I tried. to like you

I'm a reader. My top spot in the shopping mall is the book store ( next to kedai makan and the cinema). My almari is jammed with clothes..and books. I must read at least 1 book/novel per month.
So when Runner's World stated that Once A Runner is " The best novel ever written about running " , I knew I couldn't miss out.

Hub felt it was a waste of time and resources to drive all the way to KL to hunt for the book, which he thought we would never find.So he decided to order in online instead, along with some other books he wanted. Hub was so constantly tracking the packages, it drove me nuts.
So when the box finally arrived, we were elated. Got more excited about Once A Runner after opening one of the books entitled " The Runner's Rule Book" which wrote under Rule 1.19 that " If you're a runner, you must love Once A Runner". Here are the excerpts from that 'rule' :

John L Parker's seminal novel Once A Runner, about a young miler named Quenton Cassidy is, uh..seminal.
 This means , basically, that if you are a runner, you must love Once A Runner. There's simply no other option.
 So even if you have never read it, or you tried to read it and frankly didn't care for it, you must speak of OAR in hushed, reverential tones. Here's a few choice phrases to use when discussing the books with fellow runners
" Classic"
" Best book about running ever written"
 You want to tell the truth about Once A Runner? That you made it to page 39, found it dull, and gave up, opting instead to watch some TV?
 Fine. Before you do, know that the federal witness protection program does not cover OAR disparagers. Just FYI.

( I find this hilarious)

Well peeps, I read. And read on. And toiled.
In truth, I tried to like it. Swear I did. But I didn't.
Boringnya, MasyaAllah.

And I got to page 39 and it was still boring so I thought," Maybe it's like this in the beginning and it'll get better"...er..NOT. The worse thing is, instead of opting to watch some TV, I considered  finishing off Eclipse. ( which I was also toiling to finish - I find it lame tapi kena habiskan jugak sebab dah beli).

OAR sucked to me probably  because:

1. The paragraphs goes on and on and on describing God-knows-what that you finally forget what the author is trying to say in the first place

2. The storyline is set in the 70's so maybe I couldn't relate ( perasan muda)

3. All the main characters are overachievers who wins at practically every competition they enter.

4. Main characters only care for training, running, training, running. No other interest. Period. No wives, no kids, no other hobbies, no parents, no life. Oh, there's this brief description of some girlfriends, tu pun I guess added as a comic relief ( tapi boring nevertheless)

5. There's this prank the hero played on his nemesis but the author decided to describe the whole thing in one long chapter which is so unnecessary because I dozed off at the end jugak. ( Pranks are supposed to be fun).

6. Major characters all have goals to do sub 4 minutes per mile which made me feel..urm ..uh..a bit insignificant.

And I'm only halfway through.
( And skipped a few pages)

Hubs didn't believe me. He thought I didn't appreciate art. I tried to prove my point by swapping books with him. He was reading Born To Run ( for the 5th time).

A day later I asked his verdict.
" You're right " he said.
" I'm always right" I said.

So now I'm reading Born to Run which is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy better and recommendable.
And I'm only on the 10th page.


P/S Did 22 K for LSD this week.With a flu. Got through it all alive. See, still breathing..hins hins.