While it’s too soon to tell if Sagal’s book, The Incomplete Book of Running, will have the same impact as [Jim] Fixx’s classic, it offers readers interesting insights about setting goals, making amends, the human digestive system and life in general ... Listeners of Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!––National Public Radio’s news quiz show hosted by Sagal––will see his wit throughout the book; they’ll also get a glimpse of the pain and sorrow of divorce, something the father of three shares in bits and pieces ... The book––part memoir, part advice column––is both entertaining and poignant.
[The Incomplete Book of Running is] funny, well written (mostly), filled with humility and perpetually on the scan for moments of stray grace ... Sagal’s book is not the one to read if you crave advice about the best cushion-heeled socks to buy, the correct earbuds (he advises against listening to music while running) or the finest anti-chafing creams. If you want that sort of information, you can turn to a magazine like Runner’s World, where Sagal has a column. He’s funny and perceptive about running magazines, by the way.
Sagal is brilliant and accomplished, but he’s also self-deprecating and funny. He presents himself as a balding, stocky everyman struggling to keep the weight off ... Sagal is full of irreverence, and he never lets the book get too heavy of heart ... Sagal is not here to make you faster, but he’ll make you smile, reflect and perhaps take the holiest of actions: those first scary steps out the door.
With exceptional wit and self-deprecating humor, he shares experiences ... Both recreational runners and competitors will undoubtedly identify with his observations and anecdotes about what draws people to the sport. His reflections on dealing with divorce and charting new beginnings will also engage readers in similar situations. Sagal is a compelling writer, and his story may well rouse some to get off the couch, lace up their sneakers, and get running.
Anyone who’s ever run for fitness, for fun (are there people who do that?), for recreation, or to be a better person will appreciate Peter Sagal’s The Incomplete Book of Running ... He’s hilarious, yes, and beloved by many as the longtime host of NPR’s quiz show 'Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!' Some portions of the book read like a stand-up routine, and they’re great. But when Sagal describes the empty townhouse that he can’t quite make feel like home, that’s when the book sucks us in ... In addition to taking the reader along on some races and training runs, and giving insight into the importance of a supportive running group and good nutrition, Sagal entertains with sprinklings of fascinating research ... The book is full of wonderful cultural references, and Sagal is creative in drawing from diverse sources to stitch together his running philosophy ... I was disappointed Sagal didn’t delve deeper into some of the more serious topics in his book, like his own depression.
