Breakfast with Alan Lightman 2.0

So today was an exciting day for me, I got to go down to the offices of Random House and have breakfast with one of the authors, Alan Lightman, along with a number of people from Chatelaine!
As usual, aside from Alan, I was the only guy in the room. Someone was kind enough to point this out to everyone. There were a ton of people from marketing there, including Lindsey from Random House that I was able to speak (though not in nearly as much depth as I wanted to) as well as the marketing intern for Chatelaine and some other great people! It was a treat to hear all about the different marketing teams and the kinds of things they get to do. I also thought it was most interesting to hear how many events the intern got to be a part of! It was a very educational day as well as an exciting one. Alan was very well spoken and an overall friendly person. Despite his incredible education and list of achievements I was very impressed to see that he was not at all condescending. Getting to speak with all these people today just makes me that much more excited to join the industry in the next few months!

Book Review - Mr. g

The concept behind this story was intensely interesting. Normally books about the creator, God, are highly religious in nature and the story is always told from our perspective. This is the first time I've come across a book that tells the tale of creation from His perspective.
People have always talked about how the universe began and there have been many theories as to how it all began. Alan Lightman takes the story in a completely new direction. In a slightly comical way, he explains how God decided to create the universe after waking up form a long nap. It takes us through the entirety of the universe from the creation of matter in The Void, to the peak of civilization, all the way to the faint ebb of life at the end of everything.
As a source of quirky humor, and a source of inspiration, the characters of uncle Deva and aunt Penelope are introduced alongside Mr g. Rather than discovering the universe, imagine the splendor that these three must feel at watching the universe unfold in front of their very eyes. This book describes an entirely new experience that will unleash your imagination.
Alan Lightman masterfully crafts the untold story of the beginning of the universe. In a tale that gives you a rare glimpse of the opposing perspective, you will experience everything we know as it happens. All from the side of a man who lives with his aunt and uncle. Anybody that likes an interesting concept will love this book, I highly recommend it.

Author Bio - Alan Lightman

Born in 1948 and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. From an early age he was interested in both science and the arts. By age seven, he had a chemistry set and burned a hole in the rug. He also built something like a tesla coil. When he turned it on, it knocked out every TV in the neighborhood. The neighbors became very wary of him. He used to fire off rockets that came down in their backyards or through their windows, so they gave him a wide berth. Excelling in both science and the humanities, he won city and state-wide science fairs as well as the state-wide competition for the National Council of Teachers of English award. He earned his Ph.D. in theoretical physics in 1974, was a professor at Harvard in the 1970's,  he was the first professor at MIT to have a joint appointment in science and the humanities, and from 1979 to 1989 a research scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In 2003, Lightman founded the Harpswell Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that works to empower a new generation of women leaders in Cambodia. Lightman's novel Einsteins Dreams was a bestseller and has been translated into thirty languages. Alan's current book Mr g is also a bestseller and will be up for review next week!