"Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell - Review

Blink - The power of thinking without thinking as the name itself indicates, explores the hidden powers of out capability to make the right decisions and judgments at the spur of the moment without ones realization to it.

He illustrates as to how this whole power of snap judgments actually work. Not only that, considering the fact that the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow pieces of incidents( thin slicing as Malcolm calls it) is automated, he also enlightens us on how there can be a way to master over this unconscious act. The book motivates us to go by our gut feeling but also it is highlighted that there can be dangers in doing so as our capacity to make snap judgments may not be always perfect. This is due to various factors that adds to the environment. I have always loved all Malcolm Gladwell's concepts. His ideas seem downright warranted and can be implemented pragmatically. He has supported his thesis with a number of researches as always but this time around, I personally felt that his study ranged on varied topics that were so numerous that the book lost its centre of gravity. The essence is hay wired eventually and one would end up feeling as having read only researches after researches. The point gets so extra highlighted that newness of his idea is ruined! The later part of the book where the author talks about mind reading also gets a little too elaborate. That is that, but it also gets a lot more technical when he speaks about the combination of face muscles to define certain moods which would have otherwise been sufficient to the readers had he not spoken about it the way he did to get the idea of what he was trying to convey. In the end yes, it gets a little monotonous to be precise. Nonetheless his ideas are fresh and that’s very much appreciative.

"The Winner Stands Alone" by Paulo Coelho - Review

Yet another philosophy by Paulo Coelho. Gives an insight into the reality behind all the Glitz and Glamour which provokes us to think about the materialistic world we live in. At few points, it mocks at us as regards to our hunger for money and power encapsulating us into slavery. However, as regards to Igor, his character is too hard to understand. On one side he is a wise man knowing what is valuable and on the other hand acts insensible. Is that what the author is trying to convey that even the wisest is deviated from the right? That's left on the readers to decide. Also the whole idea of him escaping in the end in his private jet seemed too abrupt without facing any consequences to his brutality done. All in all, perhaps a good read and keeps the reader intrigued throughout.