You can now pre-order this book on Amazon.com, in English (I think... at least the title and explanation are in English). Anyway, I had never heard about this book until today. Is it a novel? A book of short stories? A kind of autobiography? Anyway, I REALLY want to order it, but of course the first prints are always hard copies so I'm going to wait until a paperback version comes out. It will be hard for me to 我慢, but I'll do my best.
I've read the original of this book, which was titled “走ることについて語るときに僕の語ること”.
It's a kind of essay, I think.
In this book, Haruki-san wrote why he runs, how he has been running, and how his running has to do with his writting.
I felt encouraged by reading this book.
Whenever I read his books,I feel somehow encouraged.
It's an English translation (by Phil Gabriel) of a memoir that rotates around the topic of distance running that was originally published in Japan in October 2007.
Details on the book in English can be found in the following link:
http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307269195
I dislike hard-cover copies too, and usually end up buying the paperback version even IF I have the hardcopy, because they are smaller and easier to carry (not to mention lighter!).