Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Author: Dan Ariely



If you are curious to know how the average human makes decisions this book is for you. There have been quite a few books recently on the broad topic of behavioral economics and Dan is one of the pre-eminent professors of this genre.  In this book he takes a stab at poking holes in our belief that humans are rational beings and offers particular insight into our many decisions and behaviors that are quite irrational.

One of the themes of the book is summed up well in this quote: "Humans rarely choose things in absolute terms. We don't have an internal value meter that tells us how much something is worth".   How do we make a value judgement that a mobile phone is worth $500, yet the app that we spend the most time on should be $1 or better still free?  Ariely conducts various experiments to highlight our reliance on relative value judgements and how these can be exploited to influence purchasing decisions.

Another behavioral theme that Ariely explores in some detail is the notion of "social norms versus market norms". A social norm is one where you help a friend out, cook a great dinner for your friends or do anything else that does not involve any direct or indirect compensation. We do these out of the need and fulfillment ofour social beings. In contrast market norms are the actions we do in exchange for compensation. Ariely points out the hazards of mixing the two and how in many cases social norms are much stronger than market norms and adding a monetary compensation of any sort instantly removes the social aspect and can be damaging in many circumstances.

The book is very well written and in addition to being enlightening is entertaining as well. 

Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout

Author: Lauren Redniss



This book is like no-other that I have read. To say that it is "illustrated" would not do it justice. Each and every page is a work of art. And the author has even made use of a special printing process that brings out the radioactivity in the Curies lives. It is a short book that chronicles the history of the Curies and their offspring. Most of the stories are in the form of quotes that are contained in a page or two. After reading this, you will have a deeper appreciation of the impact that the Curies discovery have had on our lives and will get to know them a little better.

Things Fall Apart

Author: Chinua Achebe


I was looking for some classic literature that had a global twist to it and this one popped up. The first thing that struck me was that I had the book upside down, and this feeling never left me, any time I saw the book lying down.

If you read no further, let me assure you that this is an awesome peek into early West African culture, just before the missionaries landed and had a major influence on life there. Achebe describes the life and struggles of an Igbo (Ibo in the book) culture in West Nigeria. If follows, Okonkwo, a yam farmer, who is a strong male role model in the village.  His father did not leave him any land or yams to plant, but Okonkwo was strong and determined to succeed and by dint of his hard work and perseverance was able to overcome the adversities to became a very successful farmer.  The book goes through Okonkwo's family life and some of the rituals and folklore that are typical of Igbo culture of this time. Achebe's writing comes through with a ring of authenticity and is an enthralling read to boot.

The book culminates in describing the change that the missionaries introduced when they set foot in Nigeria and the ensuing clash with the well established tribal traditions. It is a seminal novel and probably the first significant work of African Literature. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for something different.

The Paris Wife

Author: Paula McLain


This book is about the larger than life character that Ernest Hemingway was and had received a lot of accolades from various publications and numerous amazon readers as well. There was one small problem; I hadn't read a single Hemingway novel.

The book describes the early life of Hemingway when he left the US to live in Paris with his wife Hadley. From some of the reviews I gathered that the time-line covered in this book was when he published "The sun also rises" and so I first set out to read the Hemingway classic (link to my review)

The first thing that struck me about this book is that it is extremely well written and dramatized to make you feel that you were a fly on the wall in the Hemingway apartment in Paris.  One thing that you will observe, especially if you have read "The sun also rises" is how the conversation in this book is very modern and phrases used here were definitely not popular in the period this took place. However, the use of comtemporary language constructs certainly make the story much more approachable and easy to follow.

The book also brings out the discipline and dedication that some of the great literary artists put into their work. Hemingway used to wake up early and go to his studio to write his novels and he did this consistently through the period described int his book. Another aspect that I found enlightening was how Hemingway spent a considerable effort in tweaking the manuscript for maximal effect.

Finally,  the book will leave you envious of the wild life that the author and all the literary artists lived in the early twentieth century in Paris. I recommend this book, both as a work of entertainment, but also a chronicle of the lives of the early expatriate literary artists.

A Stolen Life: A Memoir

Author: Jaycee Dugard

This is not a book for the faint-hearted and the story is pretty much well known and out there. Regardless, the book was simply flying off the shelves ever since it's release a little over 2 months ago.  Currently it is #4 in the rank of titles sold at Amazon. Since the shelf life of something like this is pretty small -- only until the news is in the public eye -- I decided to place a hold at my local library and see if it would show up anytime soon. I was #152 on the list of people waiting for this book, but the library smartly expected a lot of demand so had more than 50 copies for circulation. I was pleasantly surprised, when less than 3 weeks later, I got an email saying the book was waiting for me. I ran over to the library and picked it up on Saturday morning and started reading it. By the next morning I was done.

It is a simple book written by Jaycee and comes across as very authentic. Since she was kidnapped at the age of 11, and didn't have much schooling since then, it is impressive that she could actually put down her thoughts so coherently, especially since it meant re-living the horrors of the past. I was extremely impressed by how balanced she was in her description of the events and how she survived 18 years of captivity and emerged with such a clear mind.

One of the objectives of reading a book like this is to better appreciate your lot in life. No matter how bad your situation, I am sure it will not even come close to what Jaycee had to endure. If she could have such positive frame of mind after all these years, we certainly can put our tribulations aside and do the same. This book certainly drives home that message in spades.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Author: Rebecca Skloot


The number of positive reviews for this book just kept climbing and it caught my attention several times. I would put it in my cart on Amazon, then read the synopsis and my desire to read this book would slip away. It did not seem particularly intriguing to me, that cells from a Black Woman, taken without her consent ended up being responsible for one of the most important discoveries in the fight against cancer. Furthermore, before I read the book, I did not have any particular sympathy for Henrietta's relatives laying claim to some of the huge profits that undoubtedly would not have been possible without her cells.

Finally, I succumbed to all the positive reviews that this book was receiving and clicked on the "Order" button. In hindsight, this was a very good choice and it proved to me once again that close to a thousand reviewers on Amazon cannot be taken lightly.

The book is about how the "HeLa" cells came to be and how they have changed the world of medicine. In case you haven't figure it out yet, their origin is from Henrietta Lacks, a poor black southern tobacco farmer who died in 1951 of cervical cancer. Rebecca Skloot took more than 10 years to research and write the book and I am still puzzled by how in this day of google and wikipedia anything can take so long!  However,  judging by the success of the book, Ms. Skloot's time was well spent and she certainly has done a fabulous job of educating us and entertaining us in the 400 odd pages on this subject. She brings out the tenacity of the HeLa cells and how they were pivotal in many of the modern medical discoveries. She also delves into the secretive behavior of the Lacks family and some of the unfortunate events that have transpired in their lives. This book is a must-read for anyone who has an interest in the medical sciences.