Tuesday, September 29, 2009

That was the sentiment that I felt the book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Donald Miller was trying hard to get across. Although the premise of the book is that everyone's life is a "story" with scenes that you can choose to make meaningful and interesting, it was hard for me to concentrate on that point. The vast majority of the story was about "the time my friends so and so and I climbed this mountain" or "the time my friends so and so and I went on that cross-country bike ride" or how the ex-rock star who's now a film producer absolutely BEGGED Mr. Miller to let him make a film out of one of Miller's books. It was a non-stop brag-a-thon about all his friends and the wonderful experiences he was forever having with them. Miller also threw in a section about his life-long obsession with tracking down his missing father, only to sit like a bump on a log staring into space when he finally met his father. The book is short, with several pages taken up with cartoons.There's just not much substance.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

have you read any of his previous books? i find it interesting you took it this way, as i took it completely opposite. i found him very humble and vulnerable in writing this book, not arrogant at all. the fact that people wanted to make a movie about his book was not some secret he was bringing out, but something that was known before this book was started. and that was also the context behind the entire book. if he left out that information, readers would wonder what inspired him to live a greater story. and he did live a greater story afterwards. i don't think there's anything arrogant about growing as an individual and trying to inspire others to live more exciting lives. just thought i'd share my differing view. thanks.

Lisanne624 said...

Hi, thanks for your comment! I enjoy hearing about other reactions to books. I guess that's why there's an audience for so many authors. Believe you me, in my local book club we've only read 2 books so far, and there have been many different opinions expressed on them, so let's just hope we can all find books that we enjoy (even if others don't share our opinions!). :)

About Me

My photo
I'm a librarian who is interested in all things British. I try to visit London as often as possible, and am always planning my next trip. I lived in Sweden for a few years with my Swedish husband, so the occasional Swedish reference may occur . . .

I'm waiting! My library holds

Header by:

nwdesigns4

My LibraryThing Library

The Gherkin Scale

5gherkinsb Brilliant!

4gherkinsb Good, innit?

3gherkinsb Fair to middlin'

2gherkinsb Has some good points

1gherkin Oi! Wot you playin' at?

0gherkins3Don't be givin' me evils!

Blog Archive

Popular Posts