Lukewarm: The Last Lecture

As promised, I will review my recent read. So I don't sound like a speed reader or complete hermit, I will let you know that I have been working on this book since early December in preparation for a book club meeting that I ultimately was not prepared to attend. I did read enough of the book before the meeting to be able to converse somewhat intelligently about it, but I did not complete the assignment. I hope to do better with this month's selection, the next on my reading list.

I have to agree with my good friend Deb, who said that Pausch comes off a bit pompous in certain parts of the book. We have to allow a bit of self-aggrandizing on his part, though. He admits to immodesty, he was dying when he wrote it, and he was leaving a legacy for his kids. For those reasons, I forgive him. Regardless, the superiority of his delivery sometimes interfered with the simplicity of his message. In his message, there are many lessons we can remember. My favorites:

• Live in the now
• Never give up
• Pursue your childhood dreams

I like book clubs because they give us reasons to start conversations that usually only occur at slumber parties and idealistic first dates. Who among us would ever ask a friend, "What are your three top childhood dreams?" Who among us has recently asked ourselves that question? In this virtual book club, I want to ask you to comment: What are your top childhood dreams? Mine:

• To get a Ph. D.
• To be a mother
• To write a book

Well, maybe someday. And I do have to add one last jab-Pausch certainly does not seem like a feminist, and I was relatively unimpressed with the way he talked about his wife.