Blink

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell was an easy to read, entertaining book, that was perfect vacation reading.  In fact I read most of it on vacation, nearly two weeks ago, and just got around to reading the last two chapters this past weekend; not because I wasn’t interested but because I was distracted.  I finished just in time too, it is due back at the library tomorrow.

I have to admit the book was interesting and it wasn’t exactly what I expected it to be.  Certainly it made me think about the world, how we perceive the world, and how and why we do the things we do in a different way.  Generally any book that makes me think about my life differently or change my perception of things is successful, whether I agree with the author or not.  Generally what I find enjoyable or interesting about a book is about the internal revelations or conversations I have with myself because I have read the book.  If the conversations lead to some kind of insight, intended by the author not, the book was an enjoyable and interesting experience.  This book provided that insight because it made me look at some of my assumptions and judgments and look at them in a different way.

But the book has its faults and in some ways the book can be used as an apology or a defense for all kinds of snap judgments and assumptions that a society or some aspect of it want us to make.  I don’t believe that is the intention here, but it is inescapable.   And at times the research seemed spotty or inconclusive, as if we had a bunch of vignettes or examples of things that may be true but it was a bit of a stretch to make them related.  At other times connections seemed more direct and inevitable. 

In the end, what we read and learn can add to our insights and our ability to make good decisions and do the "right thing".  But only if we allow our mind to grow and discern.  This is true of books or anything in life.  Blink made me think about the pros and cons of the kind of decisions we make on a daily basis.  It was a book I enjoyed reading.  It is not a book to treasure and come back to again and again.