How We Decide

How We Decide
Jonah Lehrer
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009
265 pgs.


I’ll be honest…

I am not normally drawn to these types of books. You know the type… science and self-help or pseudoscience or whatever you want to call it. Science has never been an area that has piqued my interest, and a book describing the inner-workings of the brain and why we do things wouldn’t usually make me glance twice. Nevertheless, I was intrigued and decided to give it a try.

The biggest kudo I could give to this book is this: readability. The book is such a smooth read, with author Jonah Lehrer seamlessly interweaving the scientific numbers and definitions with real life stories on what people have done and why they do it. He describes tests that have been done and in what way the results show how the brain reacts and works in our lives.

Whether Lehrer is writing about firefighters, pilots, poker players, or your average shopper, How We Decide describes the strengths and weaknesses of our brains. He shows when we make decisions based on rational thought, and when those decisions are made through our emotions. After finishing the book, the author asks the reader to remember one key concept, “Whenever you make a decision, be aware of the kind of decision you are making and the kind of thought process it requires.”

While this book isn’t out to cure all stupid decisions we will make (we will always have “buyers remorse” or choose green when we wanted to choose red), it does help explain why we make these decisions and how they affect us every day. Grumpy around 3 in the afternoon at work? Maybe it’s because the diet you are on is limiting your sugar intake, which helps fuel the brain and, in turn, doesn’t allow the brain to monitor your negative emotions. Spending too much? Ask yourself how much you’d spend on items if there were no credit cards and only cash. And while some of his observations are not groundbreaking (credit cards lead to debt) the book encapsulates the inner-workings of the mind in such a succinct manner and allows the reader to relate through great visualization.

So to be honest, I really enjoyed How We Decide and would recommend it to anyone that is curious on why and how we make the decisions we make.

How We Decide

Tea With Hezbollah

Tea With Hezbollah
Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis
Doubleday Religion, 210
262 pgs.

I’ll be honest…

I really wanted to like this book when I started to read it. It was an interesting premise: go over to the Middle East and ask members of parties, factions, etc. simple questions such as their favorite joke, what makes them laugh, and so forth. Above all, the authors wanted to hear their thoughts on what they considered the most sacred lesson: love your neighbor as you love yourself. Can someone truly love their enemies, especially in what is considered one of the most volatile parts in the world?

The authors state that they wanted to go over to Saudia Arabia, Lebenon, and other places close by to ask these questions from a neutral point of view; they were not trying to look at things through a political or religious lens. However, as you read on through the book you find that this is a noble, yet impossible task. It does not help that Ted Dekker is a noted Christian fiction writer, and, while his talents can be seen in his words, you can see that he is unable to remain completely neutral. Again, this isn’t a negative thing whatsoever; however, he is dooming himself by stating in his thesis that he will remain completely neutral, when in reality this is practically an impossible task no matter who you are.

The best parts of the book are the transcripts of the intereviews that Dekker and Medearis have sprinkled through. They include these in the book so that the reader can take the words of the interviewee and not have them be filtered through the authors. This is an excellent tool, and I found myself looking forward to the next transcript since I was not being drawn into the book through the author’s words. Unfortunately, and for reasons I do not quite comprehend, they do not fully complete this process. One of the last interviews is not included, presumably because it would’ve been too long, and the author was having an epiphany during this particular interview. Nevertheless, I felt cheated and angry at the author’s selfishness of focusing on his own thoughts during an interview that the author does not deem worthy enough to share with the reader.

So to be honest, I did not like this book when I finished. I wanted to. I really did. But in the end it buckled under the intentions of the authors. It did show a side of people that are unfairly vilified in this country, forcing the reader to see the humanity in each and every one of them. The whole time I was reading the book I was invited to see things from a new perspective, and it was something that I enjoyed doing. I wish I could recommend this to people (and I might now and again), but I will offer a warning when I do.

Tea With Hezbollah

Wake Up Dead

I’ll be honest…

I love a good thriller/crime novel. I have been reading (and addicted to) the John Sandford ‘Prey’ novels for many years now. The problem with being infatuated with one particular author and/or series is that it prohibits you from exploring other authors. Now I’m sure many of you do not have this same problem, but unfortunately I have not been able to indulge as many authors of the thriller/crime genre as I would like. Then one day recently, while walking through the main area at the Central Library, I noticed the book Wake Up Dead and, for whatever reason, snatched it up and checked it out.

“Is it good?” you ask. Simple answer: Yes. More accurate answer: It is amazing. However, I must pause when considering if I should be recommending the book to anyone. It is such a brutally violent tale, and Smith’s writing is so crisp and descriptive, that I was thinking over scenes in the book days after finishing it. The characters he creates are not the most original, but there is a depth given, most likely due to the fact that there really isn’t a “good” person. The protagonists in Wake Up Dead and Smith’s other book, Mixed Blood, all have flaws or have committed heinous acts. This is not a turn off, but rather gives the book a seedy element that allows for some guilty pleasure addiction to wonder who gets punished and how.

Smith is able to create great characters, but his best character is the city where the story takes place. As a native of Cape Town, Smith has insight into the beautiful and dangerous city in South Africa. I have never had any inclination to visit Africa, but after reading his books I am compelled to stroll down the streets of the city, sit at the cafés and witness the city’s citizens and visitors. This same lush illustration of the city is also used against it, as I feel like I’ve witnessed many crimes in person that happen in what is considered one of the more dangerous cities in the world. Smith’s illustrative descriptions of Cape Flats, the not-so-nice part of Cape Town makes one shudder.

So to be honest, I loved this book but would caution anyone about to start it. If you can deal with vivid, graphic violent confrontations then please read this book. If you know you do not enjoy reading about murders and characters acting on their least likable instincts, then this is not for you. If you’re unsure, I would say give it 25 pages…that’s all you’ll need to know if you’ll love it or hate it.

Wake Up Dead