Lily > Recent Status Updates

It is taking me forever to get through this book. I think that’s more about where my head is at that an indictment of the book but I am tired 🙃

I have frustratingly realised this isn’t even the book I’ve been reading. All my frustrated updates don’t belong to this guy but to some dude called Matt Fitzgerald, whose book I absolutely will not be finishing.

WHY the need for all these mildly problematic (sometimes wildly) white male gaze reflections on race relations?? Gahhh

I do not enjoy this book at all so far.

The much too long description of this guy’s discovery of socialising with Black people and interracial dating is not endearing me to him

Finding the narrator/author frustratingly unlikeable/unrelatable but hopefully they’ll turn around

Not really enjoying this as an audiobook

Brillant and infuriating

I bought and intended to read this book before watching the film last year, then never got to it.

However, I loved the film and think this is important. Here we go…

Two thoughts:

1. This book is a masterpiece of writing

2. Reminds me a lot of “Girl, Woman, Other”

The prologue has me in a rage.

I’m learning from this book that being a marathon runner is, in itself, a marathon, not a sprint.

VERY emotional learning that his unknown injury that made running unbearable but doctors said wasn’t real was a pelvic stress fracture that didn’t heal whilst he tried to run through it. He still went on to run many more marathons and my word this is the story I’ve needed after a year of unknowns from my own pelvic stress fracture

Every single one of this guys full marathon times is faster than my half marathon PB but it’s so well written that I feel genuinely bad for him finishing New York marathon in 8th position with 2.15.09😂

This book is excellent. So well written and researched. Such an important topic masterfully executed.

Helpful to hear this guy say that there is a point during every marathon when you think to yourself “why am I doing this?”

A lot of detail about specific marathon routes and elite running

Can’t get over the fact this guy ran 2:12 in his debut marathon and it wasn’t even a good time for him 😂😱🙏🏾
Let me absorb some of this energy…

I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Hahrie Han at a roundtable about organising as part of the press tour to launch this book. Can’t wait to dive in.

I keep becoming frustrated by the assumptions about what I’m thinking/my perspective because these assumptions mostly don’t apply for me.
I think I’m stung by the analysis of the “twice as hard” adage because I was taught/have experienced/believe that you’d “receive half” not “be half”, which is a big difference. But I do want to unpack it so it’s a good prompt.
Otherwise good. Will continue.

I need a break from all the intense self help books 😅

About 20 pages to go but have been irreversibly frustrated from “racists” onwards.

I read a page or two of this in Bali and was annoyed by it, then I forgot about it. I started reading it again a week or so ago and so far I’m enjoying it (for now).

Also is it’s 9am on Thursday in Dubai so technically I started reading this 12th September 👩‍🏫

My flight is delayed by 1000 years so thought I’d crack open my first holiday read. So far, this is a good’n

Chapter 24
Triggered

Steaming through this book (chapter 17) to get some answers or feel the satisfaction of the characters speaking to each other honestly 😱

Chapter 6 (audiobook)

This is a fascinating and addictive read but I’m beginning to get annoyed by the lack of empathy most characters show.

Chapter 21 really cracks it.

I think I'd expected there to be more substance by now but it's an entertaining audible listen all the same.