Next Book and Next Step

一个夏天三个多月，一晃儿就过去。读书会的新学期要开始了。
回国出游的各位亦纷纷回来，然而燥热干旱的天气，让人打不起精神来，迟迟拿不起书本， 是振作起来的时候了。

读书会的下次聚会大概要等到9月份了，具体时间还要商讨。

下一本书是日本作家村上春树的自传 What I Talk about When I Talk about Running = 《当我谈跑步时，我谈些什么？》

作者在长达四分之一个世纪里，日日都坚持跑步， 书中记录他的心路历程。为了配合这本书，我们重新启动 Step Into Fitness shared document， 每人可以记录一下每天/周跑步或是走路的步数。以前我们搞过，多数同学可能记忆犹新。
让我们带上计步器吧，从8月的第1个星期一开始记录。

请在您的名子下记录每天的运动，以steps为准 

 If you don't know how to estimate steps, the following link might help.
 You can also estimate steps by knowing that 2,000 steps equals one mile.
2,000步大约1英里； 散步1小时约3英里； 3英里就是6,000步.

领读老师挠挠的问题出台有数周，一共有14个, 大家边读边找答案吧。

1. 
   What familiar writers Haruki Murakami mentioned in his book that we have read their books in the club?
2. Haruki talked why he likes running over other confrontational sports. Is he a non-competitive person?
3. What is the "runner's blues" that Haruki mentioned?
4. "I just run. I run in a void. Or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void." How important it is to have a void in your life or daily ritual? Is packing our days with busy schedules really make us satisfied and productive?
5. How much do you know about the author after reading this memoir? How would you describe Haruki's personality?
6. Haruki stated that choosing the most suitable lifestyle  and prioritize things and relationships in one's life are very important after a certain age. Otherwise you will lose focus and your life will be out of balance. What life style did Haruki chose for being a novelist? What relationship did he consider the most important?
7. Haruki said that he is very easy to put on weight but he viewed this as a blessing. How so?
8. Where is it that Haruki talked about how to deal with your muscles so that they will eventually stop the unwillingness to the hard work to follow your will to become stronger? How did he organize and motive his muscles to they could take on the hard work?
9. What are the 3 important characteristics of a writer? What is the most important? Are all 3 of them can be learned and acquired?
10. What are the similarities of running and writing in Haruki's words?
11. Who are the exceptional writers whose enormous talent lasted from the beginning to end, whose talent did not fade over age and who produced voluminous great works? 
12. What personalities do you think Haruki possess? 
1. Hard-working
2. Humble
3. Non-competitive
4. Sensitive
5. Simple (does not flashy stuff)
6. Great insight of himself and the environment

14. What is the toxin that Haruki is talking about when he said that writing novels is an unhealthy type of work?
14. What kind of person do you think Haruki is after reading the book?

Step into Fitness