The book is weird and makes no sense, but it's supposed to be artsy, so that's apparently OK? Not for me. ( )

En "Bocetos de natación", Leanne Shapton, con una prosa elegante, meditativa y de ligera belleza, explora una vida que transcurre siempre alrededor del agua. La natación atraviesa su vida y su obra. De adolescente se entrenó para ser nadadora olímpica y representar a Canadá en competiciones de alto nivel. Como adulta, el nado recreativo en piscinas de hotel o en el mar durante unas vacaciones son parte de su cotidianeidad.
De la disciplina de un entrenamiento de élite a la introspección de una artista bajo el agua, Shapton compone un libro que es en sí mismo una obra de arte. ( )

"Swimming Studies" is the kind of book that makes you appreciate swimming, specifically the grueling routine every swimmer goes through. And while it is a memoir on Shapton's swimming experience, there's much more to it than just a pool and water. Loneliness, the meaning of self, observations of what's around you -- those are the themes I took away from this riveting memoir.

Everyone is a swimmer, or rather, everyone has a career or dream that they chase and try to perfect. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But we still find a way to blend what we learned from an early age and apply it to what we do today. For Shapton, it's art and swimming. Her pieces of art scattered across the book are fascinating and chilling. Highly recommend this to anyone interested in swimming or looking for a polished outlook on how life changes after stepping away from something you've known all your life. ( )

For anyone who does not swim, this was a good description of the swimmer's routine and what occurs during meets.

I could relate to the adult fear of open water. Everyone assumes if you can swim you love water in any format. Not so. Chlorine provides security. Open water leaves you exposed to the elements.

I liked the author's artistic interpretations. I gave it two stars because some items were left incomplete. I saw the vignettes described as disjointed and I wholeheartedly agree. ( )

I loved this book. I found it captivating.
I am a swimmer. I am the mother of a former competitive swimmer (distance). I love swimming in pools, lakes, the ocean, hot springs. I like water, A LOT! Don't even mind doing the dishes! So this book was written as a meditative, contemplative series of sensory vignettes by someone who is also captivated by water. Shapton trained for Olympic trials as a teenager in Etobicoke, Ontario but was caught by the influence of water and the way it pulls her through her life, influencing her art and her writing and her relationships I found very interesting! ( )