The Last Lecture

It means even more rereading 13 years later. When the author's Last Lecture went viral, I was a twenty-something computer science graduate. It spoke to me then, perhaps because I was a lot like Pausch's students. Now, as a father of young children, I see it all very differently. I hope I'll know my children into adulthood, but mortality is at the forefront in this memoir that also serves as an advice book and personal legacy for Pausch.

Another thing that's much clearer now are his personal faults. I lapped up his workaholism on the first reading in a way that I actively avoid now. Despite his blanket optimism, there's a cynicism that comes through in parts about people who don't do what he considers the necessary, hard work. These don't bother me, because they remind me he's a complete human—just like all of us who have our own strong opinions that run counter to another's way of life. Plus, through his death he found clarity about the things that really matter. And I hope that's what I take away, as I read this on a Sunday while my kids are playing independently. Maybe it's time we all play a game.

A wonderful book. Randy Pausch's story touched and inspired so many people. I'm now one of them. Throughout this book, you really get to know Randy and his whole family. It's bursting with lessons about life. So many that I felt kind of overwhelmed and unimportant though. This man is so full of advice and lessons, and I could give you few to none if asked right now. But maybe that's what this is all about. To make you think and find the advice that matters most to you. I'm also still pretty young. I will make sure to re-read this, once I'm a few years wiser. Rest in peace Randy.

While this book had some great topics and ideas how to live life to the fullest—dare to dream big dreams, work hard, be honest, just ask—for the most part, it was just stories of how great his life was and not the actual application or how of a lot of these concepts. For much of the book, I didn't care about the experiences but wanted more about the subject they were trying to illustrate and I didn't get that.
There were some good things in there, but were mostly lost as he shares too much about his own life, which I wasn't that interested in.