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Category: Books

  • RunningBlog: Book Review and a Giveaway!

    Running on Empty by Marshall UlrichThe upside to being sick is you get a lot of reading done. Today I finished Running on Empty: An Ultramarathoner’s Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America. I got sent a sneak preview of this a few weeks ago by the publisher! It’s the true story of Marshall Ulrich, an extreme athlete and ultramarathoner who, at 57, ran all the way from Los Angeles to New York City. If you want to get your own copy – and I highly recommend it – it’s just gone on sale and there are some special promotional deals on his site. OR you could just win a copy right here! Avery Books have given me a copy to give away to one of my blog readers. If you’d like to win it, just leave a comment on this post. Next Wednesday at noon, I’ll use a random number generator pick a winner.

    Now for my review…

    I cracked this book open expecting something light-hearted and fun, maybe in a similar vein to Chris McDougal’s Born to Run. By the end of the first couple chapters though, I didn’t actually like Ulrich very much. He’s a flawed hero, and the touching story of how he got started in running (as a way to deal with stress from his first wife’s death from cancer) quickly sours when he begins to use running as a way to push his subsequent wives and children away from him. He spends a lot of time away from home. He participates in some extremely dangerous events (such as climbing Everest) when when his family beg him not to. Once his mind is fixed upon this transcontinental journey, none of his wife Heather’s entreaties can dissuade him. He even admits to feeling resentful of the time she spent caring for her dying father! I wasn’t sure I liked this guy at all.

    And then somehow, once he actually got on the road and started running… Ulrich started to win me over. I started to cheer him on. Yeah, the guy’s clearly a nut. (He had all his toenails SURGICALLY REMOVED, for goodness’ sake!) He has his flaws, just like everybody else. But with every step, he was convincing me – and his wife, and his crew – that this was a goal worth pursuing. His descriptions of the misery of the run and the brief moments of transcendent happiness will be familiar to every runner. I winced with every injury and setback. (The photo of his feet after his plantar fascia ruptures? HORROR. I am going to hug my podiatrist next time I see him.) As an expat American, I also loved the attention he paid to each state and all the varied landscapes he ran across. I was especially amused to see the mention of his friend running to Fort Wayne to buy him new gear in Indiana and how happy it made him. (Hoosiers, represent!) I’ve never really had the urge to drive across the U.S. – much less run the whole way – but he got me thinking about it.

    One thing I liked about that book is that it isn’t a straight progression from A to B. Sure, the main storyline is his run across America, but he uses that as a jumping off point to discuss his own running career, the history of ultramarathons, charities that he supports, people who meet and run with him, and even worthy local businesses along the route. The constant threat of catastrophic injury looms on every page, and the personal relationships (and internal politics) of his support team get strained. And then there’s Charlie! He actually was doing this event with someone else, but as you can probably guess, that doesn’t really go according to plan. I found myself feeling the most sympathy towards Ulrich’s wife, Heather. She didn’t want him to do this thing, but once he committed, she was supporting him 100%. (I will admit my jaw dropped when he described crawling into the RV with her, stinking and dirty after 18 hours of running, only to paw at her like a teenager because the run was screwing with his sex drive!) Ulrich is not stingy with praise for his wife or the other members of his crew. They worked their asses off for very little reward other than seeing him reach his goal. The acknowledgements at the end of the book are vast, and that’s what finally turned my opinion of this guy around. He may have been self-centered in setting the goal, but he certainly wasn’t when it came to giving credit to everyone who helped along the way.

    Couple other things I liked: The book includes a neat graphic along the bottom of most pages so you can see how far along (and how high up) he is at any given point. It’s got some great photos sprinkled throughout, even though every now and then you see one you wish you hadn’t (like the aforementioned feet). There are several Appendices that give information I was curious about, like the logistics of planning and carrying out a run like this. (He even gives sample training plans! Yeah, not doing that.)

    Overall I’m probably no closer to understanding why Marshall Ulrich feels compelled to push himself to such extremes. But he admits, neither is he. He starts by running away from guilt and responsibility, but by the end of his run he’s running towards something new. A chance to rest; a chance to reconcile with his family; a chance to reflect on a long career. I hope he found what he was looking for.

  • Celebrity Sightings

    Two weeks ago we joined Kunaal for a special Popcorn Taxi screening of the new sci-fi comedy “Paul”. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (aka the guys from “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”) were actually there to talk about the film and do a Q&A with us afterwards. It was really cool! Popcorn Taxi’s posted video of it on YouTube if you’re interested. (Part 1 / Part 2) We all enjoyed the movie quite a lot. I’d probably say it’s not as funny as their other ones, mostly because the humour is a lot more broad. It’s still full of awesome geek references though.

    Anyway, the cinema was in the Bondi Junction Westfield shopping mall, so afterwards we headed for the elevators to leave. While we were standing waiting for the lift to arrive, Simon, Nick, and their whole entourage suddenly came around the corner for the lifts too. One was about to arrive, so I turned to Nick and said, “That one’s free if you guys want it.” He said thanks and nodded and they all headed into the lift. The three of us stepped back and decided to take the escalators instead to avoid the crowd. And then I nearly fell over excitedly tweeting it on the way out to the taxis. How excitement!

    Last Saturday our Knitters Guild meeting was moved to Kings Cross (due to Surry Hills being booked for the Writers Festival). We always break in the middle for tea, so me, Fiona, Merrin, and Margaret went for a walk to get coffees. We were standing outside a cafe in Potts Point waiting for our coffee when suddenly, stepping up onto the footpath in front of me was THE COMMANDO. I actually stopped talking mid-sentence when I realised it was him. He was wearing his trademark sunnies, but other than that he was totally casual in jeans, sneakers, and a pink T-shirt. Once he moved up the street a bit, I took a sneaky photo of him. He’s shorter in real life than I thought. But, uh, dude can fill out a T-shirt. That’s all I’m sayin’.

    This Sunday we’re going to the Opera House for a special talk by Sir Terry Pratchett. Looking forward to that one. Maybe we’ll bump into him by the lifts too!

    I almost had another one. I was utterly convinced for about 10 seconds the other night that Alan Brough was drinking in the laneway outside that annoying tiny bar next to Morris & Sons in the city. When I got closer though I saw it was just some other giant Kiwi in a checked shirt. Damn.

  • Shared today on Google Reader

  • Jane Austen Drinking Game

    Oh man. If the Jane Austen Drinking Game had existed when Liz and I were in college, we would now be alcoholics.

  • Shared today on Google Reader

  • One Man Lord of the Rings

    This past Tuesday, the Snook and I went to the Opera House to see Charlie Ross perform his One Man Lord of the Rings. I didn’t really know what to expect, and I had a suspicion that it might be lame. The concept is that he acts out the entire trilogy playing all the characters with no props and no sets. (I’ve seen people do Shakespeare in a similar fashion, and that sucked.) Luckily my fears were unfounded and it was fantastic! He launched right in at like 100mph and barely slowed over the next 75 minutes. The show is very much based on the films, and a lot of the characterizations, jokes, and references that he does are specific to the movies. (There were a couple nerdy asides about the Silmarillion and Tom Bombadil though, which we appreciated.) During the flooding of Isengard, I was delighted to see him act out the Ent dousing his burning head in the water! That’s like my favorite little moment from the whole trilogy. Ross is a skilled mimic who brought to life characters and scenes in ways I didn’t expect. Sure, anybody can do a halfway decent Smeagol. But a totally realistic Treebeard complete with tromping-through-the-forest sound effects? Impressive. I also really liked his reduction of Denethor to a receding hairline and disgusting eating habits. Yeah, there was the obligatory “gay hobbits” joke, but on the plus side he left out Arwen entirely and majorly truncated the long, long endings. The audience had a great time and pretty much laughed throughout the whole show. At the conclusion, he sat down for a few minutes and told us the story of the production, including the “cease and desist” that put the show on hold for five years. Such a nice young Canadian gentleman! You should go see it if you can.

  • Wizards!

    Harry Potter wizards in other movies. Neat! Infographic charting which wizards have appeared in other films together. I would’ve guessed something like Sense and Sensibility to have the most, but there’s actually one with NINE. Wouldn’t have guessed that one.

  • Well met, gunslinger.

    Stephen King officially announces that he’s working on another Dark Tower novel. Awesome. I was actually just thinking that I need to re-read the series…

  • The High Cost of Books

    Everybody who visits or moves to Australia ends up being astounded by how much books cost here. I always just chalked it up to transport costs and local profiteering. That’s why I was interested to read former NSW Premier Bob Carr’s blog post this morning: “Protectionism Means You Pay More for Books”. So it sounds like there’s some rule that local bookstores can’t import stock from overseas if there’s an Australian publisher carrying the same book (inevitably for a higher price). The justification is that by propping up local publishers, we’re ensuring they’ll continue to publish Australian literature. Huh! I had no idea. THAT SUCKS. I guess that’s why most people I know get their books from Amazon or The Book Depository.

  • Stamppot and Scones

    StamppotThis week’s veggie box had more kale in it, so I went hunting for another way to use it up. Somehow I hit upon the idea of making stamppot. Stamppot is a Dutch dish that basically consists of boiling up a ton of vegetables, mashing them, and serving it with meat. I’d been wanting to try this dish for 25 years.* Here’s the recipe I used. Most of the cooking time is in the preparation. I used potatoes, butternut pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, parsnips, leek, onion, and kale. After a rough mashing, I added a big whack of butter, salt, and pepper. As the meat accompaniment, we fried up a half a dozen Spanish chorizo sausages. It was very tasty! It easily made six large servings.

    * In the 3rd grade, I discovered the book The Twenty-One Balloons at my school book fair and bought it. I still have that very book, complete with my 8-year-old self’s signature. It’s one of my favorite books in the world, and I’ve probably read it twenty times. At the end of the story, the Krakatoans are forced to escape their exploding island aboard a massive balloon platform. The only food they have to eat is what Mrs. D (of the Dutch house) had prepared for dinner: Stampot von zuurkool met rookworst. Isn’t it funny the things that stick in your mind? As soon as Google showed the word “stamppot,” I knew exactly where I’d heard of it, and that I had to make it.

    I also did some baking today. Earlier in the week I saw this typically gorgeous Smitten Kitchen post featuring Apple and Cheddar Scones. I’ve been on an apple-and-cheese kick lately, so it appealed to me. We had pretty much everything already on hand, so I whipped them up for tea today. They were so good! It was my first attempt at making scones from scratch. (Normally the Snook is the scone-maker in this house.) He said they were “light and crispy.” We devoured two each not long after taking them out of the oven.

    Baking scones Finished scones