Saturday, February 18, 2012

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain


I have already recommended this book to many of my friends. I rarely run across a book this thought provoking. It challenged my ideas about stereotypes of introverts and extroverts and helped me realize so much more about myself. Even though I am outgoing, I am in my heart an introvert. Another "ah-ha" moment for me when reading this book is how we as a culture, especially in schools and the workplace, place such a high value on extroversion, when in fact introverts have so much to offer. It made me think twice about emphasizing group work, as often we do our best, most cocentrated work alone.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes


Reviews that I read about this book called the ending intriguing and confusing, so I thought it might be interesting to check it out. Set in England, this book chronicles the young life and mid life of Tony and his complicated relationship with his friend, Adrian and former girlfriend, Veronica. I enjoyed the book just fine and especially appreciated how it highlights how complicated some relationships can be in life. A little bit of a mystery lies at the end, and has a simple, yet surprising answer.