I picked up Haruki Murakimi's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running when I was looking for reading material for my trip to Bermuda. As the title suggests, this is a collection of essays by novelist Murakami about running and what it means to him.

From my perspective, this was the right book at the right time for me. As I'm preparing for my first marathon, it's instructive to read Murakami's accounts of his marathon and triathalon experiences - some good, some bad, and some ugly. I find it comforting and reassuring to see that Murakami feels the same way that I do and shares many of my frustrations at times, but that he ultimately prevails and completes his races. I drew inspiration from him during my half marathon this past Sunday, and I expect to continue to draw inspiration from him as I train for my first marathon this May.

For those who love running, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is an inspirational read.

I picked up Sara Barron's People Are Unappealing the other day because I was at Barnes & Noble and something about the cover caught my attention.

This is a collection of autobiographical tales. While most autobiographies are written by successful people, though, People Are Unappealing was written by Sara Barron, and is specifically about her less than successful undertakings in life. From childhood to the present, where she is roughly thirty years old, she discusses her offbeat family, her addiction to masterbation, life as an acting student in New York, and post-college exploits that include stand-up comedy, waitressing, and an aborted career as a Coyote Ugly bartender.

I'm sure that if I met Sara in real life that we probably wouldn't get along - she is loud, unfocused, unrealistic, and not particularly motivated. And yet, I enjoyed her writing very much. What Sara lacks in drive she makes up for in insight - she has a talent for looking at herself from afar and astutely evaluating her strengths and weaknesses. She can laugh at her own foibles, and admit when she has become something that she had previously reviled.

People Are Unappealing is not a success story. This is not a book to read in order to gain motivation or inspiration. However, for an introspective look at a life that may not be working out according to plan but that is interesting nonetheless, this is a good read.

I had heard a lot about Art Spiegelman's iconic graphic novel Maus, but had never read it until now. Frankly, I was scared to read it - I had read a lot of Holocaust related works when I was a kid, and I was overloaded by the time that Maus was first published. But I saw it at Barnes and Noble today, and decided that it was the right time to finally stop avoiding it.

Maus is an amazing work. Art Spiegelman uses the comic book form to go back and forth between his father's tales in Poland and Germany and the then present day in Rego Park, Queens. Without being preachy or overly graphic, Spiegelman gently tells the story of his family's life, and ultimate destruction. It is innately horrifying material, but Spiegelman presents it in a way that is touching and accessible. For a truly human look at one family's Holocaust experience, told with visuals that show Jews as mice and Nazis as cats, Maus is a must read.

I picked up Josh Lieb's I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I want to be your Class President because I am a fan of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Stewart plugged the book one night because Lieb is one of his executive producers. This is the story of a seemingly dull 7th grader who is actually a business tycoon who controls much more of his environment than anyone could imagine.

I found this to be an entertaining read - it's light and well written. I also think that my sons, one in high school and one in middle school, will enjoy this tale of a seemingly powerless teenager who is actually in control. This is a good book to read on a vacation, or to give to a youngster who is looking for age-appropriate reading material that has a bit of an edge to it.

My hubby and I would see Susie Essman perform stand-up comedy years ago when we lived in New York and would go to comedy clubs on a regular basis. She was hysterical then, and she's hysterical on Curb Your Enthusiasm. So when I saw her on The Daily Show recently, hawking What Would Susie Say? Bullsh*t Wisdom About Love, Life and Comedy, I had to buy it.

What Would Susie Say is an entertaining read. It's a combination autobiography and comedy book, including faux advice to the lovelorn as given by Susie's Curb persona. There are interesting personal stories, there are decent life lessons, and there are loads of laughs. It's an entertaining read for fans of comedies or autobiographies.

The Miracle Has Landed, compiled by SABR and edited by Matthew Silverman and Ken Samelson, is a history of the 1969 Miracle Mets. This is not a conventional history, though, which is told in one voice and sequentially. Instead, a cadre of writers (including my friend Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing fame) contributed to this project, with chapters on everybody who played on, managed or coached the team, as well as chapters on management, Shea Stadium, and the season and postseason. Occasionally there are inconsistencies in the story, as one player's description in one chapter may not gibe 100% with a story about that player in a different chapter. And the focus of each chapter is sometimes inconsistent - some players have chapters that are pretty thorough biographies, while other players have chapters that focus more on specific seasons or playing careers. Nonetheless, The Miracle Has Landed is a lovingly told, detail-laden account of the people and events surrounding the Miracle Mets 1969 World Series championship. Any fan of baseball history, and Mets history in particular, will cherish this unique reference volume.

Television fans will immediately recognize that Heat Wave by Richard Castle is the book within the series Castle, and that Richard Castle is the fictitious author who is the series' titular character. In the series, Richard Castle is the author who is teamed with Detective Kate Beckett in the series, and the book within the series features a writer named Jamie Rook and a detective named Nikki Heat. As in the series, the ghost-written book opens with a murder and follows the detective's efforts to solve the crime while assisted by the police force and the tag-along writer.

This is not great literature, but it is entertaining pulp fiction.
Those unfamiliar with the show will find this to be an entertaining enough crime drama/buddy story, but fans of the show will especially enjoy the inside references to the series. Upper West Siders will especially enjoy the local references (yes - I'm a sucker for stories that feature my old neighborhood). Heat Wave is a good read for the beach or for those who can't get enough of the show Castle.