Continuation 10/27/09

There have been quite a few connections from the book to what we are learning in some other subjects. After Morrie's mother died, he was taken to a factory to get a job and he was still very young. The conditions of the factory were horrible; "The room was dark and hot, the windows covered with filth, and the machines were packed tightly together, churning like train wheels. The fur hairs were flying, creating a thickened air, and...Morrie could barely breathe." This connects to the Industrial Revolution because many children were hired to work in filthy and dangerous factories/working conditions. In addition, like the children of the Industrial Revolution, "...felt as if the weight of the mountain were on [their] shoulders."

I also could connect this book to an assignment I was given for health. The health assignment was to create a letter that would be read out loud on your 100th birthday. This letter looked back on and picked out some memorable moments of those a hundred years.

As I was looking back on my life, I wished that I hadn't stressed myself out so much over little things like tests, projects, grades, approvals, perfecting so many things, how I looked on a certain day, and making a really big deal out of something that wasn't. I kinda wished that I just had more fun and I wasn't so critical and this is how it relates to the book.

In the book, Morrie confronts Mitch one day saying, "Well, the truth is, if you really listen to that bird on your shoulder, if you accept that you can die at any time--then you might not be as ambitious as you are... The things you spend so much time on--all this work you do--might not seem as important. You might have to make room for some more spiritual things."

I hear the phrase, "you should live each day as if it's your last", but it really hit me when I wrote the health paper and read this line. It's always going to be something that I (and many other people) will struggle with but I just hope that it can help me to reconsider things and just live life as if it truly were my last day.

The Reader

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

This book is the incredible story of the relationship between Mitch Albom and Morrie Schwartz and the inspiration Morrie gave to his students. Morrie was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease), but he never let dying hinder him from continuing his life. Over time, he lost strength in his body to dance, drive, walk, and even moving was very difficult.

Tuesdays with Morrie is actually my second book by Mitch Albom. I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven and it was probably the most unique book that I have read.

I was really engaged in the book when I saw Morrie's optimistic character and his insights on life even though he is getting crippled by the seconds. I haven't gotten too far into the book but I can see that a lot of the discussions will have to do with the meaning of life, handling things that life throws at you, and how to prepare yourself for death.

After finding out about his incurable illness, Morrie is faced with the question, "Do I wither up and disappear, or do I make the best of my time left?...He would not wither. He would not be ashamed of dying." First of all, Morrie is very grounded even though he KNOWS that for every day that passes, he gets closer and closer to dying. But he handles it almost effortlessly and without fear.

10/20/09- Although I completely admire and respect how Morrie handles knowing he's going to die, I feel like this book is a little repetitive. I kind of feel that finding the meaning of life and fearing death are being said over and over again in different words. I feel like there's an excessive amount of pages before Morrie dies, not that I'm happy about that, and I think the book moves at a relatively slow pace.

One thing that I picked up as I was reading this book was that every time Mitch Albom has a dialogue quote, his words are not in quotation marks. I wonder why he does this.

The Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman

This book is about Wal-Mart's impact on the world. The book starts out with saying how once, Wal-Mart and retailers decided the paperboard boxes of deodorant were a waste. They gave examples of how the boxes took up too much shelf-spot, wasted fuel and cost more money to ship. So they decided to get rid of the box and it has saved the nation a tremendous amount of money ...(we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars).

Personally, I didn't know that Wal-Mart has been "shaping" the world. I was surprised to see that it is THE most influential company in the world. This books shares insane facts like how "Wal-Mart sells more by Saint Patrick's Day...than Target does all year" and it's crazy to see how such a powerful company impacts each and every person in some way, shape or form. This book was published in 2006 and I wonder how different some of the numbers and facts would differ. I wonder how the recession has affected Wal-Mart. This book is definitely different from what I'm used to reading but it's actually interesting how a mix of books helps you think.

Thanks for Reading,

The Reader