Review: Kara Goucher's Running for Women

GET FIT, GET FAST, AND GO FARTHER WITH OLYMPIC RUNNER KARA GOUCHER’S COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO RUNNING FOR WOMEN KARA GOUCHER is crazy, madly, head-over-heels in love with running, and she wants to help you feel that love, too. Whether you’re just getting started or already a seasoned runner, this is the book that will take you to the next level. Kara Goucher’s Running for Women contains her expertise, tips, and tricks targeted specifically at female runners to help you become a better, happier, healthier, and more fulfilled runner. She’ll teach you how to:

• GET STARTED WITH THE RIGHT GEAR

• BUILD A SUCCESSFUL SUPPORT TEAM

• FIND THE RIGHT TRAINING PROGRAM FOR YOU

• OVERCOME PSYCHOLOGICAL SETBACKS

• BALANCE RUNNING WITH FAMILY AND WORK

• AND MUCH MORE

Designed to fit your busy lifestyle, Kara Goucher’s Running for Women is packed with quick tips, pearls of running wisdom, and sample training schedules and nutrition plans, as well as sections dedicated to running during and after pregnancy, managing the special challenges of the female athlete’s body, and maintaining a balance between sporting and family life. Kara Goucher’s Running for Women is the ultimate guide for women who want to train for the gold or simply discover their personal best

REVIEW:

Honestly, guys, did you really expect me to talk about book books again? Like...YA and romance and fantasy and all that stuff I always promise and never stick to?

Oh, don't worry. I did read a bit. YA, I mean. Real, honest, funny, funky YA. And it's coming your way, I promise!

But, today, we're a bit off topic again.

Today's review is on Kara  Goucher's book Running for Women which I never planned on reviewing but then did anyway, because the book is so helpful and she seems to be such a genuine, honest, fun and nice person.

I'm a fan now, sure thing!

If you're not a runner, my guess is you haven't heard of her much. And if you are a runner but anything like me, you've never heard of her before, because you're ignorant to everyone else hitting the pavements (or, you know, elite athlete stadiums) of the world.

I did, however, stumble upon her book and thought that reading plus running is an equation even I can't get wrong.

So I went for it. And loved it.

There were exactly two aspects that made this book amazing.

The knowledge. And the personality.

Whenever the chapters were about running advice and information, giving tips to every kind of runner you could imagine, Goucher was incredibly professional.

She didn't just go through every topic  (Training, Nutrition, Injury Prevention, etc.) in great detail. She structured her advice in a way that made it easy to both, read and understand what she meant.

Even though I'm sort of a geek and follow Runner's World like it is my job, there were so many (smaller and greater) details I didn't know before.

That alone made the book worth a lot more money than I paid for it!

A good example was the chapter on starting to run which I thought about skipping first. I can only suggest one thing: DON'T!

Don't skip any sentence! I went as far as devouring the chapter about running while pregnant (I'm eighteen, boyfriend-less and not planning on having kids in the next 15 years, so that is saying something!).

So, when you're looking for advice on running, no matter if you're just starting out, or have been doing it for years or aren't running at all, Kara Goucher's book really is the way to go! I promise there will be a million things you haven't heard of before!

I mentioned personality before. That's because Goucher has lots of it and it's all included in her book! She shares  personal details about every stage of her life as a highschool runner, a daughter, a wife and a mother and it is too interesting reading about all that and seeing not only how she mastered that great career she has, but also how she felt during those low moments everyone experiences.

She even got surprisingly raw and private at some points which made the book even more relatable!

All in all, I can only recommend Goucher's book to every runner out there. I mean, I would say non-runners should totally read it, too (it's done in a very autobiographical style), but I know part of that suggestion is only my desperate cry for even more runners out there :)

34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodriguez

A dark and moving novel about the mystery surrounding a teenage girl’s fatal overdose.

There was something about Ellie... Something dangerous. Charismatic. Broken. Jake looked out for her. Sarah followed her lead. And Jess kept her distance, and kept watch.

Now Ellie’s dead, and Jake, Sarah, and Jess are left to pick up the pieces. All they have are 34 clues she left behind. 34 strips of paper hidden in a box beneath her bed. 34 secrets of a brief and painful life.

Jake, Sarah, and Jess all feel responsible for what happened to Ellie, and all three have secrets of their own. As they begin to confront the darkest truths about themselves, they will also find out what Ellie herself had been hiding all along...

This book was just as much beautiful as it was heartbreaking. It was an issue book, but (or because of that) there was a LOT of drama involved, as well!

There are several things I loved about 34 Pieces.

First, it was easy to read. It was a breeze. Heavy topics, sure, but the writing itself made it easy to follow the book and just turn page after page. I actually found myself in quite a bad reading slump before I started this book and still managed to read it in one sitting- that's how addicting the story was.

I'd say,suspense played another important role in my liking the book so much, but that's not exactly true.

I think the book was as suspenseful, because I liked all of the characters so much. Not only did Rodriguez make each of them very individual and interesting, she also made them vulnerable and real - and I found myself close to tears several times whenever one of them was going through a really hard time.

You know that feeling when you read a standalone and you love the characters so much that you can't even think of never seeing them again. Or when you finish a book and have no idea what to read next, because nothing could take your thoughts away from those characters? Yup, that's how strong they were.

Thinking about it, one could say Rodrigues shoved quite a few issues into one book and it might be overwhelming for some people, but I didn't feel like that at all. 

After all, the author handled everything really well. It never seemed like she just created that certain problem for a character to make the book more interesting - everything the people in the book were going through felt real and genuine and honest.

All in all I have to say that 34 Pieces of You completely surprised me - I neve thought it'd be this good! I can only recommend it - even to people who don't exactly love contemporary. 

London - I learned my Lesson!

I guess I don't even have to mention that I'm not reading/blogging very much these days?
For a Read-a-Thon anyaway.
For a normal reading week what I've accomplished so far is not even that bad.
It's Tuesday night here and I have read 102 pages of Gayle Forman's Just One Day - and even listened to a couple of chapters of The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson.
So far, so good.
Reading-wise.
London-wise, my life is turned upside down. I swear, I've never walked that much, been lost as much, been tempted to eat and shop and smell as much.
My mouth has been open in astonishment not once, but many times throughout the past 24 hours.
My journey to London was rough, but a lot of fun, too.

Just like mom said, I packed wayyy too much. My suitcase was so heavy, I couldn't lift it on my own and along with that I carried a backpack and four bags. NOT funny. At all.
However, the really astonishing thing for me was that I made it.
You know how self-doubt and frustration creep up your tummy when you see yourself getting hurled over by a train in the vain attempt to balance an estimated 100 lbs worth of luggage and - even though you feel like it's way too much for you to carry - you still arrive.

Not right away, of course.
I wouldn't be me if my planning had sucked at just one single detail!
My phone does this very nice thing were it tells you even horrible things in an utterly neat style.
For example, when I turned it on to use the maps app to get to my Uni accommodation, it said "good bye" in that friendly way of its and went dark.

There I was, without any navigational tools (I didn't even have a map) in the middle of the biggest city I have ever set foot in, trying to find a student house noone - it seemed - had heard of.
At that point I saw myself sleeping on a park bench (assuming, of course, that I would have found that park) and was very close to tears.
However, if you're alone in another country, in a huge city and you only have one place to go, the last thing I suggest is crying. Because let's be honest - it doesn't help a bit.

So I went (okay slouched) my way through London, asking every nice-and-oriented-seeming-citizen-without-a-suitcase if they had heard of my street and where to find it.
Eventually, someone did know my street. And she even went to the trouble of guiding me there. Another nice person then used her Iphone to find out where exactly my accomodation was and then - I had done it. I had arrived. And never given up. And just kept going.

I guess the lesson I learned on my journey to London is that there's no need to ever dispair. Because you will arrive where you're supposed to be eventually. There is naturally no way around it.

I'm saying goodnight to you guys with this post and send my aplogogies for not being a better book blogger.
That might continue throughout the next few weeks. I will definitely blog, but I might (for the first time in my life) decide to leave the house and live my life instead of staying in and living someone else's. I promise book reviews (that's because they're actually all formatted and ready to go), but there will be some London-ness in my posts,too.

Sleep well everyone (or wake up if you're on the other side of the world)

the Booksmartie

The BIG News (I've kept from you for way too long)

I have to say, now that I'm actually writing this post, I absolutely and totally regret not doing it sooner.
However, back in June, when I first realized a really huge dream of mine was about to come true, I just couldn't believe it. And to be honest, I still can't.
But I'm going to start at the beginning and just tell you guys what's been keeping me up all night/been in my head for months - I am going to London. To study.
Most of you know that I'm from Germany and I have lived in the one village where I live now - for basically all my life. Or the past 13 years.

Now, I am moving. And not even anywhere and not a big huge German city, but a British one and I am freaking out about that and finding it very weird and I am going to be there TOMORROW! And I will totally have gotten something wrong and be homeless for the next year or so, living under the bridge (or, if they let me) in the library.

Just in case everything goes according to plan, though, I will be proud to call myself a British Uni Student and a person-living-in-london which is so, so cool.

If you are interested in why I decided to study in London, this is the brief summary:

- I love the English language
-I always wanted to study abroad
- I got the chance
- I took it.

So, basically the next two years I will be spending mostly in London, studying my head away to become that intellectual and educated person I so badly want to become and - of course - blogging whenever I can.
Also, I just realized that living in London will mean having access to libraries and bookshops that actually have English books on their shelves! I am amazed.

Okay, I think that's everything I wanted to say. Again, I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier, but I just really, really couldn't believe I'll actually go. To London. All by myself.
Oh my god, I'm going to die. I just now it.

Does anyone of you live in London??? Any tips, advice, general things to tell me? If so, pleeeeease comment below!

And I'd really like to get an audiobook to listen to on the train - are there any you guys could recommend?

Greetings and lots of love,

the Booksmartie

A pretty sad Tackle Your TBR update post

Okay, so this readathon might not be going so well and I might have hoped to accomplish a bit more during this week - but not everything is lost, yet, right?

There's still all of next week and a little crumble of this week...

Okay, without further ado, this is my readathon progress for week one:

Books read: 1

Pages read: I have absolutely no idea... I lost track because my brain is not able to process numbers!

Books started: The Fault in our Stars by John Green (finished), Poison Princess by Kresley Cole, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnsson

You might wonder about the weird format and wacky design if this post, but it's really just supposed to be a quick update in how I am doing readathon-wise. By the way, I am typing this on my iPad mini and was wondering if any of you have tips on how to compose a (not so wacky) post on a tablet..? 

So, if you have ideas on that, please comment below, I'd love to know!!!

PS: to make this post a bit more colourful I'll include a picture of my room as it is as I'm typing...

Okay, it's pretty dark, but do you guys see that mess??? - explanation to that is a secret I've kept for month now - and that I'll let you in on tomorrow!!!!

Review: Heist Society by Ally Carter

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way

To get it out right away - I didn't love this book and it won't be a raving or ranting review. I was okay wíth the story and the plot, but didn't like the characters and expected a whole other kind of story to begin with.

I think that, my expectations, is always my main problem when I don't like a book. With this one, I expected the kind of storyworld that you fall in love with, that you start to live in, that stays with you for a while. I thought I'd tear through all three books in one sitting, not regret the fact that I bought them in the first place.

As I said, story and plot were okay. Good, even. It was entertaining to watch a couple of teenagers rob  a famous museum, but not the story I craved. It was too easy and too superficial. I wanted a story that got deeper.

I also wasn't a big fan of the characters. They were, in my opinion, pretty shallow and I couldn't relate to any of them. Clearly, the boys weren't swoonworthy enough, either.

I will cut this review short, because there isn't really a lot to say for me. I personally didn't like the book very much. I didn't find it funny or interesting or suspenseful or anything other, really, than a story I didn't care about.

However, and this is really important, it was more of  a "It's not about you" - situation. I know everyone (pretty much) around the blogosphere and in real life loved this book, the whole series, even. It just wasn't up my alley at all, so if you think this might be the perfect book for you, don't let my review hold you back!

Tackle Your TBR - Read-a-Thon Monday Update

 

 

Now, you guys, I'm happy to tell you I can make you the proudest blog readers ever.

Because I did actually reach my daily goal today!!!!

Isn't that an achievement? Yeah,  I can't believe it myself!

 

Let's recap what I planned to do today, shall we?

 

• Read from 6 to 8PM
• Never look on electronic devices during reading time!
• Visit at least 5 blogs

I will just add that I visited more than 5 blogs AND read on the bus AND read in the doctor's office AND listened to an audiobook almost the whole time on my shopping spree (yes, I'm lame enough to go shopping all by myself. But hey, I really needed that stuff!)

 

Oh, and - before I forget - I did of course not post my entire reading list on my Kick-Off post. I was stupid enough to forget that I read Poison Princess with Diamond over at Dee's Reads. We originally planned on making it an all-nighter but...my brain twists into one thick not whenever I try to find out which time it is where she lives and how far ahead of her time we are here in Germany and...you. get. the picture.

I hope, at least, because this is all I can tell you before I bang my head on the desk because I CANNOT convert time zones.

 

Anyway, this is how far I've come Monday  night:

 

MONDAY:

 

Book Finished: 0

Pages Read: 155 + a couple of chapters in the audiobook

Books: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, Poison Princess by Kresley Cole, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnsson