Book Review 2: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Title: The Last Lecture
Author(s): Randy Pausch & Jeffrey Zaslow
Genre: Non-fiction, Self-help, Psychology
Publishing Date: April 8, 2008
Publisher: Hyperion 
ISBN: 978-1401323257
Price: $13.17 at Amazon.com
Summary: "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy PauschA lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.
In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

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My Review: I received this book as a graduation gift from a favorite High School teacher of mine. I remember the exact date that I received it (May 25, 2008) and as soon as I got home from Project Grad the day after my graduation, I cracked it open and began reading.

Many schools have a "last lecture" series, where professors give a lecture, pretending that it is their last. In this "last lecture" the professors are supposed to touch on things that are important and meaningful to them. They are to leave behind a bit of advice, a legacy so to speak. Carnegie Melon has a series like this, and ironically, for Randy Pausch, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Melon, his "last lecture" really was his last. Now, I could tell you all about his life. About how he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, went through treatments which ultimately failed, and how he was given just three to six months to live, however, I think that Randy's story deserved to be read, so please click here to learn more about Randy's life.

The book The Last Lecture stemmed from Randy's "last lecture" at Carnegie Melon. Both the book and the lecture were meant for his young children, so that they would have his words and something to remember him by. However, because his lecture was such a hit, Randy along with Jeffrey Zaslow decided to pen this book, which is really just a written extension of the lecture.

In The Last Lecture, Randy talks about many different things, giving advice, and sharing lessons that he has learned throughout his life, hoping to pass those lessons down. Ultimately, though, he talks about achieving your childhood dreams and about how he had the opportunity to live out his own childhood dreams throughout the course of his life. 

I first read this book as a high school graduate, about to embark on my first year of college. I was scared, I would be moving away from home and I was unsure about how to deal with myself. But through this book, I was reassured in so many ways. I learned to keep my head up and to be optimistic, I learned how to get through those "brick walls" that life so readily offers us, and so many other things. Mostly, though, I realized that life is precious and how we handle it determines where we go. 

I want to tell you all more about this book, but I want you to read it for yourself. Randy Pausch is truly an inspiration. Even if you don't normally read "self-help" books, I encourage you to pick this one up. It's a quick and easy read and you'll find yourself thinking and rethinking about so many different things!

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Overall Impression:

I am so grateful to the teacher who gifted me this book, for thinking about me and for knowing that this was the inspiration I needed in my life. 


Here are some interviews that Randy Pausch did before his passing regarding this book and his last lecture:




For more information on Randy & his Last Lecture please follow these links:
The Last Lecture book website
Randy Pausch's Personal Webpage
Randy's Last Lecture Site

Randy Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008, just mere months after the publication of his book and less than a year after his Last Lecture talk. He surpassed the doctor's predictions of him living for only three to six months, by living for eleven months after his diagnosis.


May Randy Pausch Rest in Peace and may his memory live on for the sake of his beautiful children and all of the people he has inspired throughout the world.


Happy Reading!
~Tasia

Book Review 1: Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden

Title: Memoirs of A Geisha
Author: Arthur Golden

Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction

Publishing Date: 1999
Publisher: Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

ISBN: 1-4000-9689-8

Price: $10.20 on Amazon.com

Summary: "In this literary tour de force, novelist Arthur Golden enters a remote and shimmeringly exotic world. For the protagonist of this peerlessly observant first novel is Sayuri, one of Japan's most celebrated geisha, a woman who is both performer and courtesan, slave and goddess.

We follow Sayuri from her childhood in an impoverished fishing village, where in 1929, she is sold to a representative of a geisha house, who is drawn by the child's unusual blue-grey eyes. From there she is taken to Gion, the pleasure district of Kyoto. She is nine years old. In the years that follow, as she works to pay back the price of her purchase, Sayuri will be schooled in music and dance, learn to apply the geisha's elaborate makeup, wear elaborate kimono, and care for a coiffure so fragile that it requires a special pillow. She will also acquire a magnanimous tutor and a venomous rival. Surviving the intrigues of her trade and the upheavals of war, the resourceful Sayuri is a romantic heroine on the order of Jane Eyre and Scarlett O'Hara. And Memoirs of a Geisha is a triumphant work - suspenseful, and utterly persuasive."

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My Review:
I'll admit, I chose Memoirs of A Geisha as my first book because I knew it was going to be an easy read (and, of course, because I already had it on my bookshelf). I read this book first at the age of 15, possibly even at 16, I'm not entirely positive. I could relate to the narrator, Sayuri, only a bit. While I was around her age, going through some of the same emotions that she may have been going through, you know those teenage emotions :), I didn't understand the depth and the emotion of the novel.

This time around, I am 20 (almost 21! yay!). I've experienced life. I've experienced leaving my home, I've experienced the death of a loved one, I've experienced true disappointment. At this point in my life, I was able to connect with the book as I never could have as a girl of only 15. I better understood why Sayuri did the things she did. I could relate to the pain she must have felt when she got word that (SPOILER ALERT) her parents had passed away. Sayuri's emotions were my emotions. Heck, I even dreamed that I WAS Sayuri (how cool would it be to be a geisha though?).


Arthur Golden did an amazing job of portraying the life of geisha in the early-middle 20th century. From the first page, Sayuri's voice is strong and clear, a voice that needs to be heard. The character of Sayuri is well developed, her background is simple and her future is impressive. With the character of Sayuri, it is possible for a girl to imagine herself in the character. To come from such a simple, even a poor, background and then to grow into a beautiful, charming woman is a dream that I myself have had many times.


Chiyo (Sayuri's given name at birth) was taken from her seaside home at the age of just nine, leaving behind a dying mother and an old father. She was then separated from her sister and was sent to live in a okiya in the Kyoto district of Gion. She doesn't know it at the time, but she is going to be trained to be a geisha. Geisha, despite the western view of the word, means artist, "gei" literally meaning "art" and "sha" meaning "person" or "doer".  Girls hoping to become geisha study dance, music (on the shamisen which is a type of guitar and on the drums), and the tea ceremony, as well as more traditional studies like reading and writing. 


Chiyo goes through many hardships before becoming the geisha Sayuri. In fact, she racks up so much debt at a young age that Mother (the owner of the Okiya in which Sayuri lives), actually stops her training for some time. Thankfully she has a few people watching out for her and Mameha, one of the most beautiful and successful geisha of the time, offers to be Chiyo's "big sister" and to basically show her the ropes of being a geisha.


The book tells Sayuri's stories of her life as a geisha, and what a full life she has lived! According to the book, Sayuri is also one of the most successful geisha of that type. Perhaps because of the peculiar color of her eyes. Sayuri has blue/grey eyes, something which is uncommon for the people of Japan.


The book is exquisite and marvelous. The way that Golden describes the world of the Geisha is breathtaking, I felt like I was actually there. I wished that I was walking through the streets of Kyoto with Sayuri by my side teaching me how to be a geisha. The characters were all well developed and I feel like I got to know each character personally. I took quite a liking to Nobu, one of Sayuri's suitors. It's one of those books that you just can't seem to put down. In fact, I dreaded going to bed at night because I just did not want to leave my dear friends.


This book is definitely recommended reading. It's easy to read, it's beautifully written and it's also educational! I don't often see that combination in books of this sort, but it was wonderful. If you love learning about other cultures, then this book is definitely for you, especially because it's written from the perspective of someone who has lived the life and knows what they're talking about. Arthur Golden did an excellent job of researching and studying for this book. 


Amazon's Customer Reviews has given this book 5 out 5 stars, and I do too!

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Overall Impression:

I give his book 5 stars out of 5. It is well written and Golden did a great job of researching the lives of geisha during the early-mid 20th century. It was hard to put down and I'm actually sad that I'm done reading it. I honestly feel that I've lost a friend. The character of Sayuri is one that is easily relatable. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who just loves a good read!


What did you think? Have you read Memoirs of A Geisha by Arthur Golden? If you have, I'd love to hear your opinion on the book! Did you love it or was it just a little to "blah" for your tastes? Let me know by simply leaving a comment on this post! I'd love to talk about the book with you!


I hope that you all get lots and lots of books this Christmas!
XOXO,
Tasia


P.S. Since this is my first book review, I'd like to ask a favor of all those who read it. If you can, please leave some feedback about how you think I did with the review itself.Too long? Too short? Not enough information? I'd really like your comments and suggestions! Thank you!

Hey There, Ho There, How do you do?

I'll give a cookie to the first person who can guess where the entry title is from. I'll give you a hint, it's a movie. 


Well, hello there & welcome to this blog. I'm Tasia and you'll probably know me from my personal blog tayIRL. And if you got here from that blog, then you probably know what this blog is all about. But if not, let me give you a little background on this blog.


A few months ago, I stumbled upon the Day Zero Project. The whole point of the project needs a whole entry in itself, but basically it's a list of 101 things that you want to do in 1001 days. One of the things on my list was to read through a book list. To decide which books I wanted to read, I did some research and looked through a bunch of different book lists. Three stood out to me most: Teen Read's Ultimate Book List, 101 Books to Read Before you Die, and College Board's 101 Great Reads.So, I put the lists together, added a few Pacific Island books that I wanted to read and that's how I got my personalized book list, you can check it out here.

To make sure that I go along with the whole goal thing, I decided to track my progress by making a blog. While my personal blog will be more for the general things on my 101 in 1001 list, I wanted to make a different blog for my Reading goal. My main reason for the separate blogs is my Reading List. It's so long and there are so many things that I want to do with it, I didn't want to completely flood my personal blog with book talk 24/7. That wouldn't be very fun for me, so now I have two blogs!

There are a few things that you can expect from this blog, the most obvious being Book Reviews! No book rubs two people the same way, so my book reviews are going to be my honest opinion of the books. Please understand that my review only reflects my views, not any one else. I hope that my book review will encourage you to pick up a book and read, but negative reviews shouldn't hinder your enjoyment of a book. I'm a picky reader, so I am definitely not bound to like every single book on the list!

You can also expect book suggestions, maybe some giveaways, book swaps, guest bloggers, linky parties and hopefully even a book club thing! I am open to any suggestions that you have regarding this site. Let me know what I can do to make this blog better! 


Hope to see you guys around the blog!
Pick up a book and read with me.

-Tasia