Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner

Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner

by Dean Karnazes

"If you can't run, then walk. And if you can't walk, then crawl. Do what you have to do. Just keep moving forward and never, ever give up."

Why I read this book: I should mention that this is my third reread of this book. It just never gets old to me... but the very first time I read this book? It was over the summer and I was in the habit of walking into Borders and buying the first book that that made me tilt my head sideways. I would proceed to sit on the porch with the summer breeze blowing and engulf whatever book it was that I had bought. Some of them turned out great and some of them were so bad I couldn't even finish. This would has ended up as one of my favorite books of all time.

What's the story?: It's basically a partial autobiography. Dean Karnazes was a runner as a child and in high school, but ultimately gave it up due to a coach that he didn't get along with. Later on his thirtieth birthday, experiencing something of a midlife crisis, he goes out for a run and runs all night. His passion is reborn and he starts to look for challenges in his sport. He runs a 5o mile race, then a 100 mile race, a marathon to the South Pole, an ultramarathon in the desert, and ultimately (within the book, anyway) a 199 mile relay race all by himself.

What did I think about it?: I'm not a runner yet. I would like to be. And Dean makes you feel like you can be. This sounds rediculous; a guy who can run 199 miles in one go has to be above the rest of us, right? Just because he can do it doesn't mean we can. The thing is, (whether it's him being humble or not) he makes it sound like he doesn't have any natural talent- he just works REALLY hard. He keeps reiterating that he doesn't have natural talent; he's just willing to work harder than anyone else. Well, you say, he probably has all the time in the world. He probably has no day job and just trains all day every day. Nope. At the time that this book was written, Dean had a full time corporate job and a family with two kids that he has a strong relationship with. It's just inspirational stuff. The more you hear from him, the more you find the guy is just uber-likeable.

Would I recommend it?: Yes. To everyone. Athlete or inspiring athete or not. The guy has a good message.

The Langoliers

The Langoliers
by Stephen King

"Deep in the trenches carved into the floors of the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, there are fish which live and die without ever seeing or sensing the sun. These fabulous creatures cruise the depths like ghostly baloons, lit from within by their own radiance. Although they look delicate, they are actually marvels of biological design, built to withstand pressures that would squash a man as flat as a windowpane in the blink of an eye. Their great strength, however, is also their greatest weakness. Prisoners of their own alien bodies, they are locked forever in their dark depths. If they are captured and drawn toward the surface, toward the sun, they simply explode. It is not external pressure that destorys them, but its absence."

Why I read this story: It was in the book of Stephen King stories, "Four Past Midnight". I bought to book to read the story behind the movie "Secret Window", and started flipping through some of the other stories. To be honest I read this story because of the title. I love that word. It just feels really nice to say. It flows!

What's the story?: Brian Engle is an airline pilot riding as a passenger. He has just gotten the news that his ex-wife has died in a fire. He goes to sleep on the flight and has a very vivid dream ans when he wakes up, almost everyone on the plane is gone. Where the other passengers sat, only tooth fillings, pacemakers, and jewelry remains. He takes control of the plane and he and the other passengers try to understand what happened to the other passengers and where they are.

What did I think about it?: The story wasn't all that great. I was a little bored with the plot before I was halfway through. Even in the end when I understood what happened, it just wasn't all that stimulating. However, what this story lacks in plot it makes up in characters. Good characters can make or break a story. Anyone who has seen the TV show Six Feet Under knows what I'm talking about. The characters in this story are just GOOD. If they hadn't been I probably wouldn't have finished it. The pilot, the british equivalent of Jack Bauer, a teenage violin player who is way cooler in his mind, and a blind child with a lot of intiution, and a stressed to the breaking point businessman just make the story worth reading.

Would I recommend it?: Tough call... It's not the best Stephen King story I've read, so if you like him go ahead and give it a try. But if you're new to Stephen King, read the short story, "Lunch at Gotham Cafe", in Everything's Eventual.

Secret Widow, Secret Garden

Secret Window, Secret Garden
By Stephen King


"You stole my story." the man on the doorstep said. "You stole my story and something's got to be done about it. Right is right and fair is fair and something has to be done."

Why I read this book: Short story, actually. I have a soft spot for short stories, especially horror stories and while this one isn't exactly that, it's by Stephen King which is just as good. I've talked to several people about Stephen King and it's always been agreed that there is just something about the way he writes. I always feel like Stephen King knows exactly what to say to make me get the perfect picture in my head of what he is thinking. Like what he is writing is just flowing off of the pages and into my brain, bypassing all processing mechanisms and feeding right into some kind of film projector in my brain playing out exactly what he wanted me to see. I have another book of his short stories, Everything's Eventual and really enjoyed it so I wanted another. I also loved the movie Secret Window and this story is what that movie was based on, so I bought the book of short stories that contained it, Four Past Midnight, and started in on the story.


What's the story?: The story is about an author named Mort Rainey who is recently divorced from his wife and living in a summer home of theirs in Maine. He finds a man on his doorstep one day calmly enraged and accusing him of stealing and publishing his story. Mort knows this is not true, as he published the story before the man claims he wrote it, but decides to humor him and obtain an original copy of the magazine it was published in. Meanwhile, the stranger gets angrier and more violent towards Mort. However, Mort increasingly finds similarities between the stranger and many aspects of his life, leading him to think that this guy might not be a stranger at all.


What did I think about it?: Here's the problem. I watched the movie first and I LOVED it. I was hoping that they hadn't changed anything between the story and film, but they did. The ending is completely different and in fact it puts a whole new meaning to the story. And I have to admit that I liked the film a lot better. The ending is more sinister and while the book is more supernatural (not exactly a spoiler here, with Stephen King as the author), the movie is more psychological which to me is just a lot more interesting. It's more effective to me when the story involves things that could actually happen. The movie is completely possible, the story is not. Not to say that the story isn't good. I enjoyed being "inside the mind" of the character, as you can only really do in a story. The usual Stephen King elements that I love were all there; the capitalization of significant words, the occsional interruption of italized, unrelated but significant thoughts... all of the things that just make Stephen King and excellent writer. So though I didn't love the story, I did enjoy it if only for the writing style.

Would I recommend it?: For people who like Stephen King- yes. If you have somehow managed not to read any Stephen King I would start with something else. My personal favorite Stephen King work is "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" in Everything's Eventual.