Driving with Plato: The Meaning of Life's Milestones Book

This book felt like required reading for a freshman level Philosophy or Sociology class. The 19 milestones discussed included learning to ride a bike, first kiss, losing your virginity, getting married, moving house, midlife crisis, and retirement. I had to brush up on my art history a bit to follow him (it's been awhile) and to look up a few vocabulary words: inchoate, impecunious, ineluctable, paracetamol, interregnum, concomitant, paucity, autochthonous, megalomania, and miscegenation to name a few. This book was mostly drudgery to read, but offered a few interesting insights on the larger picture of life. Many philosophers and writers are discussed - ones we've all heard of (Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Kant, Pascal, Hegel, etc) but overall I just couldn't wait to finish it so I could start another far more exciting book. Sorry, but I don't recommend this book, unless the subject matter just happens to be your thing. If you read just one chapter, I liked these three best: riding a bike, taking exams, and moving house.