My Forster Admiration Continues

I literally finished reading Mark Forster’s How to Make Your Dreams Come True just a few moments ago and wanted to put some thoughts down and share them in public.

The title of the book makes you think it’s yet another get-rich-quick ripoff that promises far more than it can possibly deliver. But in reality it’s actually a very profound, moving book about the meaning of life, the role of the individual, and how we should spend our time on earth. It’s only possible to appreciate these qualities by reading the whole thing, because the book was written in a unique way, using a dialog technique that created and developed the themes as Forster was writing.

I think the book spoke to me so well because it is very much in keeping with my own background and beliefs. Forster combines a comforting, down to earth, practical Englishness with a very American understanding of the value of self-interest and creativity. As a first generation American of English parents with individualist leanings, it touched me deeply. Mark, thank you for this gift.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled irony.