Monday, December 20, 2010

Hector and the Search for Happiness

Hector and the Search for Happiness  By Francois Lelord  Hector is a psychiatrist who cannot understand why some of his patients (actually most) have no apparent health, family or job problems but are not happy. Although he tries and tries he is not able to sufficiently help them. Hector, who had always thought of himself as "happy" begins to feel sad that he cannot help all his patients and decides to travel the world on a holiday in search for the secret to happiness. This fable/story is a laugh out loud tale that rings true on many different levels. With each chapter are life lessons that the reader may say they already know, but it is always best to be reminded of the simple truth. Lesson no. 24  Happiness is reading a good book.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Born to Run

Born to Run  By Christopher McDougall   This book is about running. The physiology, history, biology, love of it, hate of it, injuries from it. You name it, its about running. Chris McDougall is a writer and avid runner constantly battling common running injuries. As his inquiring mind searches for a quick fix to stop the pain he discovers the world of ultramarathoners. Extreme distance runners. He also discovers a tribe in Mexico that he calls the Running People. The Tarahumara are a timid isolated group that spends their lives running for the joy of it. They can run for days, through the wilderness for hundreds of miles with little food, little water and rarely an injury. Christopher meets many interesting characters along his journey, he ultimately changes the way he runs, eats and thinks about running. The reader does not have to be a runner to enjoy this book, just a student of life.