Sunday, November 7

Mini-Reviews of Books Read, October 2010

   Mini-reviews of books I read last month...


   1. "The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying
       Logic at Work and at Home" by Dan Ariely
     <http://www.amazon.com/Upside-Irrationality/dp/0061995037>

   This is a follow-up to Ariely's "Predictably Irrational", which expands
   on research findings that show how people often behave irrationally.
   There are some interesting and entertaining bits, such as how we tend
   to overvalue our own work (the "Ikea effect"), the perils of online
   dating, and the uses and misuses of revenge.  Everyday examples back up
   the research and make it fairly easy to follow the main arguments.
   According to the concluding chapter, if we accept the shortcomings in
   our decision-making, we can improve how we "love, live, work, innovate,
   manage and govern."


   2. "The Scales of Justice" by John Mortimer
     <http://www.amazon.com/scales-justice/dp/0141022647>

   This is another in the "Penguin 70s" series, and features a couple of
   short stories inspired by the "Rumpole of the Bailey" TV series, also
   created by John Mortimer.  In the first story the main character tells
   his wife and family that he wants to give up a secure legal career to
   become a writer.  The second story is more in keeping with the TV
   series, and shows a lawyer skillfully defending a client being framed
   by a shady doctor.


   3. "I sommersi e i salvati" ("The Drowned and the Saved") by Primo Levi
     <http://www.amazon.com/Drowned-Saved/dp/067972186X>

   This is a collection of essays by Italian author and Holocaust survivor,
   Primo Levi.  His first two books, "If This Is A Man" and "The Truce",
   contained his first-hand experiences of his horrifying year in a Nazi
   concentration camp.  "The Drowned and the Saved" was written three
   decades later, and is the author's attempt to try to understand how it
   could have happened, and consider if it happen again.  Obviously, the
   subject matter is quite dark and heavy, but there are interesting
   insights into the nature of memory, guilt and responsibility.  One
   chapter, "The Grey Zone", looks at how things aren't always clearcut as
   people make out: that there often isn't just "Good" and "Evil", but many
   shades in-between.  Another interesting chapter contains correspondences
   with Germans following the translation and release of "If This Is A Man"
   in Germany.


   4. "A Week at the Airport: A Heathrow Diary" by Alain de Botton
     <http://www.amazon.com/Week-At-Airport/dp/1846683599>

   In this brief book, philosopher-author Alain de Botton writes about his
   week as the author-in-residence at the recently-opened Terminal 5 at
   Heathrow Airport.  Despite being invited by the Terminal's management to
   spend some time at the huge, he was given the freedom to give a warts-
   and-all account of the mostly self-contained microcosm of modern life.
   An eye-opening and though-provoking read.


   5. "In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide to the Most Intriguing
       Words Around the World" by Christopher J. Moore
     <http://www.amazon.com/Other-Words/dp/B000OFOIZE>

   A whirlwind tour of so-called "untranslatable" words from non-English
   languages.  In some ways this book covers similar ground to the Tingo
   series.  Like those books, it merely scratches the surface, but the
   structure of this book arranges by language group, and has the benefit
   of providing an index of the words featured.  Another difference of this
   book is the suggested emphasis of culture on words and their meaning.
   A quick and interesting read for people into different languages.


   6. "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" by Haruki Murakami
     <http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Willow-Sleeping-Woman/dp/1400096081>

   This month's dose of Murakami is in the form of a collection of short
   stories written in parallel to his more well-known novels.  There's
   quite a bit of diversity in the styles of the stories, from the
   conventional to the surreal.  One highlight is "Dabchick", which is
   reminiscent in some ways of Kafka's "The Castle", but mercifully briefer
   and "finished".  An entertaining collection.