Tag Archives: malcolm gladwell

Book Review – Nov 2016

29 Nov

Hello readers! I hope you’ve had a wonderful month! It has flown by and now it’s time again for a review of what I’ve read this month!

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Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson – After being kidnapped by a cunning pirate, David Balfour must travel through the harsh and dangerous Scottish Highlands to get back home and reclaim his inheritance.

~I am really enjoying this book so far! I just had no idea what to expect but the way Stevenson describes the different adventures poor David goes through draws you in completely.

All the Shining Young Men book 3 of The Price of Liberty by Gilbert Morris -Chase Rinehart and Jesse Boone join up when World War II starts and hard-nosed reporter, Maria Vitrano  follows them. Each has different reasons for joining in the fight, but will that matter in the end?

~Somehow this has fallen by the wayside while I’ve been writing like crazy, and reading Kidnapped, of course! But I’ve really liked the main characters – Chase, Jesse and Maria -are all very different  and what with Maria being a reporter, and my main character (in the novel i’m writing) wanting to be one as well, it’s been fun to be able to take notes on how that world is portrayed.

 

Inside the Victorian Home: A portrait of Domestic life in Victorian England by Judith Flanders – From room to room, this book follows the daily life of a middle-class home. Flanders pulls from diaries and other sources to describe a time so very different from our own.

~I think this just might be worth adding to my collection! I’ve got several chapters marked for easy access and have loved the pictures they have throughout. The details are coming in handy for making a rough diagram of a house, and where they’d entertain and a bunch of other things that I need to know!

Blink : The power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell – This is a book about how we can know something without knowing how we know, in the blink of an eye

~ You can read my full review here! Suffice it to say, it was an interesting book that was well worth the read.

On my to-read list are:

Liberty’s Dawn: A People’s history of the Industrial Revolution by Emma Griffin

Lyme Disease:Why it’s spreading, how it makes you sick and what to do about it by Alan G. Barbour, M.D.

 

I know these are seriously short synopsis’ and I apologize! Bear with me and I’ll try and give you better descriptions next month. Don’t forget to check out The Ultimate Book List that grows every month!

~Laura

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Book Review – Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

18 Nov

I hope you’ll forgive me for reviewing this separately when I had it in October’s book review but I’ve finished it and just HAD to share more in-depth why I liked this book so much! 

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This is a book about how we can know something without knowing how we know, in the blink of an eye. It shows that those who are good at ‘thin-slicing’ – filtering a few facts from an overwhelming amount of variables-  can often be better decision makers than those that spend a lot of time gathering information and deliberating.

Here are a few snippets that i felt really summed up the point of the book, “This practice of inferring the motivations and intentions of others is classic thin-slicing. It is picking up on subtle, fleeting cues in order to read someone’s mind – and there is almost no other impulse so basic and so automatic and at which, most of the time, we so effortlessly excel.” page 195

“When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, such as the choice of a mate or a profession, the decision should come  from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves.” page 269

We all make snap judgments without realizing it –  but I had no idea how much they can affect our lives. Writing that, I guess it sounds silly. But it’s just like with our formed opinions that we know about, only these happen so fast and without our being aware.  Our snap judgments can be good, and they can be bad- so pay attention to them.

I am glad I was able to read this – it has made me pause and think about how I respond to things.  My OH is reading this for his marketing class this term (finally, a college book that i was excited about!) and he said the author’s got some TED talks! Once I’ve listened to them, I’ll link them up here.

All in all, I recommend this book as it’s one that makes you think (no pun intended there) about what you, well….think.

(I can tell I’m getting tired. I’m thinking in very uninspired language. Naptime perhaps?)

I want to read his first book, The Tipping Point, next!

~Laura

 

 

 

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Book Review – October 2016

28 Oct

 

Hello readers! Thank you for coming by SGL! It means a lot that you’re here! Due to feeling pretty awful for most of this month, I haven’t read too much. I expect I won’t read much next month either as I’m planning on doing Nanowrimo – read ‘i’m planning on writing/editing my novel until I can’t stare at the computer screen anymore without burning my eyes out’ , that’s basically what it means, it’s going to be crazy but I’m hoping on getting a LOT of editing done!

 

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Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose –   This is the true story of a young woman, newly married, surviving the jungles of New Guinea and four years in a Japanese prison camp. Her triumphs and strengthening of faith despite everything.

~I’m not sure how to start my review of this book, the words keep swirling in my brain. It was a well-written book that I would recommend for sure. The nature of it keeps it from being a light read, instead it is one that will tear your heart out. At the same time it made me appreciate some of the things that we take for granted – showers for instance. It took me a month to read (thank goodness for being able to renew from the library!) 

The Color of the Star book 2 of The Price of Liberty by Gilbert Morris – Jordan Simms was raised by her rather eccentric aunt on the wrong side of town in Liberty, Georgia. No matter how sweet she is, that fact alone is enough to make her unsuitable for Billy Christmas, according to Billy’s parents. They have someone else in mind, a girl from a prominent, wealthy family. But Billy doesn’t want the life his parents have planned, so he joins the Marines and fights on the bloody battlefields of Guadalcanal. Halfway across the world, Jordan and Billy meet again, changing both their lives forever.

~I enjoyed Jordan’s story more than I did Billy’s, although I can’t quite say why that is. I liked how we stepped back in time, in Liberty , and ran across Ben from the first book, as a youngster, and met many other characters from the first book – getting to know them better. I’m hoping each book in the series does this!

Maire by Linda Windsor –  In Ireland in the fifth century the light of Christ was spreading – thanks in huge part to the druids who started seeking truth. During this time of change, two warriors stand against evil. Rowan of Emrys, a leader of his tribe and repentant warrior and Maire, warrior queen of Gleannmara. As these two leaders form an unlikely and unplanned bond, they face the evil druid, Morlach  who is determined to have Maire and Gleannmara and Rowan’s older brother who sold him into slavery as a boy.

~I thought I hadn’t read this book in such a long time and just found evidence that I read it in January of this year…so much for my memory. Ahem. Anyway, this is one of my FAVORITES. I love Rowan’s testimony in his daily actions; Maire’s struggle to understand her new husband and his faith; and the way Windsor weaves an engrossing story of light vs. dark. 

Currently Reading:

Blink – the Power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell – This is a book about how we can know something without knowing how we know, in the blink of an eye. It shows that those who are good at ‘thin-slicing’ – filtering a few facts from an overwhelming amount of variables-  can often be better decision makers than those that spend a lot of time gathering information and deliberating.

~I was so excited when my OH bought this for a class of his, I’d been wanting to read it! I’m about halfway through it and the information is intriguing. I’m enjoying it!  

Roses for Mama by Janette Oke – After both their parents die, Angela and Thomas are left in charge of their younger siblings. Angela struggles as the responsibility gets harder, on how to raise them the way their mother would have wanted.

~I have grown up reading this book and I love it as much now as I did the first time I read it. Oke creates characters that become so real, and worlds that I always want to visit. I wanted a light story that I could focus on with a severe migraine and this fit the bill! 

 

What are you reading lately? 

~Laura

 

While covering different genres, I do not read anything that has blatant sexual content. I will tell you if there is any sort of such (typically very mild and delicately put) in them and if I don’t think they’d be appropriate for young/teenage readers.

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