Bookie Haven
Amidst some of my heavier reading material I’ve had to sift through, in the past month I managed to sneak in some private reading of my own. Here’s a quick sample of what I’ve been digesting:
The Tipping Point
An inspiring book in which Malcolm Gladwell talks about how ideas and trends are like epidemics. Think about how influenza spreads. Think about how some seemingly unheard of brand becomes instantaneously popular. What is it that tips the market trend, and causes it to spread like wildfire amongst a crowd? Gladwell says it’s due to a number of factors like having a “Connector” – people who are influential in various different circles, a “Sticky Factor” – factors that allow ideas to stick to people’s heads, and “the Power of Context” – the right conditions. These are common sense notions, but written in the right marketing jargon for the man on the street (like me, or woman in my case) to digest. The application for me, of course, is to see how I can continue to spew out ideas for change and market it for the Malaysian public. What is the method by which I can influence the most number of people in the most effective manner? This book may help to answer that question.
On Beauty
This was simply absorbed as an amazing literary read; the kind you can slouch on your bed over, on a lazy Sunday afternoon. This is Zadie Smith’s third book, her first being “White Teeth” which is also a great read. On Beauty took the crown, though. Smith has a powerful way of drawing out such depth in the life of her characters, building up the storyline slowly to a climax – and you can hardly breathe in the last chapters, emphathising completely with each of their lives and experiences. It’s a book that makes you think about Love, what it Costs, why it Falls Apart, and whether it’s all worth it. Marriage, separation, affairs, getting too used to being with Someone, humanity, people being who they are and realising that hey, it’s alright to fall down in life. Love cuts deep but you wake up and say, thanks for the pain – I learnt something there I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Currently reading: A History of God by Karen Armstrong. Review to come up soon, but the introduction has been enlightening already. Wonder how this will coincide with my current study of Theology.