Tuesday, April 7, 2009

What I read/what I am reading

My favorite author of all times is Malcome Gladwell. He wrote my favorite book of all time "The Tipping Point, How little things Can Make a Big Difference". He also wrote another good read "Blink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking". When "Outliers, The Story of Success" came out, it was a no brainer to me. I purchased the book hardback and all.


I am only on pg 98 of this book but once again Malcom Gladwell simply amazes me with his original thoughts, his research, and his writing ability. Malcom Gladwell makes his points by telling a series of stories. In my opinion, his writing is smart, entertaining, and makes you think about things in a way that you never thought before.

So far the item that stuck out the most to me is the age that parents put their children into Kindergarten. This is particularly interesting to me because I entered kindergarten at the age of four; the youngest person in my class. People who graduated a year after I did were older than me. His thoughts on this literally covers two pages so it isn't what the entire book is about, the main point of the book is what factors influence success.

I recommend to everyone to read all three of his books. They are quick reads that will surprise you.

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I just completed "Out of Captivity, Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle".

In Feb. 2003 a plane crashed in the Colombian Jungle filled three civilian contractors from America. The minute they landed they were taken captive by the FARC (columbian terrorist organization). They remained in captivity for five years.

I first heard of their story in 2008 when they were all over the news after being rescued. However, their story was overshadowed by the news story of Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician, who was also held prisoner and rescued in the same rescue mission. Needless to say when I saw that the three men had written a book I eagerly purchased and dove into the story.

Even though I essentially knew the story, this book was another good read that I highly recommend.

2 comments:

  1. My husband (which means me) had to read The Tipping Point for a class as an undergrad, and I know it's floating around the house somewhere. I need to pull it out and re-read it. He (the Mr.) still refers to it often. I don't know why I don't remember anything from it. Maybe because I was too busy dissecting it for a research paper. I was just wondering what I was going to read next. Now I have my answer!

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  2. I had to read it in college as well. It was the ONLY book in college that I read and enjoyed because I wanted to not because I had to.

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