'Want to Read' Collection

Recently, the Redmond library gave me a Border's bookstore coupon as a sign of gratitude for the Study Zone volunteering I did last academic year. Ever since I got the coupon I have been looking for non-fiction bestsellers with focus on economics, law or general fun read. Now that I have shortlisted a set of books, I would like to share it up here :-) . My only wish is that I get time to read most of these books. I know that time is an excuse, but if only I had more time ;-). Nevertheless, hopefully this posting would help others choose a book to read. Please feel free to post other interesting reads.

The Tipping Point - How little things can make a big difference (Malcolm Gladwell)
A four star rating from Amazon.com, this book brings out the epidemic like pattern in idea, product, message and behavior propagation. Gladwell's thesis claims that the above traits spread just as viruses do. Gladwell also illustrates how behaviors started by small sections of society ripple outward until a critical mass is reached (The tipping point), beyond which there is a dramatic change in the behavior of the entire community. This 304 page book examines phenomena such as drop in violent crime in NY, rebirth of Hush Puppies, teenage suicide patterns and other mass behavioral incidents. A favorite among most readers, some readers feel that there is not enough corroborative evidence for the claims made in the book. Anyway, this book was one of the bestsellers last year.

Blink- The power of thinking without thinking (Malcolm Gladwell)
In this book, Gladwell illustrates the power of decisions taken in a jiffy or in a blink of an eye. A three-and-a-half star on Amazon.com, the book based on psychology and behavior patterns, campaigns for rapid cognition. Gladwell also includes caveats and case studies where rapid cognition had failed and planned thinking would have been probably more successful. The general opinion among readers is that it is a good book, though some are not very happy about the neurological accuracy and others are paranoid about the consequences of 'blink' thinking.

Freakonomics- A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything (Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner)
Levitt being an economist himself doesn't speak about finance or economics per se, but tries to explain certain things in day-to-day life that don't seem so apparent. A 4-star from Amazon.com, this 256 page book covers topics like the McDonalds-like organization structure of drug peddlers, the steep fall in crime rate across the 90s, baby naming patterns etc. As with "The Tipping Point", some readers have challenged the evidence behind the claims made in the book. One of my friends who has read this book was telling me that each chapter is discrete and this discontinuity helps you choose the topics you want to read about. This gives you the flexibility to skip chapters you are not interested in. The general opinion is that this book is a pleasurable read about "nothing".

The World is Flat - A brief history of the 21st Century (Thomas Friedman)
Another 4-star from Amazon.com, Friedman talks about globalization and a flat, connected and small world in this book. Friedman covers topics like the reason behind terrorism, how Internet technologies have shrunk the world, offshoring, end of the Berlin wall among other modern day topics. He also talks about the change in attitude required by people to cope up with a flat world. The book draws quite good reviews, but is controversial among people who are not open to globalization. The book may not be interesting to people who have read NY times articles or seen TV shows by Friedman as it may not have anything more to offer than what they already know.

The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins)
A four and a half star on Amazon.com, this book gives a perspective on gene evolution. Though a book on biology, reviews say that it is very easy for a layman to follow and understand all the biological phenomena that is explained there. Dawkins tries to relate complex social behavior among animals to gene reproduction thus providing a plausible explanation behind biological complexity. Written in the 1970s, this book still maintains a very high rating among readers. Some reviews did tell me that this book may not be for readers with conservative and fundamentalist psyche. Dawkins explains the phenomenon of natural selection in a game theory style, that would be appealing to my geeky AI friends out there :-).

A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bill Bryson)
A book giving the common man a historical perspective into scientific development, Bryson tries to cover topics from quarks to galaxies. Bryson tries not only to explain what we know, but also tells us how we know it. A four and a half star on Amazon.com, this book is a favorite among most readers. Some readers feel that the book drags on and is more on scientist personalities rather than on science itself.

Other recommendations have been books by Paul Krugman. He writes books on international trade and economics. I have got recommendations that his writing style is very simplistic and his explanation of complex economic jargon can be easily construed by novices too.
Some of his books are,
Pop Internationalism (Paul Krugman)
The age of diminished expectations (Paul Krugman)

I would be adding a couple of books to my collection from the above list. The books would depend on budget and my interest, though I am leaning towards "The tipping point" and "Freakonomics". Will be back with reviews after reading the books. Until then.....

Happy Reading!!!!!!

share this: facebook