Essentially, I kept putting of writing thoughts about these books. I bought 2 out 6 books (Cutting for Stone and The Power of Habit) and I borrowed the rest from the library.
a.
Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
This is a story about a missing wife and who’s
to blame. The book is un-put-down-able for me I finished reading it in a day.
The first was really good and I felt like I could relate to the characters. The
second part was pretty good too. It starts to reveal who did what and how. The third part,
not so much. I did not like it or the ending. But, I know how hard it is to end
a book that is brilliant. Overall, I like Gillian Flynn’s ideas and writing in
Gone Girl and look forward to her other books (previously published).
b.
The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg
This is a brilliant book. It’s very well
written. Coming from an engineering background, I like the research that he’s done
prior to writing the book. I itch every time someone states a “fact” with no
base in science world (Here, I am trying to dodge bullet when someone asks “What
about religion?” IMO, religion is based on personal faith. It’s a cheap shot
for someone to judge/accuse/etc someone else based on his/her religion OR VICE VERSA). But,
I took a detour. Anyway, I think it’s really useful to know the basic knowledge
of habit and look at a lot of examples in different type of environments
(personal, business, etc). I like his writing style of repetition. He repeated
the important points throughout the chapter/book so that the readers will
understand/sink-in those messages. I recommend reading The Power of Habit –
Charles Duhigg for everybody (those who actually want to modify habits or not).
I have always been interested in this field (social-psychology -behavioral-ish
field).*
c.
The Tiger’s Wife – Tea Obreht
Honestly, I don’t want to spend a lot of
times to review this book. I have only one good thought for it; I actually like
the story of between his grandfather and the deathless man as well as between
his grandfather and the tiger’s wife. These stories are good and I wish it’s
just more about him. I had to read fast (the opposite of ‘take my time and
enjoy the words’). It was painful for me. But, I don’t want to be saying bad
stuffs too much. After all, the book has claimed major success. Tea Obreht won
several awards for her work.
d.
Ali in Wonderland (and Other Tall Tales) – Ali Wentworth
I picked up this book after I read ‘Is
Everyone Hanging out Without Me?’ (Thoughts below). The funny thing was that I
did not know who Ali Wentworth was. It is an easy reading. The book kept me
entertained for the entire time. One particular thing that this book gave me was more
knowledge. See, I grew up knowing nothing about ‘In Living Color’ or ‘WASP’ or ‘George
Stephanopoulos’ (I’m going to play my ‘being an immigrant’ card as
many times as possible). But, this book ignited my curiosity and made me google here and there (I can hear someone gasp reading the word 'google') to quench it and thus added more to my (trivial) knowledge. I just don’t know a good time
to tap that information yet.
e.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns) – Mindy Kaling
I was skeptical. I like The Office, but
Mindy character always appears soooo short. I thought to myself, “Why do you
want to read about someone who is not really doing much?” But I did anyway and
I’m super glad. After reading the book, I know that she’s smart and she’s
funny. I’m sure she’ll appreciate those two compliments. I admire her growing
up and I like her determination. I think this is a must-read book. I remember
laughing in a bus shelter, outside our apartment, on the bus, in
the car, etc. Yes, because I brought my kindle and read the book everywhere.
Now, I can’t wait to watch her new show next fall, The Mindy Project. Also, what
am I doing in the engineering field instead of comedy??*
If Mindy ever reads this, I’d like to say: Mindy,
you’re a smart, funny, and minority woman. Triple threat!
f.
Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese
I really thought I had written about this
book in my blog. Yes or No? (Note to self: check your entries again). If yes, I
still feel the same, ditto to whatever I wrote. If not, this is a perfect book
to end this post. He’s able to fuse two of his identities (being a professor in
medical field at Stanford and growing up in Ethiopia) and produce a good
writing. I love the stories, I love the characters. I feel them. I fall in love
with Ethiopia. I want to be a surgeon*. I cried for the last 20% of the book. I
highly recommend this book and I can’t wait for his next book. Oh! I really
have a lot of respects for him.
*I love how by the end of the posts, I have
thought about 3 different careers that I’d like to pursue.
** No, I’m not being racists, I’m a minority
myself. I’m just being trying to be funny.
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