Running The Books

Avi Steinberg is stumped. After defecting from yeshiva to attend Harvard, he has nothing but a senior thesis on Bugs Bunny to show for himself. While his friends and classmates advance in the world, Steinberg remains stuck at a crossroads, his “romantic” existence as a freelance obituary writer no longer cutting it. Seeking direction (and dental insurance) Steinberg takes a job running the library counter at a Boston prison. He is quickly drawn into the community of outcasts that forms among his bookshelves—an assortment of quirky regulars, including con men, pimps, minor prophets, even ghosts—all searching for the perfect book and a connection to the outside world. Steinberg recounts their daily dramas with heartbreak and humor in this one-of-a-kind memoir—a piercing exploration of prison culture and an entertaining tale of one young man’s earnest attempt to find his place in the world.

A Harvard graduate and lapsed Orthodox Jew chronicles his stint as a librarian in a tough Boston prison, where he met such inmates as a pimp who enlisted his help writing a memoir and a gangster who dreamed of hosting a cooking show.

Peter Sagal, the host of NPR’s Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me! and a popular columnist for Runner’s World, shares “commentary and reflection about running with a deeply felt personal story, this book is winning, smart, honest, and affecting. Whether you are a runner or not, it will move you” (Susan Orlean). On the verge of turning forty, Peter Sagal—brainiac Harvard grad, short bald Jew with a disposition towards heft, and a sedentary star of public radio—started running seriously. And much to his own surprise, he kept going, faster and further, running fourteen marathons and logging tens of thousands of miles on roads, sidewalks, paths, and trails all over the United States and the world, including the 2013 Boston Marathon, where he crossed the finish line moments before the bombings. In The Incomplete Book of Running, Sagal reflects on the trails, tracks, and routes he’s traveled, from the humorous absurdity of running charity races in his underwear—in St. Louis, in February—or attempting to “quiet his colon” on runs around his neighborhood—to the experience of running as a guide to visually impaired runners, and the triumphant post-bombing running of the Boston Marathon in 2014. With humor and humanity, Sagal also writes about the emotional experience of running, body image, the similarities between endurance sports and sadomasochism, the legacy of running as passed down from parent to child, and the odd but extraordinary bonds created between strangers and friends. The result is “a brilliant book about running…What Peter runs toward is strength, understanding, endurance, acceptance, faith, hope, and charity” (P.J. O’Rourke).

This book has been the most popular and the best selling running book of all time.

Even though he was once his biggest rival, Jake Jarvis is thrilled when Spencer Solomon agrees to join the Diamonds cross-country team to compete in the Barry's Bay provincial championships. Everyone is pumped, everyone is focused, and Jake has to admit, he really likes their chances. At the last moment, Spencer informs the team that he can't go. Jake is furious. But when Spencer explains that he's worried about leaving his wheelchair-bound father alone, Jake gets to work on finding a solution to get Spencer and the Diamonds back on track.

In conjunction with the Terry Fox Foundation, award-winning author Eric Walters brings Terry Fox and the Marathon of Hope to life for a whole new generation of young readers This first book for young readers about Terry Fox and the Marathon of Hope, written by one of Canada’s best-known writers for young adults, is a blending of fact and fiction, fully endorsed by The Terry Fox Foundation. Hundreds of thousands of young Canadians participate in the Terry Fox Run each year and this book will further enhance their knowledge of Terry’s epic journey. Run introduces a national hero to a new generation of readers. In his trademark page-turning style, Eric Walters, bestselling author of Trapped in Ice and Camp X, tells the story of Winston MacDonald. In trouble again after a suspension from school and a runaway attempt, Winston is sent to spend time with his father—a journalist who hasn’t been around much since his family split up a year ago. Travelling to Nova Scotia with his father, who is covering what he thinks is just a human interest story about a man trying to run across the country, Winston spends a day with Terry Fox and his best friend, Doug. Their determination to achieve what seems like an impossible goal makes a big impression on Winston, and he takes courage and inspiration from Terry’s run. He is overjoyed when his father’s article about the Marathon of Hope ignites public interest across the country. But when Winston discovers that his father’s next article about the Marathon of Hope will characterize Terry and Doug in an unflattering way, he is furious with his father and fearful of betraying his friends. Unsure of what to do or where to turn, Winston decides it is time to make a run for it himself...

Running is a fast-paced story about friendship, redemption, and the triumph of love. Louie and Paul come from very different worlds. Yet they have one thing in common -- tragedies have shattered their families. To bury their hurt, they run fast and relentlessly. A chance accident on the trails brings the two boys together, and an unlikely friendship grows. Joined by Annie, another loner who has secrets of her own, they form a threesome that runs like the wind in the hills above their town. But a disastrous attempt by Paul to join the school's cross country squad and an explosive encounter with their star runner turns the alliance upside down. Overcoming their anger and loneliness, the three find a way to become a team again -- and hatch an outrageous plot along the way!

Leon's future is no longer certain.