Flint for Dreams

California: A History by Kevin Star is a book which covers the history of California including the discovery and settlement by the Spanish up to the recent governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The book covers the boom of California, how it grew to be one of the largest economies in the world, and several of the problems it may face in dealing with its growth and diversity. My own experience living in San Francisco California contradicts a lot of what this book asserts and I can not completely agree with the general tone or feel of the work.

The book does, however, give a report of how California came to be, and while it may not be very compelling or inspiring, is still worth a read if you care about California.

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin states that the best marketing is built into the product, stimulating word of mouth. While it is a good book, it makes many assertions about effective advertising without the data to back it. In a way, Seth is selling you on his theory. That said, there are many good insights and ideas in this book that might stimulate you to think outside the box when creating or marketing a new product.

The key points from the book are:

1. Don't be boring
2. Safe is risky
3. Design rules now
4. "Very good" is "bad": ie, The opposite of remarkable is "very good" since "very good" is the expectation.

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller is a well written book, and Helen Keller is no doubt a literary genius. The book also reveals what the world must be like for the deaf and blind and Helen shows readers a new world of deep sensuality.

I had now the key to all language, and I was eager to learn to use it. Children who hear acquire language without any particular effort; the words that fall from others' lips they catch on the wing, as it were, delightedly, while the little deaf child must trap them by a slow and often painful process. But whatever the process, the result is wonderful. Gradually from naming an object we advance step by step until we have traversed the vast distance between our first stammered syllable and the sweep of thought in a line of Shakespeare.

The book also discusses Helen's disillusionment with University and higher education, as well as the importance of her teacher and friends in her life. The book is a good read, though it does tend to run long at times.

New Miss India by Bharati Mukherjee is an inside look at what it must be like to be a village girl in India fleeing arranged marriage in a small Indian town for a call center job in booming Bangalore (the Silicon Valley of India). The story taught me about the struggles on Indian people, and particularly Indian women. It brought to light the lack of social justice, the prevalence of corruption, organized crime, and the abandonment of traditional values in India which have good and bad consequences. I recommend this book for these insights despite the sometimes annoying or predictable scenes Mukherjee uses that are more like scenes from a movie as opposed to creative fiction.