April 24, 2010

at Saturday, April 24, 2010 Labels: Posted by Billy 0 comments

I never have done much reading about psychology before so I thought this book would be a good change of pace for me. The book was easy to read and covered the general ideas about how evolution cause major deficiencies in our brains. Most people don't realize how imperfect we actually are, but just by learning about it we can avoid certain downfalls that all people are prone too.

It was a quick and enjoyable read, but I didn't learn a whole lot from it, probably because I read much about evolution before. Still, I recommend this book for all non-psychology students so they can better understand who they are.

April 11, 2010

at Sunday, April 11, 2010 Labels: Posted by Billy 0 comments

Set in the 1800s, the Piano Tuner is a well written novel about an ordinary man who journey's to the remote jungles of Burma on an odd mission from the British military. There he experiences sights and sounds that he had never seen before, met many interesting people and discovered a source of excitement that was missing from his bland life.

Without revealing any spoils, I found the ending of this book highly engaging, but it still served as a poor penance for the uneventful, unexciting story leading up to it. I found the main character lacking any charm or personality whatsoever. In a sense, I found him distasteful and selfish for leaving his wife behind while seeking adventure. And all through his journey, he did nothing to change his attitude, nothing to prove his worth as a character who deserved respect and admiration.

Though I dislike giving negative reviews, I cannot recommend this book to anyone, but I'm sure others will have different opinions.