Joyce's bookshelves

read (13)

currently-reading (2)

to-read (17)

Joyce is currently reading

	06/07 Joyce is currently reading: The Last Lecture (Hardcover) by Randy Pausch bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
	Joyce said: "I loved this book from the first chapter. More to follow as I finish it. " add a comment
	06/01 Joyce is currently reading: Never Check E-Mail In the Morning: And Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work (Paperback) by Julie Morgenstern bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
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Joyce's recent updates (rss)

June 08

New comment on David Johnson's review of Into the Forest

Joyce wrote: "The play? "

(see all 2 comments)

June 07

Joyce read and liked Mark's review of The Last Lecture:

"I'm appending this with the review I wrote for my paper: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg...

I read this because I am doing continuing coverage on the author, a Carneg...more I'm appending this with the review I wrote for my paper: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg...

I read this because I am doing continuing coverage on the author, a Carnegie Mellon University professor who is dying of pancreatic cancer and who gave a last lecture that has been viewed on the Web by more than 6 million folks.

For what it is -- essentially an expanded version of the lecture about his life story and his advice on how to live a fulfilling life which can all be read in a sitting -- it is very good.

It's highly readable, in part because of Randy's own communication savvy and personality, but also undoubtedly because of the crafting it got from Wall Street Journal columnist Jeffrey Zaslow.

Most of the things I highlighted were items I didn't already know from the lecture, but in any case, here are just a couple tidbits.

As a professor, Randy would put his students in teams and everyone would give feedback to the other team members on how well they were doing, particularly in their ability to work well with the group. He recalled one student who, when told he was in the bottom quartile on the feedbacks, was sure that he was near the top of the quartile, which meant he really wasn't that far from being 50-50 on people skills. That's when Randy said the kid was at the very bottom. This answer shocked the student, but Randy said "I used to be just like you. I admit it. I'm a recovering jerk. And that's what gives me the moral authority to tell you that you can be a recovering jerk, too."

In a segment on the importance of hand-writing thank you notes, this otherwise completely high-tech guy recalled one instance where an applicant to his master's program in entertainment technology didn't quite have the grades or accomplishments to make it in, until he found a thank you note she had written, not to any of the program leaders, but to a support person who had helped her make arrangements for an on-campus visit. It turned the tide for her. "She came to the Entertainment Technology Center, got her master's degree and is now a Disney Imagineer," he said, which is his idea of the ideal job.

It's not all homilies and advice. When describing the strength and love of his wife, Jai, who will be left to raise their three preschool-age children, he talked about how his cancer diagnosis had given him the time to have vital, open conversations with her that wouldn't have been possible if he had died suddenly. He talked about how well she was coping and how she was doing it without the attention and even adulation he has been receiving. And then he revealed that when he gave his last lecture and surprised her with a birthday cake, and she came on stage to kiss and hold him, what she whispered in his ear was: "Please don't die."

That made the book as real and powerful to me as anything else.

So even if you're not normally drawn to self improvement books or memoirs, try this one: It will give you a lot to think about on what your life's priorities are and what you might say to the people you love if you had to leave them behind. It will probably make you want to kiss your kids or your partner and call your parents, too. ...less "

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Joyce marked as to-read:
The Kite Runner (Paperback)
by Khaled Hosseini
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

add a comment

Joyce is currently reading:
The Last Lecture (Hardcover)
by Randy Pausch
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

Joyce said: "I loved this book from the first chapter. More to follow as I finish it. "

add a comment

June 01

New comment on Dustin's review of The Last Lecture

Joyce wrote: "Don't buy it...I have it. "

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Joyce gave

to:
T is for Trespass (Kinsey Millhone Mystery)
by Sue Grafton

my rating:

recommended to Joyce by: Judy H
recommended for: women
read in May, 2008, has a copy to sell/swap

Joyce said: "This was a fun read. I have read all of her books from "A to T" and this was her best. I acknowledge this series is girl fluff but I love her style. "

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New comment on David Johnson's review of The Corrections

Joyce wrote: "Oh, yes. I have a comment. But I can wait. "

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May 25

New comment on Dustin's review of God's Debris: A Thought Experiment

Joyce wrote: "Save it for me. "

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May 21

Joyce marked as to-read:
No Country for Old Men (Paperback)
by Cormac McCarthy
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

add a comment

New comment on David Johnson's review of DESERT SOLITAIRE

Joyce wrote: "Let me know if you think I would like it. "

(see all 2 comments)

see all 13 of Joyce's books »

Joyce's favorite quotes

"Man was made for joy and woe
Then when this we rightly know
Through the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine
A clothing for the soul to bind."
— William Blake

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