Born to Run

• Author: Christopher McDougall
• Amazon link

I had heard a lot about this book from some of my fellow long distance runners and couldn't wait to get started after receiving my copy from Amazon. What made it even more timely was the fact that I was nursing a foot injury for the last several months and the thought that long distance running was bad for me did enter my head on several occasions. A few pages into the book and I was totally convinced that humans were not just born to run; but were actually meant to run long distances on their two bare feet.

Christopher goes out of his way to prove that running is good for you. He finds a hidden tribe in Mexico whose culture is centered around long distance running and throws in a mysterious character to boot. The book is well written and does keep your pulse racing as you turn the pages. If you read this book you will definitely end up dusting your sneakers and hitting the trail. When I reached the part about running barefoot, I had to go out and buy some Vibram Five Fingers and run with next to nothing on my feet. Overall, its a great book that will be enjoyed by all and is a must read if you are into long distance running.

Fatal System Error

• Author: Joseph Menn
• Amazon link

This is one of the few books that I have read that has only a handful of reviews on Amazon. I got this through a colleague at work and it was just published a couple of months ago so that may be one of the reasons for the limited reviews. It is on a topic that is near and dear to anyone who has anything to do with the Internet and is subtitled "The hunt for the new crime lords who are bringing down the internet".

The previews and the initial chapters look very promising as the book attempts to chronicle the sordid tales behind online gambling sites. However the author is unable to tell a good story or simply does not have the information he needs to build on any of these events. He jumps from story to story and it is very difficult to follow the thread, if indeed there is one. He does make a few points in the book about the real criminals that are behind some of the gambling operations as well as the complicity of some of the Eastern Block governments with this new breed of cybercriminals. But the disconnected narrative is very hard to follow and I was thankful that the book was only 250 pages in size and had double spaced font. I would not recommend this book unless you are eager to learn about some of the specific events that are described in the book.

Orange & Cinnamon French Toast

3 large eggs

1 cup 2% milk

2 teaspoons sugar

pinch of salt

grated rind of 2 oranges

2 tablespoons of Triple-Sec

1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder

8 slices of honey wheat bread

Oil or Butter for frying

Mix all of the above ingredients in a medium sized bowl and whisk well.

Put a tablespoon of oil or butter in a large non-stick frying pan

and heat on a medium flame. Dip the bread in the egg mixture on

both sides and place on hot pan. Fry on both sides until the bread

is dark golden brown. Serve with Maple Syrup and fruits like

berries or sliced banana.