I was updating my Goodreads page today and it occurred to me I wanted to drop in here and mention a few rad books I’ve been reading lately. Some for fitnessing and some because I just wanted to.
The Endurance Diet by Matt Fitzgerald
I’m loving Matt’s new book—not only is he one of my favorite nutrition experts to interview, but he’s also a fantastic writer. Iron War, his book on Mark Allen and Dave Scott’s epic Ironman battles is still one of my favorite reads of all time. He’s also known for his other nutrition book, Racing Weight. This one, though, is so ridiculously in-line with what I wrote about in Fuel Your Ride that I fell immediately in love with it. Now, that doesn’t mean if you read one, the other will be boring. Far from it. Rather, his book is great for reaffirming the concept that nutrition is a lot more simple (and, OK, a lot more complex) than we make it. He has five habits he outlines that make endurance athletes great, and I’m really excited having read this while just starting into base training for Ironman.
Check it out here (pre-order available now).
Movement Matters by Katy Bowman
We were lucky enough to get Katy Bowman on the Consummate Athlete Podcast just as she launched her latest book, Movement Matters. Peter has been a huge fan of hers for years, and after reading this book and talking to her, I’m a total convert. In this series of essays, she talks about how, duh, movement matters, but not just our daily walking from point A to point B. She talks about how we’ve made everything so much easier in our lives, from a TV remote to a tea bag, and she makes a strong case for adding back in some challenge to daily life, like foraging for some berries instead of buying all of them at the store. Peter and I are getting more and more into sustainability in general, and her book really emphasizes how by using our bodies as they were intended, we can help ourselves and our world.
Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov
I read almost everything that Bulgakov wrote when I was in high school, but I’m revisiting it now that it’s a decade later. (He’s part of the reason I took Russian for a few semesters!) I admit, I took a pretty big break from literature the past few years, focusing on nonfiction and somewhat-trashy fiction instead. I guess the English major sort of burned me out a bit! But I’m trying to get back to “healthier” reading in there as well, and I freaking love Bulgakov. Master and Margarita, his best-known work and my absolute favorite, is a bit denser, and it’s on my to-read-again list, but I figured I’d start with the novella Heart of a Dog, so I could re-acquaint myself with his writing before tackling the bigger stuff. It’s… a weird one. Dystopian pseudo-sci-fi set in the Soviet Union. But the writing is insane!
“Kindness. The only possible method when dealing with a living creature. You’ll get nowhere with an animal if you use terror, no matter what its level of development may be. That I have maintained, do maintain and always will maintain. People who think you can use terror are quite wrong. No, no, terror is useless, whatever its colour – white, red or even brown! Terror completely paralyses the nervous system.”
Boom.
Saddle, Sore: Ride Comfortable, Ride Happy by … Me!
OK, I’m not reading this one. But I did just write it, and I’d love it if you checked it out! The new edition of Saddle, Sore is out and it is jam-packed with new information for men, pregnant and post-partum women, women in menopause, and so, so much more. There are more questions answered, more experts added, and tons of cool new sidebars with sections like what to look for in a bike fit. It’s a funnier, funner read and I’m stoked.
