Some Inspiring Reads
1. A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Nonfiction by Terry Pratchett
It’s hard to do justice when talking about a book by Pratchett, and doubly so for a collection of his stories.
None the less, you must read this. It’s mostly a tale of Pratchett’s career as an author, while also exploring his battle with Alzheimer’s. If you like to write (want to become a writer), enjoy hilarious and pointed prose, or desire to become a proponent for assisted dying, you have found what you were looking for.
“Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Nonfiction
2. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Don’t let the simplistic title deceive you. This story about chasing your dreams and what that entails hits hard. Pretty short and incredibly poignant, you won’t regret it.
Even if you don’t feel the need for inspiration, this is a wonderful book to give. Don’t underestimate the impact it can have.
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
― Paulo Coelho, Alchemist
3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Virtual reality and video games in a not so distant future may not sound like much inspiration, but Cline spins a web so well that you may just do something extraordinary after reading.
If you are short on time, and have a bit of a commute, the audio book version read by Wil Wheaton is sublime. Ready Player One
“You’re probably wondering what’s going to happen to you. That’s easy. The same thing is going to happen to you that has happened to every other human being who has ever lived. You’re going to die. We all die. That’s just how it is.”
― Ernest Cline, Ready Player One
4. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Pretty much everyone (assumedly) has wanted to take a road trip on a motorcycle. Here we are treated to a robust tale of a man doing such, while being generously endowed with modern philosophy and musings.
If you seem to be spinning your wheels* in life, take this novel for a spin.** A different perspective on the world can do everyone a bit of good, and most of us probably lack when it comes to philosophical motorcycle life experience.
“The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
*(sorry, it had to be done)
**(again, sorry)
5. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
OK, cat’s out of the bag. If the author is dying, you know it’s going to be an exceptional book.
Pausch was diagnosed with a terminal cancer and took the opportunity to write about all the lessons in life he wished his children would learn when he was gone. Moral of the story: Be Happy.
Until you’ve read this, you probably aren’t living as fulfilling a life as one should.
“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
6. The Little Prince by Saint-Exupery
For the love of all things, this short beauty should to be read by every person, right now.
At most, it will take a few hours to get through. Tears will be shed. Hearts swelled and broken and changed. It’s nigh impossible to find something that requires so little time and effort for such a huge impact.
“All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
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