Sole Sisters: Stories of Women and Running by Jennifer Lin and Susan Warner - An inspirational book that focuses on the bonds created when women run together, for health, for competition, or just for friendship. This collection of stories can make you both laugh and cry, but any woman who has ever run with a group can identify with the emotional connections examined in this book. From a woman who lost her husband in 9/11 running her first marathon in his honor to a group of new moms in town looking for friends, the power of being accountable to a group and of the emotional bonds that are formed through running are evident.

Any woman who runs will be able to relate to various stories in this book. I've often wondered why it's so much easier to run with my friends than it is to run alone....why it just hurts less. I don't think this book answers any of the physiological reasons for that, but the phsycological reasons are quite apparent...I am a woman. Enough explaination.

>u>I Run, Therefore I Am -- NUTS! by Bob Schwartz - If I'd have my choice, I'd always choose a funny book first. This book fits the bill because I laughed my way through it, but didn't learn a thing. It was just FUN....and we all need more of that, especially when we're taxing our bodies way past the point of any sensibilty.

One portion of the book that did hit home with me was when the author humorously talked about looking to your gene pool and facing (and accepting )the facts:

"My pragmatic philosophy is, inspiration is good. However, perspiration will take you only so far - if you want to be a speed demon...you'd best be selective in choosing your parents. The gene pool my legs were wading in wasn't exactly full of the fastest currents in the water. My parents were like Tommie Turtle and Sally Snail."

The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women by Dawn Dais - There isn't a lot of humor to be found in running (or as far as I'm concerned), but this author was able to not only find the humor, but was able to give it life and make the reader laugh out loud with the turn of every page.

I mean, seriously...if had any sort of writing talent whatsoever, this is exactly the type of book I'd write. Both helpful and hilarious, I could hear myself talking while I was reading. It was as if everything she was writing was something I had either said myself or, at least, had contemplated but thought better of actually putting into words. She is my hero for having the courage to write about how fat her butt looks in spandex....but what's more...that she no longer cares because, after all, it's all about comfort! I almost DIED laughing when she wrote: "Yeah, they were running the last mile TO the race to warm up. Why not just poke your eye out with a stick, it would make about as much sense." I think I have actually uttered those words before...maybe even recently!


If you're a runner, or not, and just want a good laugh with some insightful information to boot, I highly recommend picking up this book. It is well worth the time and the side stitches you'll get from laughing your way through it!

The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchick - I know, I know....enough with the running already. But, when so much of your time revolves around something, it's natural to read more about it. However, you'd think that I'd become a better runner with all the reading I'm doing about it. Then again, you'd be wrong. I think I very well could be the best-read, bad runner there is!


The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall - An uplifting, quick read that happens to be the second book our Rival Readers Book Club selected to read. As it happens, it came out as a movie with James Garner and Brian Denehey just this past Friday, and I hadn't even a clue it was a book until early last week. Bad librarian...

Anyhow, the book tells the story of Jason and his great-uncle Red. The book opens with Red's family awaiting the details of his will. Red was a wealthy Texas oil and cattle man and had, through his hard work, become a billionaire and had provided well for his extended family, taking care of their every need during his life. In the end, Red saw the error of his ways as his family became spoiled and lazy. Through his will he vowed to remedy some of those mistakes by taking Jason under his post-mortem wing and molding him into the person he should be. This happened through a series of lessons, or quests, that Jason undertook. At the end, if he succeeded, he'd get his "ulimate gift". Along the way, Jason learns many of the valuable lessons that living a life of leisure had robbed him of: The lesson of hard work; the lesson of friendship; the lesson of gratitude. Twelve lessons in all help Jason win his "ultimate gift" and, in the end, become the man he was always meant to be.

Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland -"I'm the one Scrabble tile with no letter". Have you ever felt that way? Like you're the only one no one really notices? As if you could simply dissappear without a trace and no one would sit up and take notice? Liz Dunn is a 42-year-old, over-weight spinster, and desperately lonely. Her narrative tone, however, is lively and engaging, as she tramps back and forth in time to tell her dramatic and eventful story.

While recovering from dental surgery in her utilitarian Vancouver condominium, Liz receives a call from the local hospital. A young man, resuscitated after a near-fatal overdose, has her name on a bracelet on his wrist. It is her son Jeremy, who she gave away for adoption at the age of 16. If this weren't enough of a life-changing encounter, it happens that Jeremy is dying of multiple sclerosis, and has a short time to live.

Liz's sudden, belated, experience of being a mother in this extreme situation is all the more moving for being lightly handled. Jeremy is a charming and lively character, and his demise is described without much ado, and even has the unusual comic touch.
Throughout the book one feels a certain glibness to Coupland's treatment of his tragic material, but this is compensated for with the heartfelt material and the lightness with which the heavy stuff is handled.

Although this book was well-written, I did have a hard time following some of the dialogue, especially between Liz and Jeremy, and in the end, between Liz and Klaus. However, I would recommend this book simply for the language. Coupland writes well!

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson - The best-selling author Erik Larson writes books that weave together multiple plots based on actual events. His best-known book is The Devil in The White City, about the architect who built Chicago's World's Fair and the serial killer who preyed on women drawn to that city. I was enthralled with this particular book and simply could not wait for his next book to come out. Narrative nonfiction is really my most favorite genre, and Larson has a narrative style that captivates the reader.

In his new book, Thunderstruck, Larson examines the North London Cellar Murder, writing about a notorious crime that happened in the city early in the 20th century. Essentially, like his previous book, it's a tale of two men, this time Harvey Hawley Crippen, a seemingly mild-mannered doctor who murdered his wife to run away with his mistress, and Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor who created the wireless telegraph -- the device that helped capture Crippen as he fled over the Atlantic with his lover. The progression the book takes, from the initial seed of the idea of the telegraph, to the eventual use of the technology to capture two fugitives, is really quite captivating. Throw in the drama and suspense of the murder and the chase, and this book is, at once, both informative and memorable. Unlike many nonfiction and history writers, Larson is able to keep the reader yearning for the next chapter!