What I Talk About When I Talk About Running...

What I love about holidays and travelling, apart from the trip itself, is that it gives me time to catch up on my reading. The past month saw me travel to Japan for 2 weeks for golf and for family time with my son and subsequently for a short golf outing with my high school buddies to Indonesia. And during that short period of time I found myself to have finished reading 3 books ! A sort of a record for myself.

I have bought another of Murakami's books some time ago but have yet to read it, but this one caught my attention before my trip to Japan. A short and simple book yet very fascinating as it allowed me to get a glimpse of Murakami, the person. The introvert writer, the university student who ran a jazz bar in Tokyo before he gave it up to go full-time writing is also a marathon runner, having participated in more than 20 marathons in different parts of the world. In this book he wrote about his thoughts as he ran the long distances. He also describes his preparations for the runs and what what he has to endure to keep himself fit for the marathons. Such determination and perseveration are probably equally necessary for writing.....

Murakami will be the pakdokter's model to help achieve this year's sets of objectives in golf........

Pakdokter was introduced to Isabel Allende by pakdokter's partner's friend, Harriette, from Sweden who came to stay with us in 1994. Pakdokter found the book, The House of Spirits, very absorbing. And of course, pakdokter had also bought the DVD of the movie starring Jeremy Irons, Antonio Banderas, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and Vannessa Redgrave, all of whom are pakdokter's favourite actors! The Sum of Our Days is Allende's latest book written the year (2007?) after her daughter, Paula, died at the age of 26 from ?drug complications for a treatment of pnuemonia due to the underlying porphyria which she also sufferred....The book, which is a memoir of Isabel's life, is in the style of a communication to Paula, keeping her abreast of the goings-on in the family intertwined with memories of family events from the past. In the process, I suppose, Ms Allende had helped herself work through her grief from the loss of Paula. Although a memoir, the book is first-class story-telling, which is Allende's gift...

Isabel Allende's uncle was the socialist leader of Chile who was democratically elected as President until the USA decided to topple him by assisting a coup-de-tat led by General Pinochet. This forced Ms Allende to emigrate , first to Venezuela then, ironically, to the USA. She was a journalist to begin with, and the discipline from the demands of a journalisitic career had been useful to enable her to produce almost one book a year for the past decade. Looking through pakdokter's library, pakdokter discovered that there are 5 of her books already there on the shelves waiting to be read!

Ridzwan Zafir is one Malay who rose to become one of Singapore's top beaureaucrat. This is his autobiography and pakdokter picked up this book because of an interest in finding out how a Malay could make it in meritocratic Singapore. Pakdokter finished the book with further conviction that if you are good and at the same time you work hard at it, you will be recognised, no matter where you are.

Of particular interest was pakRidzwan involvement with MENDAKI and MUIS, two organisations which looked after the interests and welfare of the Singapore Malays and Muslims. Through pakRidzwan's leadership, the Singapore Government channelled direct aid to the organisations by giving dollar for dollar contribution for every dollar that the bodies can raise with their own efforts! Both organisations have millions in their coffers and carry out many broad-based programmes for the benefit of their community.