I have started The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson. I have been reading and enjoying Bryson’s books sine the early 1990s and have met the guy a couple of times - he is as charming as he sounds in his writing. He is one of very few authors whose work I simply buy on publication without hesitation. Here’s the blurb:
Twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his adopted country. The hilarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, was taken to the nation’s heart and became the bestselling travel book ever, and was also voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain.Now, to mark the twentieth anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey round Britain to see what has changed.
Following (but not too closely) a route he dubs the Bryson Line, from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath, by way of places that many people never get to at all, Bryson sets out to rediscover the wondrously beautiful, magnificently eccentric, endearingly unique country that he thought he knew but doesn’t altogether recognize any more. Yet, despite Britain’s occasional failings and more or less eternal bewilderments, Bill Bryson is still pleased to call our rainy island home. And not just because of the cream teas, a noble history, and an extra day off at Christmas.
Once again, with his matchless homing instinct for the funniest and quirkiest, his unerring eye for the idiotic, the endearing, the ridiculous and the scandalous, Bryson gives us an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.
28 Oct 2015
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less - by Barry Schwartz
This book was a fascinating read and opened my eyes to many aspects of modern psychology, apart from the main theme of “choice". The author investigates every facet of the main subject - how choice affects us from a psychologist’s perspective. This brings in discussions about control [or lack thereof] and much information about depression etc.
Apart from the discussion of the “problem” of choice, the author gives some sound advice about how the reader can handle the glut of options that assail our everyday life.
When I started the book, I was concerned that, being 10 years old, the book would be outdated, but that really was not the case. The book is also very American biased, but I did not feel that this detracted from the enjoyment or usefulness of the book to the non-American reader.
Apart from the discussion of the “problem” of choice, the author gives some sound advice about how the reader can handle the glut of options that assail our everyday life.
When I started the book, I was concerned that, being 10 years old, the book would be outdated, but that really was not the case. The book is also very American biased, but I did not feel that this detracted from the enjoyment or usefulness of the book to the non-American reader.
19 Oct 2015
What I'm reading ...
Time for non-fiction and I have started The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz. This book is about a topic to which I have given significant thought. It was recommended by a blogger whose ideas I generally find interesting and aligned with my own. Here’s the blurb:
Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented.
As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression.
In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse.
By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.
Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented.
As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression.
In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse.
By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.
A Place Called Winter - by Patrick Gale
By excitedly moving straight on to another book by an author, whose work I had just enjoyed, I was leaving myself open to disappointment. In this case, I was not disappointed. The book has a very manageable level of complexity - enough to make it interesting. Multiple timelines are employed, but not over-used, and they do not result in confusion. The characters are well drawn and, even if I do not like them all [the main protagonist is rather weak and stupid IMHO; another character is really unpleasant] I have a clear picture. Even though it is fiction, because it is based on some facts and I have faith in the author’s integrity, I feel I have learned about Canada of a century ago. Overall, this is an excellent book.
There is the temptation to just forge ahead and read all the rest of the author’s work straight away. But I will resist, saving that pleasure for another day.
There is the temptation to just forge ahead and read all the rest of the author’s work straight away. But I will resist, saving that pleasure for another day.
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