment. Here are reviews I've done so far:

• The End of the World Running Club
• Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
• The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker

This is my third review in The Running Fiction Challenge.

Review

I read most, ~80%, of The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker.

Overall it just isn't a book about running. It's a survival dystopian novel. It's way more like Walking Dead without zombies than anything related to the sport of running. Ultimately, I didn't care about the story or how it would end. I was waiting for it to become more about running, and now I'm moving on.

The protagonist and narrator is an unhealthy anti runner. The title pretty much gives the basic premise of the story. The setting is modern day Scotland/UK, and the protagonists is telling the story in hindsight.

It's well written. The point of view and pacing make for a page turning read. I especially like the perspective of the protagonist. He captures a lot of the uglier philosophical aspects of manhood and fatherhood. The mentality, I suspect, that many men feel, but they won't admit. Here is my favorite example:

"Man Caves. Shed, garages, studies, attics, cellars. Places for "men--or at least their twenty-first-century equivalents--to hide. To tinker, potter, be creative, build things, hammer bits of wood, listen to the music that their families hate.

Drink, smoke, look at pornography, masturbate.

The subtext of the man cave, of course, is that men don't want to spend any time with their families. For some reason this is perfectly acceptable; every man deserves his cave.

It is my right as a tired parent."

The book is about surviving. If you want to know how the above quote relates to survival, you'll have to read or listen to the book yourself.

Originally The End of the World Running Club was part of the most popular running fiction, but I've demoted it to an illegible honorable mention.

Join the challenge below.

Most Popular Running Fiction Challenge

The following books are the most rated running fiction on goodreads.com, as of 6 July 2024. Goodreads readers can vote here for the best running fiction. The books are in order by total ratings. I've added more specific genres and brief spoiler free descriptions of each novel.

1. *Forrest Gump by Winston Groom - historical running fiction. The novel isn't specifically focused on running throughout, but many chapters feature Forrest's physical running as important aspects of the narrative. (68,999 ratings)

2. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen - young adult running fiction. The story chronicles a high school 400m runner's physical and emotional journey of recovery and how running remains a central part of her life. (30,771 ratings)

3. Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr. - running fiction. The novel is regarded as one of the most iconic novels about running. Its entire narrative is centered around the sport, both literally and metaphorically. Centering around the life of a competitive runner who vividly captures the intensity of training, the experience of racing, and the subculture of competitive running. (15,114 ratings)

4. Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron - historical running fiction. A novel that centers around running, both as a literal sport and as a metaphor for survival, identity, and hope. The novel is set in Rwanda during the years leading up to and during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. (7,104 ratings)

5. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe - running fiction. Once again, running is a central role, both literally and metaphorically. The story explores themes of personal rebellion, social class, and individuality, with running serving as a powerful symbol for the protagonist’s inner life and resistance against societal expectations. (6,686 ratings)

* Novel might be demoted due to not being enough about running 

Honorable Ineligible Mentions

• What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by novelist Haruki Murakami - memoir, not fiction. (171,386) 
• The Running Man by Stephen King - dystopian fiction. There is a lot of running and some overlap between running qualities like endurance and stamina, but the sport or recreational activity of running is absent. The Running Man is really about survival, society, and oppression. (137, 820 ratings)
• The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker - dystopian fiction. Running plays a minor role both literally, but a larger key element of the story’s structure and themes metaphorically. And running makes for a good title, but it is not a "running novel" in the sense of being about the sport or activity of running. (14,848 ratings)

My Reviews

I'll be review each of the novels here on my blog. I'd love any and all feedback. Leave a comment. Here are reviews I've done so far:

• The End of the World Running Club
• Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
• The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
  

The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health

I heard an interview with Ellen Langer on PIMA, and then I listened to her interview on Big Brains. Those interviews lead me to Langer's book, The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health.

Many of Langer's experiments are famous and well known in pop psychology and science. How manipulating clocks affect diabetes; how people become younger when they act younger; how vision improves if you believe it'll improve; and the list goes on.

Below is a quote from the introduction to The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health.

“I believe the mind and body comprise a single system, and every change in the human being is essentially simultaneously a change at the level of the mind (that is, cognitive change) as well as the body (a hormonal, neural, and/or behavioral change),” she writes. “When we open our minds to this idea of mind-body unity, new possibilities for controlling our health become real. Making use of the power of a mindful body is well within our grasp.”

Throughout the book, Langer supports her claim with countless experiments and examples. This book is short and intended for a general audience. Anyone wanting to be healthier, minimize aging, and or improve something about themselves should read or listen to this book.

The best part is there is zero costs to thinking positive and potentially huge returns on investments. When in doubt, think positive. Believe you're doing what you wish your body would do. You might find out you can!

Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron

This is my second review in The Running Fiction Challenge. Of the first three books I sampled, this is the only one I finished, see other reviews at the bottom.

Review

Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron is historical fiction. The story takes place in Rwanda prior to the start of the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s. The main character and his family are Tutsi, an ethnic minority in Rwanda and Burundi.

I knew almost nothing about Rwanda and or the genocide before I started the book, so I was interested in learning more context about the region and conflict. I've looked up a few things already, and I'm enjoying the motivation to learn more about Africa and Rwanda.

I found the initial conflict to be too cliche. At the beginning of the story the protagonist seems to have it all, elite intellect and athleticism. Right off the bat, readers know something bad is about to happen. The first bad thing is the cliche part that I think the author should have cut. It's not needed. Readers will learn it and understand it just as well as back story. As a reader I thought this is going to be about the genocide when I saw the setting was Rwanda. Then the first main conflict in the story made me think, hmm maybe this isn't about the genocide. Then of course, it is about the genocide and the first cliche conflict was a distraction. Besides this nitpick of mine, the story flows well. It's a slower reveal for both the readers and main character. The first chapters are short and make for fast and easy reading.

*barely a spoiler* The running training make no sense. I'm not sure if the author knows too little about running, or if this is how coaches and runners in Africa trained in the 1990s. For example, the coach is having his runner run repeat races in practice!

Overall, the book didn't create emotional responses from reading the words and descriptions of the terrible events that took place. The events were summarized and felt more like reading a newspaper. All the emotions I felt were created by my imagination when I thought about the events myself. There was a lot of telling and little showing.

This telling over showing, felt appropriate. It is very much how the west sees Africa. It sucks that people are suffering unimaginable horrors, but I'm ready to read the sports or business section now. And this is how I feel. I want to look up more about the conflict, but I'm also ready for my next book.

Join the challenge below.

Most Popular Running Fiction Challenge

The following books are the most rated running fiction on goodreads.com, as of 6 July 2024. Goodreads readers can vote here for the best running fiction. The books are in order by total ratings. I've added more specific genres and brief spoiler free descriptions of each novel.

1. *Forrest Gump by Winston Groom - historical running fiction. The novel isn't specifically focused on running throughout, but many chapters feature Forrest's physical running as important aspects of the narrative. (68,999 ratings)

2. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen - young adult running fiction. The story chronicles a high school 400m runner's physical and emotional journey of recovery and how running remains a central part of her life. (30,771 ratings)

3. Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr. - running fiction. The novel is regarded as one of the most iconic novels about running. Its entire narrative is centered around the sport, both literally and metaphorically. Centering around the life of a competitive runner who vividly captures the intensity of training, the experience of racing, and the subculture of competitive running. (15,114 ratings)

4. Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron - historical running fiction. A novel that centers around running, both as a literal sport and as a metaphor for survival, identity, and hope. The novel is set in Rwanda during the years leading up to and during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. (7,104 ratings)

5. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe - running fiction. Once again, running is a central role, both literally and metaphorically. The story explores themes of personal rebellion, social class, and individuality, with running serving as a powerful symbol for the protagonist’s inner life and resistance against societal expectations. (6,686 ratings)

* Novel might be demoted due to not being enough about running 

Honorable Ineligible Mentions

• What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by novelist Haruki Murakami - memoir, not fiction. (171,386) 
• The Running Man by Stephen King - dystopian fiction. There is a lot of running and some overlap between running qualities like endurance and stamina, but the sport or recreational activity of running is absent. The Running Man is really about survival, society, and oppression. (137, 820 ratings)
• The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker - dystopian fiction. Running plays a minor role both literally, but a larger key element of the story’s structure and themes metaphorically. And running makes for a good title, but it is not a "running novel" in the sense of being about the sport or activity of running. (14,848 ratings)

My Reviews

I'll be review each of the novels here on my blog. I'd love any and all feedback. Leave a comment. Here are reviews I've done so far:

• The End of the World Running Club
• Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
• The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

This is my first review in The Running Fiction Challenge.

Review

I started reading The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen. 

The Running Dream is young adult fiction. The main character is a junior in high school and 400 meter runner. She has an accident and can no longer run. The chapters are very short and the pace of the book is fast. So far the first ~10% of the book doesn't have much to do with running. I assume it'll be more about running because of the title, structure of the story, and the character's mentality. Through no fault of the author, writing, characters, or story, I probably won't continue with this book.

The author Van Drannen is a runner. If you read over her website, she mentions running multiple times, even finishing six marathons.

For runners interested in young adult fiction, I'd recommend this book.

Join the challenge below.

Most Popular Running Fiction Challenge

The following books are the most rated running fiction on goodreads.com, as of 6 July 2024. Goodreads readers can vote here for the best running fiction. The books are in order by total ratings. I've added more specific genres and brief spoiler free descriptions of each novel.

1. *Forrest Gump by Winston Groom - historical running fiction. The novel isn't specifically focused on running throughout, but many chapters feature Forrest's physical running as important aspects of the narrative. (68,999 ratings)

2. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen - young adult running fiction. The story chronicles a high school 400m runner's physical and emotional journey of recovery and how running remains a central part of her life. (30,771 ratings)

3. Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr. - running fiction. The novel is regarded as one of the most iconic novels about running. Its entire narrative is centered around the sport, both literally and metaphorically. Centering around the life of a competitive runner who vividly captures the intensity of training, the experience of racing, and the subculture of competitive running. (15,114 ratings)

4. Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron - historical running fiction. A novel that centers around running, both as a literal sport and as a metaphor for survival, identity, and hope. The novel is set in Rwanda during the years leading up to and during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. (7,104 ratings)

5. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe - running fiction. Once again, running is a central role, both literally and metaphorically. The story explores themes of personal rebellion, social class, and individuality, with running serving as a powerful symbol for the protagonist’s inner life and resistance against societal expectations. (6,686 ratings)

* Novel might be demoted due to not being enough about running 

Honorable Ineligible Mentions

• What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by novelist Haruki Murakami - memoir, not fiction. (171,386) 
• The Running Man by Stephen King - dystopian fiction. There is a lot of running and some overlap between running qualities like endurance and stamina, but the sport or recreational activity of running is absent. The Running Man is really about survival, society, and oppression. (137, 820 ratings)
• The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker - dystopian fiction. Running plays a minor role both literally, but a larger key element of the story’s structure and themes metaphorically. And running makes for a good title, but it is not a "running novel" in the sense of being about the sport or activity of running. (14,848 ratings)

My Reviews

I'll be review each of the novels here on my blog. I'd love any and all feedback. Leave a comment. Here are reviews I've done so far:

• The End of the World Running Club
• Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
• The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen