The Last Lecture

Many of us tend to drift through life, watching a lot of TV, wasting time in long lines, dealing with "squeaky doors" but not thinking much about how what we do today helps our long term goals and priorities. It usually takes a serious wake-up call for us to realize how precious life is.

Randy Pausch got such a wake-up call. Although he seemed really healthy on the outside, and was a brilliant professor, doctors found that cancer was attacking his systems. He had only a 5% chance of surviving more than five years. He fought the cancer aggressively, but soon it traveled to other parts of his body and his doctors were giving him 3-6 months of healthy living. This is a man who, after waiting a while for marriage, had a family of three small children. Coincidentally, Randy was also asked by his school to give a "last lecture". These lectures are traditional speeches where a teacher tells the audience what knowledge he'd want to impart if he was going to die soon. Since Randy was in fact going to die soon, it made the meaning that much more powerful to him.

Randy's lecture was videotaped and spread like wildfire on YouTube. This book is in essence a follow up to that talk. It describes the context for the talk, and goes over some of the background details for it, but it also expands and offers much more information about Randy, his life and his philosophy.

The key message here is to live in the present, to enjoy what you have. There are always stumbling blocks in life, brick walls that you run into. Your task is not to complain about them, but to barrel your way through. Show your commitment to your dreams and goals. Don't waste your time watching repeats of TV shows when your life-long dream is to run a bakery. Spend your time researching, planning and heading towards that goal. If you have always wanted to hike in the Grand Canyon, don't dismiss it while you spend your extra hours playing video games. Map out a budget, take on a second job, and save up the money. You would be very surprised at how many goals are actually within reach if you focus on them.

You could say that Randy's message is one we've read before, hundreds of times, in other similar books. Sure, that is probably true. However, each of us responds to different language, to different mental images. It might be that someone read 10 other books on similar topics and didn't "get it" - but when they read this one suddenly it clicks. That's the way our brains are. There is always something new to learn from each person's story if we pay attention. Randy's message is to really enjoy the good things you have, rather than obsessing about the problems. We all have blessings in our lives, if we look honestly at our world.

I really like how Randy talks about the students he's influenced, and how they go on to influence others. That is so key in our world. If we are able to lead by example, and help others get onto a healthy path, that causes ripple effects that can go on for years. It is so worthwhile to take the time to help out others. You never know what small gesture will really affect someone's life.

Is this an "ultimate book"? I wouldn't say that. However, it has valuable information in it, and I definitely would recommend that people at least borrow it from the library and read through it. It's a healthy reminder of what is important in life.

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts

Organized by topic from A to Z, Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts contains complete instructions and brief histories for more than 30 techniques, detailed descriptions of the necessary tools and materials, and easy-to-copy templates. Martha and her team of crafts editors guide readers through each subject, from botanical pressing and decoupage to rubber stamping and wreaths, with characteristic clarity and unparalleled attention to detail.

fully admit it - I'm a big fan of Martha Stewart's crafting projects. I was given a subscription for Martha Stewart Living Magazine for Christmas a couple of years ago and have kept every issue. But that one year is just a fraction of what appears in this new release from Random House Canada. It covers 17 years of craft content from the magazine packed into 32 chapters! I have been reading (drooling over) Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts for the last couple of weeks, savoring every last page (and there's over 400 pages!) Each craft has an overview, the supplies needed, very explicit step by step instructions and many projects incorporating the techniques. All are accompanied by absolutely gorgeous full colour photos. Many of the ideas presented are updated techniques on historical crafts such as candle making, soap making and quilling to name a few. Although some crafts may seem daunting on first view, they really aren't. I'm thinking of making candles for Christmas gifts next year. I could tin punch some holders for them. And then use stencilled gift wrap, stamped cards, origami boxes and calligraphic notes from other chapters to package them! I've enjoyed working with stained glass before, but haven't tried my hand at glass etching. There are some great ideas for starting small with tumblers and working your way up to mirrors and hanging pieces. Some of the ideas are so simple and yet so visually stunning. I loved the framed pressed botanicals. Sun prints were something I'd never heard of before. Using light sensitive paper, you burn the image in reverse and use it for a variety of designs. Some of the chapters use newer techniques. I'm a dedicated sewer and had a huge light bulb moment when I came to the chapter on polymer clay. Buttons! I've always purchased those cute crafty buttons to finish off a child's outfit, but I'm going to try making some of my own. I haven't even begun to touch on everything included in this truly encyclopedic book. There's beading, decoupage, gilding, mosaics, silk screening, wreaths and lots and lots more! There is a glossary in the back as well as templates and patterns for all the projects presented. I'm thrilled to have this book in my library. I'll post some pictures of finished projects - but for now, I am happily rereading this book - there's just so much to take in in one read. One final word - I WANT TO LIVE IN MARTHA STEWART'S CRAFT ROOM!

Sookie Stackhouse

What you should know before reading this: I've never seen True Blood as I don't have HBO. This is my critique ONLY for the books in this set. I've realized there are two different types of vampire readers on this earth from reading the previous reviews: those who just want to read about vampires and those who want to feel something about the story of the vampires they're reading about. If you just want to read about vampires, this is not 100% for you. True, it does contain vampire material, but the story itself centers around Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in a little Louisiana bar known as Merlotte's. She is the main character, the vamps (and other strange, darker beings) are definitely background material. Now, if you're someone who wants to feel something about the vampires you're reading about, this definitely will not happen. Again, mainly due to the fact that Sookie Stackhouse is the main character. Vamps go in and out of her life as fast as hair ties and bar aprons. Just when you get really settled into one, he's gone. On to the next. (Unlike Anne Rice, where a vampire is telling the story, which I personally find more compelling and rich.) This is a very Whedonesque (Joss Whedon, folks) writing style. Main character never wins at love. Main love interests are nothing alike. Some readers will root for one, other readers will root for another. Just don't root too hard, they're not going to stay together. (Don't fret, the relationships don't have much emotion packed into any of them, so the split won't hurt when it occurs.) My main problem with this series is Sookie Stackhouse. Maybe I just am one of those pretentious, snobby New Englanders, you say? Well, although I was born and raised in NY, I was born and raised UPSTATE. I lived in an old house, which was added onto, and we heated with wood. I still live in a place just like that. I have a lot of things in common with Sookie's humble story, but she's just not enough to keep my interest. And by enough I mean, she's just nothing special. She's blonde, has a nice body, reads dumb books, and is a barmaid. Oh yeah, she has ESP, but she doesn't use it to any advantage at all, which makes it almost non-existent. So? With Buffy, you could say, yeah, she's the Slayer, I get it, but with Sookie, you can't help but ask yourself, "Why the heck do any of these guys want her?" You just don't get it. And when you're asking yourself why anyone would like the main character, you find yourself just not caring about the main character. On the plus side, I know I'll read every book in the series, which I consider praise. This is why I gave it 3 stars. Some series, I read the first book and move on, but the author writes well enough to keep you wanting to know how it ends. I just hope it does end (hence only giving it a 3). Okay, someone stick a stake in me already. I'm done!

Summer On Blossom Street

Macomber adds a tear-jerking installment to the Blossom Street series with this account of lives intersecting at the series-hinging yarn store, A Good Yarn. Upbeat cancer survivor Lydia and her pragmatic sister, Margaret, start a Knit to Quit group in their Blossom Street yarn store, hoping to bring in customers for weekly self-help sessions. Casey, the 12-year-old girl Lydia takes in while waiting for an infant of her own to adopt, helps out in the shop when she's not sulking in her room or causing trouble for Lydia's family. Local baker Alix wants a baby as much as Lydia does, but she and her husband agree she needs to quit smoking first. Then there's super-stressed chocolate magnate, Hutch, who takes the knitting class after his doctor suggests it. Hutch hits it off with Phoebe, who is trying to quit obsessing about a broken engagement.
Finished this book at 1 a.m. this morning--as with the other books in the series, I couldn't put it down. New characters are inroduced to the Blossom Street group, and as always, it's interesting to see how previous characters develop and mingle with the new. I would love to give this book a five star review, yet feel unable to do so. It's a good, easy, uplifting novel (as are all of the author's books), and that's a huge plus in times like these. I appreciate the "everything turns out well" style of Debbie Macomber, aware that some might criticize a seriously happy-ending style. What can I say? I love a happy ending.

My main disappointments in this book (versus the others in the series) have to do with characterization. I've lived all over the country, known many, many women in all walks of life, and have never known someone like Pheobe. She just didn't seem plausible to me. By that, I mean her inner struggle didn't seem appropriate for a relatively short term relationship and fiance. Had she been involved with the man she hoped to "knit to quit" over the course of many years, or had she been married to him, her emotional tug-of-war would have made better sense. Perhaps there was something in her background to cause her to question herself repeatedly? The reader doesn't know if there is. Her character's background isn't developed... in previous books, the character's backgrounds come into play and help readers understand why they think and act as they do.
I also wanted to know more about Casey. A lot of critical information was void there. Some of her background was touched upon, yet left me wondering about more specific details.
Then, having "gotten to know" Ellen in the last book fo the series (Twenty Wishes), I felt it unlikely she'd immediately warm up to people she'd never met before in an environment away from Blossom Street. The scene (and chapter) seemed rushed in my opinion.
Finally, the ending felt rushed, as if the auther were trying to wrap up everything far too quickly. Overall, though, it's a worthwhile read. To those with editorial tendancies, there are a few oops (wrong name used, etc.). Nothing too serious.
I'd expect this to be a great beach blanket read.