bella613's Reviews (551)

I wish I could have met Sir Roger Bannister. I feel that he is a kindred spirit. Doctor, sportsman, eloquent writer, and a bit of a philosopher. He lived such a meaningful life and it's a wonderful thing to read his words. 

I re-read this every Halloween :)
A good one!
Love Sarah Andersen and love her characters.

Alexi has been someone I looked at as a role model since middle school. I first knew about her because of her running career, but fell in love with her creative and inspiring personality. 
This book is so relatable and real. She covers being a young female athlete, but she covers so much more than that. Her voice is very unique and from her university-age poetry, to her films, to this book, and whatever she comes up with in the future, I'll always want to hear from her. 

This has been one of my favorite books for over a decade now! I first read it in early high school--I think back then I saw it most as an incredibly inspiring story with characters that I wanted to be and know in real life. I read it again in college and saw it as a story about someone who gives their entire existence to focus on a goal, that happened to be running in Cassidy's case. I love how well it captures the mindset of a distance runner, as well as the mindset of anyone obsessively chasing an extreme goal. I've seen a lot of criticisms of Once A Runner, saying it's not relatable to most runners who see running as not only a sport of being faster than everyone else. I wholeheartedly disagree with those criticisms because I think they've missed the point of the book. This book isn't about anyone who runs, but about someone who defines themselves as a runner. Obviously, running isn't only about racing. But everyone can relate, at some point in their lives, to the desire (or at least curiosity) of honing a craft to perfection. And Once a Runner tells that story. 
This most recent time re-reading I finally use a reading log app, so I have the opportunity to share a review. At 25 now, I suppose I don't call it my favorite book anymore. But I still think about the Trial of Miles at least once a week, even though I don't run many miles these days. I feel the nostalgia of the book. This is one that I will re-read throughout my life and learn different things about myself each time.

I liked this book a lot, and enjoyed listening to it. I have loved Mac Miller's music since high school but never really knew all that much about him as a person, especially in the early days of his career. I don't necessarily think this book educated me all that much, or made me a bigger fan than I was, but it was a great tribute and insight into the life of a wonderful yet troubled artist.
There are a few things that keep me from rating it 5 stars: First, the author did not have a personal relationship with Malcolm. I'm glad he immediately addressed the fact that the book was written outside permission or help from any family or the estate, but it does make parts of the book seem less credible and more like gathered research than real stories. I think if this had been written along with direct help from someone who knew him, it would have been a five star read (yes there are many contributors who knew him but their role was more like interviewees)
Second, why do I feel like I learned more about Wiz Khalifa from this book than Mac Miller? Lol. I knew a decent amount of the the general facts about Miller before reading and knew little to none about Wiz, and I guess it seemed like there was a ton of focus on Wiz Khalifa even though he wasnt really a part of Malcolm's life at all. The third thing is mainly just that I would have liked to dive deep into Mac's life, and the focus was definitely his career. It's understandable that making music was his life for at least a period of time, but I like biographies because they can give me more than a journalism article can, and this book just didn't do that.
It was a very well organized book that held a lot of respect for the life Malcolm lived and the people he inspired (and continues to inspire). I did actually appreciate the history lesson on Pittsburgh and the set-up of hip-hop culture and white rappers. This seems to be a large complaint among other reviewers, but I think it's valid to make Mac's being a white rapper a big part of the book because it's a huge part of his story, and white influence coming into mainstream hip hop was a huge deal. I agree that it can feel a little obvious and repetitive sometimes, but it's a controversial topic that probably doesn't get enough honest discussion. Being a white rapper made it hard to be taken seriously, and being white gives an established rapper a lot of priveleges. It'll come up a lot in life, so it comes up a lot in the book. 

Would recommend this to anyone who is a fan, anyone into hip hop culture, anyone who appreciates biographies. 

I almost let my library loan run out before listening to this book, but I'm so glad I didnt. It's a really cool story that, while centering around a fictional diagnosis of "STWS", is actually reaching into some incredibly real problems many of us have. The book definitely follows an introspective journey for Amy, so besides her father, the rest of the characters don't have a lot of depth. But for this type of story I think it's best to be able to focus solely on the main character (and I do love the relationship with her father). It took me a few chapters to get really into the book, but by the end I felt really connected to it. 
As someone who could consider nostalgia a personality trait, and who sometimes considers whether it would be better for those around her if she disappeared, this book is not only relatable but deeply emotional. Would recommend <3

Didn't finish because it was due at the library... it wasn't captivating enough to read fast and I didn't like one of the narrators so I probably won't take it out again.