Blink -The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell wants us to think and understand “the strengths and weaknesses of human judgment” and our responsibility to act wisely in different situations. I enjoyed this book a lot and as well as “Outliers” it is a mind opener. He points out how important it is to realize that what you are thinking about before an exam can make a big difference in how you perform.

He describes a study on page 56 that when African Americans were asked to identify their race before a test they did significantly worse than the ones that we not asked. On page 71 psychologist Joshua Aronson says that his study shows “that people are ignorant of the things that affect their actions, yet they rarely feel ignorant”.

Blink forces me to think of the things that maybe influencing my decisions and that with practice and awareness I can make better decisions. I can trust my first impressions more when I understand where they may be coming from.

Into the Land of Nede by J. Gilchrist

The author gets an A for effort for publishing her first book. It is an interesting idea and I would recommend it for a Christian family who wants to expose children Ages 8-12 to the story in Genesis of Adam and Eve. It is fun and full of adventure as Lincoln discovers a new world and learns some important lessons about family. I also think the illustrations add a nice quality to the story.

I did not like the book- 1) I do not think it captures the true voice of a ten year old; 2) The story does not flow, it jumps too quickly from one idea to next; 3) I really do not like the idea of a “white boy” as the hero necessary to save an Indian Tribe.

I particularly did not like this paragraph: “This is your land. You have gained access to it. You are the ruler of this Land of Nede. We are your people. What do you command of us?” page 89.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

This is one of those books that moves you to the core and changes the way you think about life. You are not only touched by the story being told but by the author as well. Rebecca Skloot was brave, determined and loving over the 10 years it took her to complete this book. There is intriguing scientific data as well as personal information about the Lacks family that draws you in and keeps you wanting to know more until the last page. This book is a must read.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. From:  http://rebeccaskloot.com/the-immortal-life/

Percy Jackson & the Olympians The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan

Demigod Files is a collection of three short stories, interviews and pictures of the main characters. Riordan markets this as a must-have guide to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It has a crossword puzzle, a word search and a chart of the Olympians. The stories are fun and exciting to read and fans of the series will enjoy this quick read.

Ages 9-12

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Do the hard working poor have a chance?

Barbara Ehrenreich decided to try and find out. She moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking jobs as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson paying $6 to $7 and hour. It was impossible to pay for housing and eat on this salary.  Let’s do the math $7x40hrs=$280 a week, which equals $1,120 a month before taxes.

Nickel and Dimed reveals the difficult lifestyle of the people who struggle constantly in order to have the basic need of food and shelter, the blindness and the arrogance of those of us who have not experienced it and the continuing growth of our socioeconomic divide.

This book is a real eye opener.

The Mediterranean Diet

Diet - The usual food and drink consumed by a person

There are 16 countries that surround this region but the idea came from Dr. Ancel Keys when he published his study in 1970 of seven countries, analyzing the impact of diet on heart disease. 

All three books agree on these characteristics of the diet 

1- plenty of fruits, vegetables and legumes 

2-  moderate intake of fish 

3- low to moderate intake of poultry, dairy (mostly soft cheese and yogurt) 

4-  hardly any processed foods or red meat (maybe a few times a month) 

5- healthy unsaturated fats from mostly nuts, olives and olive oil

Check out the Mediterranean Food Pyramid online, it is very interesting and very different form the American Food Pyramid.

I preferred the Miami Mediterranean Diet book because it has a very easy to follow 14-Day Menu Plan with easy recipes.

The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan

When we are young we accept out parents’ values as our own. When, if ever, do we start questioning them? When do they become our own choices of values and not just the blind acceptance of the values passed down to us?

Jebel is the thin scrawny son of the well respected executioner of the land. He decides to go on a quest to regain his honor after he is disgraced in public by his father. Legends have it that if a quester makes it to the mountain to Tubaygat and sacrifices a willing slave to the fire god, he will be granted powers of strength and invincibility.

Jebel and his slave, Tel Hesani, set off on a quest where they will face many horrible obstacles (hatred, bigotry, slavery) and suffer a great deal.

Half Way To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

This is your typical Vampire Chick Lit. I enjoyed it for what it was. The love scenes are, how should I say it, Engaging. It’s for the vampire fans for sure. It is the first in a nine book series (only five are written so far). To give you an idea, here are the other titles.

Book 2 – One Foot in the Grave

Book 3 – At Grave’s End

Book 4 – Destined for an Early Grave

Book 5- This Side of the Grave

Yes, they sell very well. Even though the book has piqued my interest, I’m not sure I’ll be reading the series.

no second chance by Harlan Coben

The book is OK. I mostly enjoyed the last few chapters. I do not like the writing style. It has way too much detail. Coben tells you every minute detail about a scene, and his transitions are not smooth. The story itself is all over the place with too many plots within plots.

Marc Seidman wakes up in the ICU and learns that he’s been there for twelve days, his wife is dead and his six-month-old daughter is missing.

I always learn something from the books: This one talks about women trafficking and baby selling (adoption schemes). This phrase stays with me; “You shouldn’t do the wrong thing for the right reason”.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

I picked up the book thinking I was going to learn how extra-ordinary some people are but only to understand that it takes a lot more. We must look at family, birth place, birth date, generation, culture, class, hard work, talent, and yes luck. It brings the saying “timing is everything” to new light.

 It seems to take at least ten thousand hours of practice in order to become a master or world-class expert at anything.

“Who we are cannot be separated from where we’re from” p.221 – Cultural legacies matter –

Jamaica has a very large Chinese population that since the nineteenth century has dominated the commercial life of the island. p. 275

The book is truly enlightening. I highly recommend it. I will be reading the “Tipping Point” and “Blink” soon.