Book Review: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

I read a lot of books over the break, but none affected me the way this one did. As I read a story about what makes a story/life interesting, I imagined a book about me sitting around in a heated room during winter reading a Donald Miller book. Thanks very much, Mr. Miller, I'm officially depressed.

As a reader and writer, this book spoke my language. If you never wondered what would happen if you broke your everyday routine one day, or you don't frequently ask "what if" and wonder about how tollbooth operators go to the bathroom, or you don't ask "what if I broke my everyday routine to find out how tollbooth operators go to the bathroom" this might not be the book for you. Or simply put, it compares people to characters in a story and gives this idea merit. If you don't think of life in terms of narrative, something like The Cost of Discipleship might be more up your alley. Also a good book, and similar points overall, but a very different approach.

Steve Taylor (yes, it's spelled correctly and therefore a different guy than the lead singer from Aerosmith with the cavernous mouth)and some former stoner (also not Steve Tyler) approached Mr. Miller about making Blue Like Jazz into a movie. The only issue was, they needed a story. The fact that his life would make a boring story causes the author to re examine his life and attempt to edit it. In short, he wants his life to tell a better story.

This is like Bonhoffer's book in that whether he says it or not, Don Miller is talking about obedience. If you set aside your stuff for a moment and follow Christ, your life will not be boring. So though he doesn't use those words specifically, he's talking about being a disciple of Christ.

A Million Miles also earns bonus points for reminding me of an excellent book I read a few years back entitled Man's Search for Meaning. If you ever read Night and got depressed, read Man's Search for Meaning. Victor Frankl is one of my heroes for even trying to give hope in the direst of situations. And every time I get soup from a pot I randomly hope I'll get soup from the bottom. It has yet to become a problem, but you never know.

In the end, all three books and authors refuse to settle for less. And that's definitely worth a recommend.