- 'The Notebook' by Nicholas Sparks - I'd vaguely heard about Sparks as being a bestselling author, and picked up this book spontaneously just before getting out of a bookstore. I've hardly read anything in the romance genre, but if this is what a typical book in that category is like, then it clearly is not for me :-) Page after page of 'everlasting perfect love' for over 200 pages in cliche ridden prose soon got me impatient and restless. I've always thought of myself as a romantic at heart, but I believe I like the Wodehousian kind of romanctic writing best - light, funny, and way more realistic ! :-) I think I might have liked this book more had the same theme been compressed into a 20 page short story. 20 pages of 'everlasting perfect love' is acceptable ...;)
- 'The Rare Find - spotting exceptional talent before everyone else' by George Anders - This is a topic that is very close to my heart - How do you identify and nurture great talent ? How do you spot people whose greatest talent/potential is yet to be realised ? How do you differentiate between those who possess superficial charisma, and the seemingly 'plodding' folks who exhibit less glamorous traits that ironically contribute to long term success? Anders provides answers to questions like these in wide ranging areas.
I loved this book, and its thoughts resonated almost perfectly with my own.. A couple of decades down the line, at the peak of my career, I don't see myself minting millions as a 'stock research analyst' down the wall street - rather, I see myself in a well lit room, with sunlight streaming in through the windows, surrounded by a bunch of bright, and perhaps a little shy high-school kids, as I work at unearthing their best .. It remains to be seen if this will actually come true, but the thought alone appeals to me very strongly :-)
The bottomline - Resilience, and character are valued in field after field and are much stronger indicators of long term success than perhaps anything else.
2 comments:
When I saw "Nicholas Sparks" on your blog, I was more than intrigued :). Haha, I can imagine your experience reading his epic romance! Even a dreamy person like me can't stand his books!
The Rare Find sounds like a great book. Definitely going in my pile.
I have to say, the image you describe is very fulfilling and meaningful. I am sure you will find a way to turn it to reality.
Along those lines, have you heard of the Khan Academy? (http://www.khanacademy.org/)
I think you would be a fantastic mentor and volunteer...if you have the time :).
Neeraja, Thanks a lot for this pointer !! I hadn't heard of the Khan Academy .. Just saw the website - looks very interesting.. Will look into it in more detail.. :-)
haha yes, nicholas sparks is not my cup of tea :-)
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