Book Review - Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell)

Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell) is a must read for people who are hungry for success. Are you one of them? The book tells us the following interesting stories.

1) Air Crashes are usually not a product of machine malfunction but the culture of the pilots.
2) Asians are better at maths than Westerners but there is a way for Westerners to overcome that.
3) How many QUALITY hours you need to put in to be successful
4) The fields that you choose to pursue your dreams is very important.

The book shows us the pattern to achieving success. It discuss how did Bill Gates, Steve Jobs become successful while others fall off from the track to success. How does the above story tells us about success? Well, grab the book and find out. Want to be on the Track to success? Well, do I need to say more?

I found the book an enjoyable and insightful book, similar to other books by Malcolm Gladwell, Tipping Point and Blink. I grab the book when it was on the shelf but only manage to squeeze the book into my schedule recently. What the book tells us about the track to success can be misinterpreted by many as phooey, but I personally feel that hidden inside, there really lies the secret to success, it will depend very much on the angle you look at discussion.

I give this a 4 out of 5 stars as it teaches the track to success. If you have loved his previous books, I strongly encouraged you to grab it.

Book Review - How Starbucks Saved My Life (Michael Gates Gill)

How Starbucks Saved My Life (Michael Gates Gill) tells a real life story of the author. A high flier who has everything planned for him and all he has to do is go with the flow until the dreaded 'R' word came, retrenchment. He has everything he wants materially but life takes a dive when he made several bad decisions and neglected his family. The retrenchment was the final nail in the coffin for him.

By some weird fate, he ended up working in Starbucks and realize how empty his life had been. He could not thoroughly enjoy his live although what he has is what other people have to work their butts off and still might not get it.

If you feel very 'empty' at your job, you cannot enjoy what life have to offer or you picture that your life should not be the way it is right now, then I strongly recommend this book to you. It should provide you with some inspiration and motivation to steer your life in the correct direction.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book so much so I could not stop reading it. The best thing is this book was given to me as a Christmas present. The title did caught my attention several times but I did not intend to buy it at all.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars because it is simple to read, plus the good contents inside. If you have thoroughly enjoyed reading Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, then you should pounced on this book and enjoy the fiction and lessons behind How Starbucks Saved My Life (Michael Gates Gill).

Book Review - Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom (Matthew Fraser & Soumitra Dutta)

Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom (Matthew Fraser & Soumitra Dutta), the title of this book captured my attention when I was surfing around the bookshops websites in Singapore. Most of you who are familiar with Facebook, you would have thought that this book is probably written about how Facebook is affecting corporates and business. Well you are just about right.

If you are very familiar with Internet trends, you would have known the new buzzword and that is "Web 2.0". The whole book is talking about how technology of "Web 2.0" is affecting these areas, business, media, consumer markets, politics and many more. The great fight between power holders and gatekeepers vs consumers.

Some interesting stuff I read is that all along, someone has indirectly chosen the books I read and the music I listen to by deciding what books to publish and music to be sold. Well of course you might say that you have known this since you know this but do you know that inside this book it shares a fascinating fact that you might drop your specs (if you have one) when you read it. =)

I found this book insightful and covers a lot of areas. At first I find this book a bit dry because it talks about European History (yah I know, I still do not have any idea why it was mentioned, maybe other readers can shed some light on it). I was almost turned off by it and wanted to put the book down, but my curiousity of how Web 2.0 is affecting the world got the better of me and I continue reading. But the later part of the book is definitely an enjoyable read, so much so I do not want to put down the book. =)

For this book, I give it a 3.5 out of 5. I would have given 4 stars if not for the European History (nothing against it, just that I see any need to mention about it).