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graciegrace1178's review against another edition
4.0
4.45 stars.
Randy? Sir? Your good humor is contagious.
WIL
1) Entertaining. This is one book I really looked forward to reading. I'd take breaks in listening to the audiobook throughout the day, but I was always happy to return. It's not exactly a happy read per se, but Randy keeps things entertaining throughout.
2) Optimism. Randy's perspective always puts a brighter spin on things. An admirable quality!
3) Humor. Randy was just a funny dude, and his wit shines through in every word. Comedians have a certain rhythm to them, and Randy writes like a comedian speaks. He's a master presenter.
4) QUOTES. (Written as one single quote bc I don’t want to add all those quote marks. But I swear the quotes are from diff parts of the book)
“There’s a formality in academia that can’t be ignored, even if a man is busy with other things, like trying not to die.
Kirk, I mean, Shatner, was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn’t know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn’t want to leave until he understood. That’s heroic to me. I wish every grad student had that attitude.
Have you ever walked around a carnival with a giant stuffed animal? Have you ever watched how people look at you and envy you? Have you ever used a stuffed animal to woo a woman? I have...and I married her!
I admit: I’m either an incurable romantic or a bit Machiavellian.
Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
What followed just proves that at times we’re all living in an I Love Lucy episode.
If my life were a movie, this scene of me and Dylan would get slammed by critics for over-the-top foreshadowing.
My message is this: There is more than one way to mea- sure profits and losses. On every level, institutions can and should have a heart.
Tenacity got me over the brick wall.”
WIDL
1) complaining about complaining. I do see where he's coming from, but his point was a bit too drawn out to be effective. Especially because he was complaining about younger generations specifically. (Yes, I do see the irony in my complaining about his complaining about complaining.)
Neutral Ground
1) I'm so curious if other people will read this and think Pausch was "too analytical." I thought he was pretty well balanced? I mean, yea he hid behind the analysis when emotions were too high, but he still let his feelings out in therapy and expressed himself/his emotions to his wife. And hiding behind the analysis is, imho, not a bad strategy for coping in stressful moments. It ensured Pausch kept a level head and was able to see clearly at the expense of emotion temporarily. He was keenly observant during the stressful-highly-analytical periods, and that ultimately helped him better reconstruct the stressful scenes mentally to deal with it later. In short, being hyper-analytical isn't always bad,,, right?
2) Teaching style. I've had teachers like him. I am afraid of teachers like him. I'm sure some students did love him, but he made himself sound kind of terrifying in the classroom. Was that on purpose? To what END?
Randy? Sir? Your good humor is contagious.
WIL
1) Entertaining. This is one book I really looked forward to reading. I'd take breaks in listening to the audiobook throughout the day, but I was always happy to return. It's not exactly a happy read per se, but Randy keeps things entertaining throughout.
2) Optimism. Randy's perspective always puts a brighter spin on things. An admirable quality!
3) Humor. Randy was just a funny dude, and his wit shines through in every word. Comedians have a certain rhythm to them, and Randy writes like a comedian speaks. He's a master presenter.
4) QUOTES. (Written as one single quote bc I don’t want to add all those quote marks. But I swear the quotes are from diff parts of the book)
“There’s a formality in academia that can’t be ignored, even if a man is busy with other things, like trying not to die.
Kirk, I mean, Shatner, was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn’t know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn’t want to leave until he understood. That’s heroic to me. I wish every grad student had that attitude.
Have you ever walked around a carnival with a giant stuffed animal? Have you ever watched how people look at you and envy you? Have you ever used a stuffed animal to woo a woman? I have...and I married her!
I admit: I’m either an incurable romantic or a bit Machiavellian.
Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
What followed just proves that at times we’re all living in an I Love Lucy episode.
If my life were a movie, this scene of me and Dylan would get slammed by critics for over-the-top foreshadowing.
My message is this: There is more than one way to mea- sure profits and losses. On every level, institutions can and should have a heart.
Tenacity got me over the brick wall.”
WIDL
1) complaining about complaining. I do see where he's coming from, but his point was a bit too drawn out to be effective. Especially because he was complaining about younger generations specifically. (Yes, I do see the irony in my complaining about his complaining about complaining.)
Neutral Ground
1) I'm so curious if other people will read this and think Pausch was "too analytical." I thought he was pretty well balanced? I mean, yea he hid behind the analysis when emotions were too high, but he still let his feelings out in therapy and expressed himself/his emotions to his wife. And hiding behind the analysis is, imho, not a bad strategy for coping in stressful moments. It ensured Pausch kept a level head and was able to see clearly at the expense of emotion temporarily. He was keenly observant during the stressful-highly-analytical periods, and that ultimately helped him better reconstruct the stressful scenes mentally to deal with it later. In short, being hyper-analytical isn't always bad,,, right?
2) Teaching style. I've had teachers like him. I am afraid of teachers like him. I'm sure some students did love him, but he made himself sound kind of terrifying in the classroom. Was that on purpose? To what END?
marimbagirl22's review against another edition
5.0
A quick read but filled with lessons that will last a lifetime.
dallusiona's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
fatinallen's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.25
bridge_overbooked's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
3.75
I remember reading this one in high school & enjoying it a lot more then. Pausch came off as much more arrogant this time around & I think if I didn't have the connection to Pittsburgh or engineering that I would've been a lot more annoyed with some of his little anecdotes. With that being said, there are still a lot of really good life lessons in here & I love the sentiment of this book.
"The Last Lecture" is a heartfelt presentation about achieving childhood dreams and living life fully, delivered by Pausch, a terminally ill professor. He shares personal stories and life lessons, emphasizing the importance of overcoming obstacles, nurturing relationships, and seizing every moment. The lecture serves as an inspiring message about resilience and the legacy one leaves behind.
"The Last Lecture" is a heartfelt presentation about achieving childhood dreams and living life fully, delivered by Pausch, a terminally ill professor. He shares personal stories and life lessons, emphasizing the importance of overcoming obstacles, nurturing relationships, and seizing every moment. The lecture serves as an inspiring message about resilience and the legacy one leaves behind.
bcbogan04's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
jkitty24's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
3.5
A potent book about how to live your life to the fullest in the face of enormous odds. A quick and easy read with a 80% humor and fun stories, and 20% emotional stuff related to leaving this world earlier than planned. Perfect if you need a bit of inspiration to follow your childhood dreams.
hanituks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
careycarpenter's review against another edition
2.0
I thought he has an interesting story to tell. He is a scientist though and not a writer. I thought I'd be pulled into this book and find it more emotionally significant since I am a cancer survivor and my worst fear is a recurrence of his story. However, he is very scientific about the whole thing. I also felt that he is very confident of himself and the number of times he tells a story about how awesome he is was a little off-putting to me. I'd rather he "showed" me how awesome he is, instead of told me. Watching his lecture was much more powerful, I'd definitely recommend that.
brianbasketball's review against another edition
4.0
I quite enjoyed this read. Toward the end there is a lot of advice and lessons described in almost a rapid fire format. It almost feels like too much to digest and in some sense , each of his lessons and morals of the stories are based on a specific experience of his, so I wonder if it’s worth it to keep these in mind but also know that you may not fully believe them until you encounter a similar situation in your life that teaches you this lesson.
He is a very interesting person and incredibly direct and earnest, which in some ways makes it difficult to relate to some of the stories he tells if you believe yourself to be different from him personality wise. Still, the lessons at the core are pretty global and I think maybe seeing how he believes being the way he is (straightforward and very open) has helped him could be a lesson there too.
He is a very interesting person and incredibly direct and earnest, which in some ways makes it difficult to relate to some of the stories he tells if you believe yourself to be different from him personality wise. Still, the lessons at the core are pretty global and I think maybe seeing how he believes being the way he is (straightforward and very open) has helped him could be a lesson there too.