Buyology
by Martin Lindstrom
While there were some insights in this book, it really would have been much more interesting as a concise and in depth magazine article, than content blow up into book length using random personal asides. Maybe it had to be a book just to justify the 7 million dollar price tag of the study on which it was based? Guess what? Some of the main insights – logos don’t work that well, extreme fanboys respond to their brands as if they’re having a religious experience – are not that groundbreaking. I think this amazon review captures the feeling best.
A Geography of Time
by Robert Levine
I really enjoyed this book. It mixes two of my favorite subjects: time and cross-cultural differences. And what a loaded subject it is. It is amazing to see how differently cultures treat the concept of time and in-turn how these ideas shape the societies within them. The big take-away is the distinction between event-time and clock-time, which usually falls along the lines of western/industrialized societies and the rest of the world with Japan always warranting an extra mention with their expert melding of the two. The book is full of wonderful cultural and scientific insights and anecdotes.
A Mercy
by Toni Morrison
If you’re expecting a narrative recounting the day by day horrors of slavery, you will be disappointed. Those days are yet to come in this book. America is just getting started in it’s exploitation. These are the days when multiple nations, religions, adventurers, businessmen are just getting here and trying to stake out their shares.
What I love about this book is how expertly Toni Morrison transports you to this world in another time. You can see the forces gathering that made full-blown slavery and modern day racism, but they’re not fully here yet. But above all I love the parts that are written in what I think of as Morrison’s trademark style, like poetry or stream of consciousness – descriptions, words, ideas, reality and magical subconscious intertwine and pour out onto the page telling a moving and powerful story.