Books: The Last Lecture

I don’t think this book needs any introduction. It has been a few years since he delivered his famous lecture that became THE source of revenue for his wife and kids after his eventual death. Surely half (or more I may say) of Forbes list of ‘most influential people’ have made comments of it, and if you are still clueless about Randy Pausch or his book I would have nothing to say to you, except not to go about divulging your lack of knowledge.

I am dead honest. People have murdered for less.

I have read the lecture transcripts, visited his web pages and read his wiki page. Everything except his book, well, because I am cheap that way. But I have since managed to get my gritty fingers on one copy, on a generous loan from a friend for at least a month now. And sadly to say, I didn’t really like it as much. Somehow and someway, much of his appeal vanished in its’ written form.

The book had a constant element of his impending death and mortality. And it was that I didn’t really like. It was never the thing that I liked about his lecture anyway, the sad and lonely fact that he is a dying man.

I must first admit, I don’t have must sympathy for dying people. Everyone is dying, you and I included. What is there to be piteous about? In fact, it is the living that you see me sobbing after. To me, it is those breathing and thinking individuals remaining that need that little push.

What impressed me when I first watched his lecture was his logical and steadfast attitude at facing the life that he was leading. He made no excuses for his errors, readily admitting the err of his old ways. I loved how there was no pointing of fingers and no blame, not on God even. I admire the way he drew strength from his core, banishing his demons and gathering his army of knowledge to defend what he rightfully called his. I know we all have that strength to do what he did on the small little occasions that he described, hell, we may have even been through worst. But to do so repeatedly, with unfailing trust and faith in the fairness of the universe is not easy. Lets just say that it takes more than bursts of courage and brilliance.

All these tidbits were somehow lost in the pages of the book without his dancing eyes and waving hands to bring that sort of energy across. However the book brought a different light to his story.

Words put on paper have that certain way of inking ideas into the readers’ brain. Or at least MY brain. Verbally saying ‘I won the parent lottery’ is transient and so easily forgotten. But reading it on page 21 or Chapter 4 was like a whammy in my brain. Or maybe it was just me, impressed with the idea of lottery…

I get that whammy quite a few times though while reading the book. There are sparse bits of truth that most will find hard to verbalize. I am sure most will identify with me, there are things you just know but will never every say because there is no way of continuing the peaceful co-existence once the words are in the air a-limbo. And boy was it refreshing to know that you are not the only one that feels THAT way.

Still I personally liked the video more. If you have only read the book, I urge you to see the video. That is what the internet is for, to visit my blog and rape my thoughts as well as look at stuff that I direct you to. But if you are thinking of purchasing the book, I would suggest that you read it standing at the book store first, before evaluating if it would turn into a book you would read and re-read again, or one of those showpieces that you point out to visitors as if to say SEE I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS ON OPRAH.

p/s: They did go on Oprah.