April 4, 2010 61 Comments

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years- Video Book Review

My friend, Jon Swanson sent me a copy of Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life (amazon affiliate link). Miller is the author of probably my favorite book on religion, BLUE LIKE JAZZ, which is more like, “A not-exactly-buying-it-all person’s guide to a perspective on religion.” This book, however, is about story.

Miller has a very simple premise threaded through this book (which covers the time in his life that people came and decided to make a movie about Blue Like Jazz), which is simply this: if your life is a story, why not make it a better story? It sounds simplistic, but there’s a lot to it. In Miller’s case, one of the first things he did was go from watching the Tour de France to getting off the couch and getting a bike, and from there, he took on a few bicycling challenges, including a cross-country ride.

That’s the point, that you can move from a dull story to writing your own life into something a bit more engaging and interesting.

The book is a total winner and I loved every bit of it. Here’s my quick video review:

This is the kind of book you buy a bunch of times in a row. But then again, Blue Like Jazz was like that for Jon. He “lent” me a copy months ago, maybe years ago. I can see that I’ll be loaning out my copy and buying new ones over and over. Maybe you will, too.

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  • http://twitter.com/timweston Tim Weston

    Thanks for the review, Chris. A friend recommended the book to me last night, so your review is very timely. I've just ordered it from Amazon and can't wait to read it.

  • http://www.russellink.org/ Lisa

    I just downloaded this book from audible… I loved blue like jazz and relate to it more now than I did when I read it. Looking forward the new book. Chris, I love what you do and you help me so much with my writing and online freelance work I do .. from web design to blogging and copy writing thanks!! for sharing

  • http://kathynicholls.com Kathy Nicholls

    I read this book when it first came out because I had seen an interview with the author by Michael Hyatt, whose blog I follow. I loved it and it was a book that gave me a jump start in my own life. It's great to see someone else promoting it as something that makes a difference.

  • http://website-in-a-weekend.net/ Dave Doolin

    I haven't read or heard of this book, but what moved me about your review is how you give away books to people. I used to be a book hoarder, now I am more than happy to find new homes for pretty much any book someone would like to “borrow.”

    Makes me feel good to lighten my load a bit, and after they read it, we have more in common; great way to build or strengthen relationship bridges.

  • timbrownson

    Chris, Have you read 'The Power of Story' by Jim Loehr

    One of the best books along the lines of making ones life a blockbuster of a story and the impact the stories we tell each other have on us.

    It lost its way a a little bit in the middle and possibly wasn't quite as good as the awesome 'The Power of Full Engagement' he co-authored with Tony Shwartz, but well worth a read nevertheless.

  • http://www.twitter.com/danieldecker Daniel Decker

    It's a great book! Thanks for the link to Jon's blog too. Looking at his 300 Words a Day blog now. Seems interesting.

  • http://www.rocknrealty.net Nanette Labastida

    sounds groovy – i'm adding it to my rediculous long list of booksihavetobuy

  • http://www.ItsGreatToBeAlive.com/ Luke

    I thought this was a great book. He spoke on this material at our church in Chicago and you can hear the talk here:http://www.willowcreek.org/mediaplayer/playeropener.aspx?id=205&cid=3

  • http://www.ivanwalsh.com Ivan Walsh

    Life is not a dress rehearsal.

  • http://twitter.com/jasoncrouch Jason Crouch

    Nice review, Chris. I've been a fan of Donald Miller since I first read “Blue Like Jazz” several years ago, then consumed every other book of his since. I didn't even realize that he had a new one out. I am also a Lamott fan, for what it's worth. :) I will be purchasing this book, I assure you.

  • popupbooster

    Always thought life was a journey – not a story.
    A story needs to be interesting – which in case of life is not.
    A journey is a succession of events which is obvious for anyone's life.

  • BillKerschbaum

    I've been a Donald Miller fan since Blue Like Jazz too. Saw him speak once. I'm reading Million Miles now, and I agree – it's terrific. Got me thinking about my own story and asking the question, “Am I living a good story?”

  • http://www.stellarpointgroup.com/ Go2Mach2

    Chris…Thanks for the review

    Funny Thing….Sometimes we spend so much of our time trying to be “Consistent” in marketing everything about ourselves we often forget it is the simple “Changes” needed in Life which will usually bring us the most “Contentment”…

  • http://www.mindadventure.com/ rob white

    We would all win an academy award if we realized that our lives are our story. We are the star actor. We can rewrite the story anytime we create a new epoch in our lifves (take on a new project that is wonderfully new). In order to succeed at something new, we have to reinvent ourselves anew (don't we). Yes … good reminder, Chris. We are all story writers; some of us write comedies, some write tragedies, some write love stories.
    rob mindadventure.com

  • http://www.mikewordsmith.com/ Mike Smith

    Thanks for the review! Loved “Blue Like Jazz” (definitely a “pass-on” book!) and now am looking forward to Miller's newest (which I wasn't even aware of). Breath of fresh ari Chris…thanks!

  • http://thoughtsaboutnothing.com @kylelreed

    Chris, thanks for reviewing this. Don has some great stuff.
    If you go to his site and take a quick survey you can get his hour long talk about story that he gave in TEN. Awesome stuff as well.

  • Bryan Norman

    Chris, this is Don's editor at Thomas Nelson. Thanks for such a great endorsement and for taking the time to share it. Much appreciated!

  • http://www.faithbarista.com/ Faith Barsita Bonnie

    Appreciated the video review, Chris! It's one of those books we all wish everyone would read.

  • http://www.r4cards.co.nz/ nintendo ds r4

    Nice review! Miller’s one of those guys who frustrates me because I love how he writes but his content.

  • katiewynner

    I can't wait to give this one a read. Thanks for the suggestion, Chris!

  • addytseng

    What a great quote! I'm going to start using it. Thanks!

  • addytseng

    I still see life as a journey, which means moving…and growing. What we encounter (failures as well as successes, and lessons) make the story.
    I like what Chris said: Get off the couch.

  • addytseng

    I like what you said:
    “some of us write comedies, some write tragedies, some write love stories”

  • addytseng

    Thanks Chris. I'll have to add this one to my list.
    You do a great service to bring the good books to our attention.

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  • kategood

    Life is not a series of events that stand alone. These events are all connected and create your story. When you think about a good story, it has a point and a message. What is yours?

    When I read this book, I thought about the parts of my story that did not end well and I remembered….all stories can have new chapters. I'm on to better chapters with greater meaning. I am also focused on changing some charecters in my story too!

  • Anne

    In the last ten months, I have been viewing my life as a story. I've lost my father (devastating), purchased my first house, a fixer-upper, through his generosity, lost my job of 15 years, about to lose my dog of 15 years, may lose my house of four months. So what do I do through times of hardship. I start reading. I can't afford books anymore, so I am using the library and the internet. One thing just leads to another and life opens up in unexpected ways. I made $250 last month, but somehow I think I am going to be okay.

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  • CoryHuddleston

    Anne,

    I'm sorry to hear about you losses. Hang in there Sweetie! It's times like these we develop iron clad character and strength which allows the curtains to be pulled back on the life we have been dreaming of. Funny thing about loss…it spotlights every preconceived notion that we have about what life truly means and the level of importance we put into “things,” allowing us to clarify and build upon what matters most. Through your sacrifice you have been given a unique gift of a clean white canvas. Paint your masterpiece Anne, and have a blast doing it!

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  • meltay

    Thanks for the recommendation – I loved Blue Like Jazz, too and can't wait to read Miller's latest.

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  • lindasands

    My friends are getting tired of hearing me say, “C'mon, we have to go. Imagine what kind of story we might find.”
    Instead of making the story happen… I just show up and find it. Sure you can edit what's already there- but what about the story that's around the corner? Editing is living backwards.. WRITING new stories is living forward.

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  • http://extraordinaryintheordinary.com Extraordinary in the Ordinary

    That was a great video review, Chris! You are definitely right about needing extra copies to give away! It is THAT kind of book!

  • Ryan_H

    Wow sounds like a great read Chris thanks for the review.

  • http://www.slymarketing.com Jens P. Berget

    Thanks for the review. I've never heard of this book or the author. But after watching your review, I added it to my Barnes and Noble's wishlist.

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  • greg cryns

    I must learn to stop watching your book reviews. Almost always, it means I'm about to spend another $20 at Amazon since I can't wait for the local library to obtain the book.

  • http://annieandersonblog.com Annie Anderson

    Sounds like a great book! Definitely buying a copy.

    I like what you said in your post “Waste of a Perfectly Good Airplane” -

    “It’s about tackling whatever seems impossible. It turns out that the most successful people in life make this a habit.”

    It's time to be the Captain of the airplane. ;-)

  • http://www.yuregininsesi.com yuregininsesi

    Thanks for the recommendation – I loved Blue Like Jazz, too and can't wait to read Miller's latest

  • Seslimeydan

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