Books, Books, and more Books!

Well, as some of you know, or remember from one of my New Year's posts back in January, I am trying to read 40 books in 2008. So far I have finished 10, and am currently working on 3! But I have yet to write my reviews of the previous two that I had finished! So, here they are, the genuine Matt Reviews of Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture, and Chuck Palahniuk's Snuff.

The Last Lecture

So, this book actually started as a lecture that was given. Traditionally, the last lecture is a series that is done on universities and colleges, where the professor is asked to hypothetically consider his demise, and if he/she were to leave (either the college or the planet) what has he/she learned or want to impart on their class. Randy Pausch was asked to give one of these lectures, right before he was diagnosed with advanced stage pancreatic cancer. The lecture quickly turned from hypotheticals to reality.

He delivered the lecture, which was filmed by Carnagie Mellon University and placed on You Tube, where it became an internet sensation, garnering over 15 million views to this day! The lecture was approximately 75 minutes, but created a 10 minute version that he delivered on Oprah. The next step was to turn this lecture into a book, so that everyone could read the important things that were being said. And that is what was done. The book was written directly based off the lecture. The book is full of wisdom and knowledge that obviously seemed to take Randy years to learn, yet is in plain view.

One of the stories that stands out, is talking about getting a brand new convertible, and going to pick up his neice and nephew for the weekend. Their mom told them to be careful not to get Uncle Randy's new car dirty. As she was saying this, Randy, with his neice and nephew watching, opened a can of soda and proceeded to pour it all over the backseat of the new car. He didn't care what had happened to the car, or how clean or dirty it was, rather it was all about spending the time with his family.

And while, more than 15 million people have seen the lecture, and probably 5 million people have the book, this was all done for only two people. Randy's two daughters, so that they would be able to learn life's lessons, without daddy around.

Snuff

A very, very, very, very different book from the one I described above! This book is by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, Choke, and many others. This however, might be his most odd work yet!

The basis behind Snuff is that Cassie Wright, aging porn star, decides to break the record and go for 600 sexual acts in a single day. The story is from the point of view of 3 men in the waiting room and Cassie's assistant. Of the three men, one is a man who is a stalker of porn stars who thinks he might be gay, one is a former porn star who got Cassie pregnant, and one is a young man who thinks he is Cassie's son who was put up for adoption. So, all together now: WHAT?

The book is crafted so well that the transition between point of views is smooth and fluid. Chuck creates characters that have both good and bad sides to them, and that is seen in this book as well. The best part to the book though, are the massive collection of made up porn movie names! They are hysterical and fun to read. Some examples include:
- The DaVinci Load
- To Drill A Mockingbird
- World Whore One: In The Trenches

It is a fun book, it makes you think, but not to the point where you head explodes. It makes you laugh, and it even makes you blush from time to time. Another great novel by Chuck! One of the greatest oddball writers of our time!