Wednesday 27 April 2011
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Image by meddie via FlickrJulia and Valentina Poole are normal American teenagers except for the fact that they are identical ‘mirror’ twins – but they do have no interest in college or jobs or leaving home. This all changes though when an unknown aunt, living in London dies and leaves them her flat overlooking Highgate Cemetery. So the twins decide to take possession of the flat and so fall into the lives of the other inhabitants of the apartment, including the dead aunt who can’t quite seem to leave her flat.
Well, this is a fascinating book and a great ghost story. I just loved the way it continued to build the tension thoughout, how the various subplots were neatly interwoven and the really neat ending which had my skin crawling. Just as good as ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’
A Must Read
Sunday 24 April 2011
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Image via WikipediaThis book shows us how we can hone our instinctive ability to know in an instant helping us to bring out the best in our thinking and become better decision-makers in our homes, offices and everyday life.
The author uses several case studies and scientific studies to explain his findings, one of which demonstrates how the ‘blink’ approach can go tragically wrong and another which demonstrated how separating the senses can give a truer result especially where women are challenging a male dominated industry (orchestra’s)
A fascinating book not least for what it says about entrenched and inflexible thinking and attitudes.
Definitely recommended
Saturday 16 April 2011
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Image by jgarber via FlickrAn intriguing book that threw out a good number of new ideas and concepts quickly and clearly. I found his ability to draw a connection between things that, on the surface seem very divergent, was quite interesting.
The thrust of the book is that there are three things that can converge to bring about dramatic and perhaps unexpectedly fast changes in our society. These are the context (the situation), the idea, and the people involved. His point is that very small changes in any or several of the three areas of context, the quality of the idea (which he calls 'stickiness', i.e. how well the idea sticks), or whether the idea reaches a very small group of key people can trigger a dramatic change in society.
The one concept that stood out for me was the rule of 150. This rule states that "At a bigger size you have to impose complicated hierarchies and rules and regulations and formal measures to try to command loyalty and cohesion. But below 150...it is possible to achieve the same goals informally." (p.180). This has proven applications in religious military and business environments. The informal environment just seems friendlier to me.
I liked this book, it was thought provoking.
Recommended
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)