reading all books referenced on Gilmore girls
Synopsis:
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.
For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?
Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class”: lessons in how to live.
Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.
Let's set the scene...
At Harvard, Rory starts having a mini panic attack about how many books there are to read and how she'll never manage to get to them in
her lifetime. And THIS is the reason why I try not to re-read books, people!
Rory: Thirteen million volumes? I've read like, what, three hundred books in my entire life and I'm already sixteen? Do you know how long it would take me to read thirteen million books?
Lorelai: But honey, you don't have to read every one of them. "Tuesday's with Morrie?" Skip that. "Who Moved My Cheese?" Just stuff you already know.
My thoughts:
I believe I first read this book when I was in college. It was a "thing" at the time and everyone was gushing over how incredible it was. So I picked it up. And I loved it.
Granted, I was also all of 20 years old.
Reading it now was a completely different experience. It may be because I've read (and thoroughly enjoyed) most of Albom's fictional work. So this schmaltzy memoir of his last few months with his professor and how that changed his life didn't quite have the impact that my initial reading did. I think it was admirable the way Morrie took on the task of dying, but something about Albom's writing of the character made the whole situation comes across as contrived and insincere. It felt like Albom was trying too hard to make Morrie an inspirational character more than writing this as a love letter to his beloved teacher. I'm sure Morrie was a fantastic man who changed a lot of lives in his too-short time on this Earth, but experiencing this after having read Albom's fictional body of work... he should stick to the make believe stuff.
Or maybe I've become jaded in my old age. ;)
Who do I see reading this in the Stars Hollow gazebo?
Let's just hope she doesn't read this while she's pregnant.