Book Review: The Lola Papers

As this is a review about a running book, I thought it fitting to include on both my writing blog and my running blog.

I’m actively submitting my novel, Sprinter, to agents and publishers. In the meantime, besides working on other writing, I’m searching for books similar to mine because that is a question often asked in the submission guidelines: which books are similar to yours?

When I found The Lola Papers, I thought it might be somewhat similar to my book. In some ways it is, as both main characters are female, runners, and pursuing running goals while taking note of how much running parallels life. In other ways, not so much. My book is fiction, Lola is non-fiction. But I enjoyed every minute I spent reading it.

Lola is a runner’s journey from sporadic and half-hearted running to serious racing. Her coach, Mr. Speedy Pants, provides the wisdom and insight of a seasoned and studly runner who isn’t ashamed of his own awesomeness. Following our main character through the mishaps and mayhem that is a running journey, I laughed, I shed a few tears, and I laughed some more. The author, Amy L. Marxkors, is hilarious. Most of all, I was inspired. As a runner, I appreciate this more as a book that I wanted to read than as I book I felt I needed to read because of my novel.

The truths presented in this book resonate even with a semi-serious-but-not-really runner like me. I am the type of runner who doesn’t win races, do track speed workouts nor have a coach. But I have experienced so many of the same feelings as the unnamed character (represented as Lola in the title, but the author is clear that this is her story).

I highly recomend this book to anyone who has ever run, currently runs, plans to run in the future, or wishes they could run. As The Lola Papers demonstrates, anyone (even you and me) can do it.