Running Hard

Chris McDougall draws several conclusions in his book Born To Run. He states that running shoes are the most damaging piece of athletic equipment to ever come along, ruining knees and feet in the name of comfort. He suggests that ultra marathon running lowers the risk of cancer, and he even believes that he has proven the existence of persistence hunting, or running down the meat with superior strategy. He argues that Neanderthals gave way to Homo Sapiens because the Neanderthals refused to adapt, refused to take to the run when their large, less mobile quarry were no longer available.
The one conclusion I was waiting for was the connection between the Mexican Tarahumara Indians and the fountain of youth. McDougall shows how the Tarahumara, fueled by a mixture of corn and beans, run great distances with regularity, even into their sixties and seventies. He believes their combination of diet and exercise, along with a tradition born of necessity and resolve, allow them to avoid cancers, heart disease, even arthritis. What he doesn't conclude, though, is that this combination can lead to long life for everyone else. He stops short of claiming this lifestyle is the elusive fountain of youth, but it is a conclusion many of his readers might make. I know I do every time Odin and I take off on a trail run these days, pushing up hills and leaping over dead-falls. We will keep running because as McDougall does conclude unequivocally is that we were all "born to run."

Mystery Solved

Mardi Link's new true crime thriller Isadore's Secret will be out this week or next, and I've recently finished reading the advance copy. I admit I was captivated right to the end, wanting not only to know if the murderer would be found, but what motive might ultimately be proved, how the tiny Leelanau town of Isadore would recover, and what might become of the several Catholic priests implicated as knowledgeable about the sordid mess. Link, who previously wrote about the murder of the Robison family near Good Hart in 1968, did not let me down. By the book's end I was shaking my head at the unlikely conclusion to the long unsolved crime. My hope now is that others will read the book too and Link will earn some measure of success on her new project. I had never before heard of Isadore, let alone the murder and burial of a pregnant nun under the tiny burg's only church. Link has used her source material well, culling from archives as wide as The New York Times, and as close as the Traverse City Record Eagle. More importantly, she has recreated believably the sleepy hamlet of 1907 and after where the crime occurred.
Smart readers will find this book informative, well written, and disturbing. All good responses to good writing.

Browsing History

Book lovers are also necessarily bookstore lovers. My two favorites have long been The Island Bookstore on Mackinac Island and McLean and Eakin in Petoskey. That I live in these two locations has seen me visit these two outlets far more than any others.
A good bookstore should have a knowledgeable staff, a varied selection, and a purpose. The de facto purpose of these two notable shops is to offer the widest array of books to the most discerning readers, while also providing an opportunity for education to those less well read. The difference between Island Books and McLean and Eakin and their less successful competitors is the quality of the staff.
Regardless of what I might be looking for, and I rarely have to buy books any more, I know there are folks at either location, such as manager Tamara at Island Books, or my former student Katie at McLean and Eakin, who can both suggest interesting reads and help me find something I might have already zeroed in on.
When I was a student in Ann Arobr I frequented the flagship Borders location on State Street. When it opened, the store generated a buzz because of its size and its determination to provide an unlimited array of choices for the largest possible audience. Borders has, unfortunately, fallen victim to the culture of corporate anemia. Their bottom line became more important than their lofty mission. Just down the street from Borders was Shaman Drum, which was actually more like a neighborhood bookstore should be; a bit smaller, more compact, more ready to adapt when necessary.
This ability to adapt is what has kept Island Books and McLean and Eakin in business and prospering. There are no coffee bars in these stores, no internet cafes where pseudo intellectuals can be seen working on their great works, or where they can hang out all day, being seen but doing nothing.
If you want books and an informed bookstore staff, visit McLean and Eakin in Petoskey or The Island Bookstore on Mackinac Island.

Harrison Bibliography

Some days feel like Christmas. Such is the case when I get a call from the News Review telling me there are books waiting. Last week one of the titles waiting, and which I was most anticipating was Jim Harrison: A Comprehensive Bibliography. Newly published by the University of Nebraska Press, the heavy volume contains notes on more than 1600 Harrison publications, ranging from his major novels and novella collections, to single poems published in now defunt magazines. In between, are all the works that Harrison fans have come to appreciate. There are the food columns, the book reviews, the politically slanted essays, even lecture notes.
Edited by Gregg Orr and Beef Torrey, the collection, spanning 1964-2008, takes readers through The English Major, Harrison's most recent novel. His newest collection of poetry, In Search of Small Gods, is in here in fragments, but not as an entire work. Included as well are rare book jacket art, hand signed copies of texts, and most importantly explanations of the arc and history of each published piece. Harrison's and DeMott's introduction and preface are nearly worth the effort alone.
This is not going to be a book of interest to the casual Harrison reader. Most folks indeed will struggle to find a use for the collection. But with an introduction by Harrison and a preface from scholar Robert Demott, a long time Harrison friend, those who read all things Harrison will find insight and entertainment here. Oh, and the cover illustration is from Russell Chatham.

Up North Mystery

Another recent read is Mardi Link's new book Isadore's Secret, set in Michigan's Leelanau peninsula in the little backwater town of Isadore. Link, whose previous novel When Evil Came To Good Hart detailed the unsolved murders of a Detroit area family, has this time turned her attention to the disappearance and then grusome discovery of a Felician nun in 1907. I liked Link's first book, but primarily because I was familiar with the story. Her new mystery, also published by the University of Michigan Press, demonstrates how her writing has matured. The sentences are more precise while also more complex, a feat not easily accomplished. If the story line is less well known, the book, which debuts on September 1, will help shed light on a longtime disturbance in one of the region's most beautiful locations.

What I'm reading now

I've recently started two new books. The fist is Bob Butz's Going Out Green. Butz, author of Beast of Never: Cat of God begins the new book with an intriquing premise: plan his own green funeral over the course of just twelve weeks. The fact that he is not dying makes the premise a bit of an oddity, but he is a journalist so the story works. Butz is a journalist with a sense of humor. The story's backdrop is mostly northern Michigan, where Butz lives, so many of the locations and sentiments are recognizable to those of us who live here.
The other book I've begun is Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Also a journalist, McDougall sets off for Mexico in search of the mythical Tarahumara Indians, a tribe from the Sierra Madre mountains said to parley their diet of barbequed mouse and corn beer into an ability to run hundreds of miles at a time over rough desert and mountain terrain wearing little more than sandals and skirts. McDougall predictably finds, so far anyway, that the story is both more and less than advertised. Stay tuned and more importantly, keep reading.

Welcome

Welcome to the initial entry on the Literate Matters blog. I've been writing a column of the same name for nearly 10 years and can now share more material more often. The purpose of the blog is to talk about what I'm reading and what you should be reading. I'm keenly interested in what you're reading, so please share your thoughts with me as well. Look for my column the second and fourth Thursday of each month in the Petoskey News Review. The last column was about Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a terrific road novel celebrating its 35th anniversary. Next week's column will be about The River Why, another cult classic that is worth a look more than 25 years after its publication.
Until then, keep reading and keep writing.
Glen