Well, I am definitely setting a pattern here by reading all of Malcolm's books. I was curious about this book because it seems to set a different tone to success. What exactly does an outlier mean? The Merriam Websters dictionary describes outliers as a "a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample". Why is the author bringing in the concept of outliers to outstanding success in this century? Is not success defined by 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration?
Well, Yes and No. There is something to be said about geniuses, people born with the innate ability to excel in certain areas of life. But do all geniuses become success stories? This book explores the scenarios, the opportunities, the cultural advantages or disadvantages, the year of birth and the economic situations that can contribute to success of some geniuses to enable their meteoric rise.
According to this book, "Outliers are those who have been given opportunities — and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them" How amazing is this concept?
The author has sprinkled a lot of stories that enable us to understand this concept. I took particular pleasure in reading about the air crashes by Korean Air and why they happened.
Thanks to this book, I got over my prejudice and am starting to read another book " Speaking of India: Bridging the Communication Gap When Working with Indians". You can tell why I was prejudiced about reading this book; I wondered if there was a book that talked about bridging the communication gap when working with Americans, or Eskimos or Germans or Australians or any other culture for that matter. Why India? My Indian pride was kicking in. Well, thanks to this book Outliers, I get it!
Cultural differences change everything while changing nothing! Anyway, Outliers was a good read. I guess the only book that remains for me to read from this author is "Tipping Point" and I am looking forward to it.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The better man - Anita Nair
Really what makes somebody a better man? Does a person have to cater to their own needs in order to call / make themselves better? At what point is a line drawn to catering to other's feelings as well so that we really have somebody to share all that "better"- ness ( in some cases bitterness) as well!
This is one of my first reads of Anita Nair. She has this amazing capacity to vividly describe monstrous thoughts that plague a human mind. Particularly the guilt ridden thoughts that usually goes with emotional relationships. Set in a rural Kaikurussi in Kerala, Mukundan decides to make that small village where nothing happens ever, as his final home. This is despite the fact that he is plagued by demons from his past from that village. He befriends the local painter "One-screw-loose-Bhasi" who helps get rid of the ghosts and his guilt from the past. Mukundan is still recognition - hungry in that small village, where Power House Ramakrishnan has the final say.
When he gets chance to be in the same league as Power House Ramakrishnan, he ditches One-screw-loose-Bhasi and his only lady love Anjana to satisfy his societal craving. His sadistic father, Achuthan Nair's , death causes him to realize that he, Mukundan, was merely using his father as an excuse to not see beyond what he wanted to see, his own failures in life and his own lack of courage and conviction in what he believed in.
The rest of the story is then about how Mukundan takes charge of his life, realizing that Power House is not the be-all and end-all of the world. He realizes that there is no point in sacrificing everybody and everything at the altar of the society, to get some limited attention!
This book makes me want to read some more of Anita Nair's list of books! Good read
This is one of my first reads of Anita Nair. She has this amazing capacity to vividly describe monstrous thoughts that plague a human mind. Particularly the guilt ridden thoughts that usually goes with emotional relationships. Set in a rural Kaikurussi in Kerala, Mukundan decides to make that small village where nothing happens ever, as his final home. This is despite the fact that he is plagued by demons from his past from that village. He befriends the local painter "One-screw-loose-Bhasi" who helps get rid of the ghosts and his guilt from the past. Mukundan is still recognition - hungry in that small village, where Power House Ramakrishnan has the final say.
When he gets chance to be in the same league as Power House Ramakrishnan, he ditches One-screw-loose-Bhasi and his only lady love Anjana to satisfy his societal craving. His sadistic father, Achuthan Nair's , death causes him to realize that he, Mukundan, was merely using his father as an excuse to not see beyond what he wanted to see, his own failures in life and his own lack of courage and conviction in what he believed in.
The rest of the story is then about how Mukundan takes charge of his life, realizing that Power House is not the be-all and end-all of the world. He realizes that there is no point in sacrificing everybody and everything at the altar of the society, to get some limited attention!
This book makes me want to read some more of Anita Nair's list of books! Good read
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahri
I have read this Pulitzer winning book and I don't get it! Hmm, I will come back and revisit this post! :)
100 shades of white - Preethi Nair
We tend to call the kitchen as the heart of a home. I did not really know why till I read this book. Nalini, a simple girl from Kerala decides to defy the society, get married to a guy who was not good for her! Well, we have to face the consequences of our choices, right? And we each do that in our own way. She tells a white lie to maintain some sanity in her children's life. And to keep life going, she does what she does best - cook for others. The magic behind each ingredient that goes into the preparation, the bad emotion that get scared away when a few ingredients are mixed together, the calm we bring in when we just stop to smell the roses, in her case, the bottled items had me nodding my head in affirmation.
When the white lie comes back to bite her and her daughter, Maya, their relationship undergoes a change. Until Maya finds out the "truth" on her own, she does not realize that her mother had had her share of problems and had faced it with courage, that her own self-worth is more than what she is crediting it and that there are really 100 shades of white. Recommended reading!
When the white lie comes back to bite her and her daughter, Maya, their relationship undergoes a change. Until Maya finds out the "truth" on her own, she does not realize that her mother had had her share of problems and had faced it with courage, that her own self-worth is more than what she is crediting it and that there are really 100 shades of white. Recommended reading!
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Sari Shop - Rupa Bajwa
The best part about reading a book by an Indian author is the fast connection to the land of familiarity and the quick smile and nod that it brings to an Indian's face.
Ramachand, now working in a sari shop, feels as though he is in a perpetual state of stupor which follows right after his parents' untimely death in an accident, his family's back-stabbing attitude and how quickly a child has to move on, no mater how big the grief is. So he ambles through life merely existing, not wanting to empathize with anything or anybody. Fate presents him an opportunity when he has to make a sale at the rich Kapoor family. From that time onwards, he starts to hone his English vocabulary, diligently reading beginner level books. He also realizes that his newfound education is also causing him to look at "both sides of a coin" constantly, only to find out,to his dismay, that the society can be a very cruel place to be in, particularly for the poor.
He is probably the only person who could empathize with the goings on in a wretched woman's life. When he finds out that she was publicly humiliated and killed by the rich people, he wants the empathy to end. His life is probably too poor and he felt the need to exist as opposed to live more. He stops "educating" himself. To him,ignorance is indeed a bliss!
Ramachand, now working in a sari shop, feels as though he is in a perpetual state of stupor which follows right after his parents' untimely death in an accident, his family's back-stabbing attitude and how quickly a child has to move on, no mater how big the grief is. So he ambles through life merely existing, not wanting to empathize with anything or anybody. Fate presents him an opportunity when he has to make a sale at the rich Kapoor family. From that time onwards, he starts to hone his English vocabulary, diligently reading beginner level books. He also realizes that his newfound education is also causing him to look at "both sides of a coin" constantly, only to find out,to his dismay, that the society can be a very cruel place to be in, particularly for the poor.
He is probably the only person who could empathize with the goings on in a wretched woman's life. When he finds out that she was publicly humiliated and killed by the rich people, he wants the empathy to end. His life is probably too poor and he felt the need to exist as opposed to live more. He stops "educating" himself. To him,ignorance is indeed a bliss!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
On my own - The art of being a woman alone - Florence Falk
Morbid curiosity made me pick up this book at the library. The title suggested that this could be one of those self-help books that could possibly drone on for 500 to 600 pages about empowerment. And I geared myself up for it.
The author immediately got to the point and delved into the difference between loneliness and aloneness. How many of us really understand that when we are alone, we are not necessarily lonely because we have ourselves to be with? This is a powerful message and one must be truly self-aware to understand this truth.
I deliberately skipped the next section of the book which presented plenty of examples on how women feel less empowered to do something "alone". But the last section of the book kept me hooked where the author discusses how being content with oneself does not necessarily mean that the heart is not ready to accept anybody else? After all, can we not feel lonely in a crowd? And if we are not comfortable with ourselves, then how can we be comfortable with others?
Even though this book is directed towards women, I think the concept can be well embraced by men as well, if they dare!
The author immediately got to the point and delved into the difference between loneliness and aloneness. How many of us really understand that when we are alone, we are not necessarily lonely because we have ourselves to be with? This is a powerful message and one must be truly self-aware to understand this truth.
I deliberately skipped the next section of the book which presented plenty of examples on how women feel less empowered to do something "alone". But the last section of the book kept me hooked where the author discusses how being content with oneself does not necessarily mean that the heart is not ready to accept anybody else? After all, can we not feel lonely in a crowd? And if we are not comfortable with ourselves, then how can we be comfortable with others?
Even though this book is directed towards women, I think the concept can be well embraced by men as well, if they dare!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
One night @ a call center - Chetan Bhagat
After Five Point of Someone, I was curious to see how Chetan Bhagat would have dealt with the reality of the jobs that are being outsourced to India. And I have to say that Chetan Bhagat was as melodramatic as an Indian can get.
The story starts in a fairly unique fashion where the author meets a pretty girl in an empty compartment in a train. Well, that is Indian masala right there! I like the way the author lays out the plot of the story, starting from that point. For the next 80% of the book, the reader is exposed and later on subjected to the life of people who work in call centers, with fake identities and accent, trying to administer customer service to people in the USA. In a way, the book exposes the truth about the work culture in India, particularly the call centers and the apparent "stupidity" of the people who call in to these call centers.
The melodrama kicks in when the call center team answers to the call of God, avenges their team leader, who has merely exploited them for his benefit, and saves their jobs. And some of them get inspired to make changes to their personal and professional lives.
Given that it is a "new" era where Indian authors write about India in Indian English, I would recommend this book, merely as a part of reading pleasure to people like me who live far away from India!
The story starts in a fairly unique fashion where the author meets a pretty girl in an empty compartment in a train. Well, that is Indian masala right there! I like the way the author lays out the plot of the story, starting from that point. For the next 80% of the book, the reader is exposed and later on subjected to the life of people who work in call centers, with fake identities and accent, trying to administer customer service to people in the USA. In a way, the book exposes the truth about the work culture in India, particularly the call centers and the apparent "stupidity" of the people who call in to these call centers.
The melodrama kicks in when the call center team answers to the call of God, avenges their team leader, who has merely exploited them for his benefit, and saves their jobs. And some of them get inspired to make changes to their personal and professional lives.
Given that it is a "new" era where Indian authors write about India in Indian English, I would recommend this book, merely as a part of reading pleasure to people like me who live far away from India!
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