Difficult books

Some books don't read easily, though you feel you should be reading them.

You can't sustain the interest, but you realise many people are talking about it. The subject-matter's too dense, though you appreciate the substance. The writing's too academic, or could that mean a lack of intellectual grit on our part?

Whatever. There'll be good books, bad books and books you appreciate for every reason other than reading them. For me it's usually the science stuff (e.g. Damasio, Pinker, etc.) and some theo-philosophical writers (e.g. Wolterstorff, Meier, etc.).

Ideas to overcome this problem:

• Park the book for a while and come back when the 'pain' neurons have stopped firing
• Read ahead (and hopefully get into a great chapter which motivates you to read what came before)
• Read more of what others say
• Read slower
• Blog on the difficult parts; the act of reflection might create previously non-existent interest

And none of the above works, give the book away to somebody who will enjoy it!

12 Brain Rules

John Medina's latest book, Brain Rules, has some intriguing points (esp. about sleep). The website has more than enough info; no harm getting the book, though.

O'Connor's Five

I love Justin O'Connor's five characteristics of the 'new modes of cultural production and consumption among the young (18-35)' concentrated in cities, and wish it for everyone:

• making money and making culture are one and the same activity
• there is an antipathy to distinguishing between 'work time' and 'leisure time'
• there is a heavy reliance on informal networks for information and ideas
• there is an emphasis on intuition, emotional involvement, immersion in the field, and an 'enthusiasts' knowledge of the market
• cultural producers desire to 'work for themselves' and outside the 9-to-5 routine

Predictably Irrational

Better researched than Gladwell's Blink, filled with surprises the way Hartfod's The Undercover Economist couldn't be, thoroughly down-to-earth (and less cyber-esoterical) than Weinberger's Everything Is Miscellaneous and more easily applicable in a way that even Gilbert's amazing Stumbling On Happiness can't match, Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational refreshingly raises the bar on pop-(social)-science writing.

Ariely surprises us even as he exposes the myriad of strange/wonderful programming which impacts our decisions. Whilst some of these were 'common sense' (e.g. feeling more attached to that which we owned as compared to that which we didn't possess), Ariely's numerous experiments drive home the realisation deeper than previously perceived.

Here's a quick part-summary of what the book reveals about us:

1. We are more likely to cheat when dealing with non-monetary items (e.g. we would almost unhesitatingly smooch a $2 pen from office, but when it comes to stealing $1 from the petty cash it's often a no-no)

2. We tend to enjoy our food if we can order 'in private' i.e. by, say, ticking on a menu-form which is eventually passed to the waiter, as oppposed to 'declaring' out loud what we'd like

3. We are predisposed to selecting an option with an obviously poorer close parallel i.e. if given Luxury Watch A which costs $50, Normal Watch B at $10 and Marginally Above-Average Watch C at $48, on average we'd go for Cup A. Why? Because in comparison with Watch C it's a better choice.

4. We determine what prices are acceptable based on initial purchases. Jack's cost of Chinese food for $20 and Jill's (for the same dishes) at $40 will decide their future valuations of said cuisine i.e. we 'anchor' ourselves to our initial price-experiences of goods, and these anchors can be completely arbitrary.

5. We are inexplicably attracted to "FREE!", often making purchases we wouldn't have on this basis. Somehow $0 creates purchase-waves where even $0.20 (a 'virtually free' price) fail.

6. We're obsessed with options and keeping them open, at the price of losing much needed focus and attention.

7. We 'believe in' goods that are priced higher, even when the substance of these goods do not differ much from lower-priced items (e.g. aspirin, bottled water, professionals, etc.).

8. We're suckers for presentation and form, and would generally feel a moderately prepared roast beef served on attractive china tasted better than excellently cooked beef on a plastic plate. Hence, our easy succumbing to branding which creates expectations which improves perception about the products we're getting.

9. When horny or angry, our propensity to do things we'd normally deny ever being capable of doing rises by a significant factor. In a word, we have a Mr. Hyde lying semi-dormant inside us.

The next step is to apply these to our work, our communities and our families. This is the exciting part as I feel there's so much that behavioural economics can contribute (another sign that this is great book, when the reader is inspired towards further exploration).

What I also like about the book is how Ariely reflects a deep passion towards the betterment of our society, e.g. when he proposed to banks to have a credit card which would stop a spender from charging above a predetermined limit.

Part self-help, part life-commentary, part research-report, all social-innovation(!), Dan Ariely's first book is one of those I'd tip for the "if you're only going to read one book this year" awards. Then again, I'd recommend you buy it - you're more likely to believe you've had a good read thus.

Message from my book

I ordered a book from BetterWorld. They shipped it and together with the "It's coming" note, they included the below email.

Seth Godin talked about doing remarkable things. The below is, to say the very least, quite remarkable.

(Your book(s) asked to write you a personal note - it seemed unusual, but who are we to say no?)

Holy canasta! It's me... it's me! I can't believe it is actually me! You could have picked any of over 2 million books but you picked me! I've got to get packed! How is the weather where you live? Will I need a dust jacket? I can't believe I'm leaving Mishawaka, Indiana already - the friendly people, the Hummer plant, the Linebacker Lounge - so many memories. I don't have much time to say goodbye to everyone, but it's time to see the world!

I can't wait to meet you! You sound like such a well read person. Although, I have to say, it sure has taken you a while! I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but how would you like to spend five months sandwiched between Hamlet (bipolar) and Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (pyromaniac)? At least Hamlet was an upgrade from that stupid book on brewing beer. How many times did the ol' brewmaster have one too many and topple off our shelf at 2am?

I know the trip to meet you will be long and fraught with peril, but after the close calls I've had, I'm ready for anything (besides, some of my best friends are suspense novels). Just five months ago, I thought I was a goner. My owner was moving and couldn't take me with her. I was sure I was landfill bait until I ended up in a Better World Books book drive bin. Thanks to your socially conscious book shopping, I've found a new home. Even better, your book buying dollars are helping kids read from Brazil to Botswana.

But hey, enough about me, I've been asked to brief you on a few things:You chose International shipping.We shipped it via Brokers Worldwide who will then hand it off to your local postal service. Delivery time for shipments is usually 7-14 business days, but some may take a bit longer depending on destination.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email my friend Jesse and his team at help@betterworld.com. If you could please include your order number (8161805) that would be very helpful.

Eagerly awaiting our meeting,

Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome

Rushdie's Children

It was 1998, my first year after graduation. I remember crouching to examine one of the books on the bottom rung of the shelf titled 'Matured Readers' in a bookshop with a strange name, Bookazine (long since closed) in Section 14 next to Jaya SuperMart, also closed earlier this year.

My saturation with theology and apologetics made me want to read something new, something 'thick', something which would 'come at me' from an angle I'd have completely no reason to anticipate.

I only knew Salman Rushdie's name from the famous fatwa associated with Satanic Verses, a book whose thirtieth page I could barely reach without giving up (at the time - I've since read and talked about both the book and the controversy to many friends and students).

But here was a book with a strange name and sufficiently intimidating thickness, Midnight's Children. I must've turned it around a few times, contemplated exchanging with another book, felt the smoothness of its cover and imagine what it would be like to actually finish a book like this. It would be my second attempt at Rushdie. And besides, the book cover included a line about it winning the Booker Prize (in 1983). It also won the Booker of Bookers in 1993.

Now, 27 years after its publication, 25 years after it won its first Booker, 15 years after it established itself as a 'best of the best' and 10 years after my buying it in Bookazine, Midnight's Children has won yet another Booker of Bookers. Its shortlist rivals were:

• The Ghost Road by Pat Barker (1995) - never heard of the author nor the book...


• Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey (1988) - bought the book yesterday...how about THAT for a coincidence?


• Disgrace by JM Coetzee (1999) - a little too disturbing for my taste...


• The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer (1974) - heard of the author, not the book.


• The Siege of Krishnapur by JG Farrell (1973) - never heard of either

What's Next on the Wall?

I've heard so much about Spencer Johnson's book, but have only now read it. I felt it deserved its popularity from the creative cramming of more than half a dozen principles into a cute, metaphor-filled storyline.

Usually it's just one lesson per story (e.g. parables?) or too many lessons forced out of a simple episode (e.g. the Titanic?).

I can imagine hundreds of corporate trainers telling the story in parts and asking, "What do you think Haw wrote on the wall after this?"

The one piece of wall-writing which stood out for me was: "Noticing Small Changes Early Helps Adapt You To The Bigger Changes That Are To Come."

Now that's a thought.

But another one comes to mind: Haw the LittlePeople was learning really fast! I know I'd hire such a dude.

Likewise, what have we been jotting down on our maze walls recently?

Sticking and Quitting

This book may initially look like your average typical "Never Give Up" material. But Seth Godin, in his better-than-average ways, has written something which is both original and worthy of serious attention (especially in a world obsessed with success and never-quitting).

Firstly, says Godin, one must never give up, yes. But this attitude is critical only for those skills/ideas/products you have which make you the best in the world (the 'world' meaning which community/market you're a part of and necessarily all the continents if you know what I mean).

Secondly, for anyone who wishes to achieve anything spectacular, there will always be a period of dryness, lethargy, costs exceeding benefits, (apparent) failure which one has to go through i.e. there will be a Dip.

Push through this and you'll come on the other 'end' of the loop a winner. What's important - and thank God(in) for the reminder - is that we must ANTICIPATE and PLAN for the Dip.

Another famous speaker who mentioned something which sounds like a Dip is Randy Pausch who said that,

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!"

Where Godin differs would be in two things:

1. The brick walls can be overcome if you're the best at what you do (this is when you must STICK)

2. The brick walls should be accepted and left behind if not (this is when you must QUIT)

Which brings us to his third point, the one that raises the most eyebrows surely: You must recognise there are times one must stop or, better yet, not even start a project.

Why? Because if you're not the best and there's no chance you will be, pushing through the Dip only creates discouragement and takes away time you should be putting into that which you can be world-class in.

To stick? Or to quit? That he even raises the second question puts Godin, IMO, in the top 1% of the world's best thinkers and advisers. That it's okay and even commendable to quit is an almost-never-asked question which is more than way overdue.

This is not a how-to book. It's a why-not manual, a look-here work, an always-remember guide. It's also one the best (if somewhat subversive) "motivational" books around, one which nobody who's ever thought long and hard about irreversible (or hard-to-reverse) decisions related to careers and business can afford to miss.

Best thing is: It's a short book. No way you'll quit on this one.