A refreshingly frank book about the marathon trainer’s mindset.
Riedesel chases readers from the couch to the finish line in just 20 weeks in this fitness primer.
Distance running is one of the simplest activities known to humankind, one that our bodies have evolved to be good at. Early in this book, the author jokes that this volume contains, fully within it, a second book called The Self-Actualized Runner’s Step-by-Step Guidebook for Living, which reads, in its entirety, “Step One: Start running. Step Two: You’ve already taken it. Step Three: Repeat steps one and two until you understand exactly who you are and why you do what you do.” Even so, for most people, distance running is more aspiration than reality. How can something so simple be so difficult? According to Riedesel, running really is that easy, but becoming a person who runs regularly can be incredibly hard, as millions of health-minded would-be runners discover each year. It’s a pursuit that requires determination, time management, and a fair amount of psychological work, especially during those first runs, when the practice has not yet become a habit. With this book, the author coaches his readers through the steps toward becoming a runner—specifically a marathon runner, since Riedesel uses his own experiences training for the Disney Marathon to structure the guide. Beginning 20 weeks out from marathon day, the book dedicates one chapter to each week, assuming that the reader is more or less starting from scratch; topics include building a training plan, selecting the necessary gear, food, sleep, and even what to listen to while running. Riedesel’s voice is both conversational and refreshingly direct, avoiding motivation-speak in favor of everyday language: “Do not let the simple, important thing fade into the under-appreciated background like it’s the air or the sun. This is true for anything you wish to prioritize, and it’s true for running. Here’s the simple and important idea: Get out the door.” The author’s humor and matter-of-fact tone make this the perfect primer for anyone who really wants to run but just needs that little extra push to get going.
A refreshingly frank book about the marathon trainer’s mindset.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9781732125513
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
© Copyright 2023 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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