"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."

Morrie Schwartz said this. He said a lot of things, really. A lot of meaningful things. But I wouldn't know that unless Mitch Albom, an old sociology student of his, had written about him in "Tuesdays With Morrie". Morrie was dieing, and was completely aware of it, but he embraced the idea. He knew, or at least thought, that if a person was truly aware that death was inevitable, they would have to do something good, something meaningful, during their life.

If I'm going to be honest, I have to admit I don't read a ton of non-fiction. I love books, but I can count the number of times I have sat down and read a non-fiction book on one hand. I feel the way Beth does; I love stories and ideas and the meanings behind a book. I never pause in the middle of my reading and think, wow, what great sentence structure and word choice- what style! But if I were to look back on my reading, considering what we're supposed to be judging, I think Mitch does a good job. He's honest. He doesn't have that kind of in-your-face-I'm-a-writer feel I thought Stephen King did. He seemed like he really just had a story to tell, because so incredible and important happended to him he had to tell everyone. He was simple; he never replaced "use" with "utilize" or felt the need for insincere colloquialisms (fuhgeddaboutit!). It wasn't trying to prove he had class or talent; he was just trying to say something, something he thought everyone needed to hear.