Reviews
Below is a listing of movie, restaurant and book reviews. The primary area of restaurant reviews will come from Mississauga and the greater Toronto area; the primary subject of books will be maketing, sales, stock market, and business in general.
Outliers: The Story of Successby Malcolm GladwellThe second book I've read by Malcolm and again, I was pleasantly surprised. He explains how there are groups of people who for one reason or another, have success by 'chance' - although lucky might not anything to do with it. The book dispells the idea that if you work hard enogh, you will succeed. There are many examples how some very smart people never get the chance to succeed, while others do. Malcolm covers everything from hockey players, to Bill Gates, to Jewish immigrants to his own parents. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in socialogical phenomenon. My rating: 9/10 |
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Differenceby Malcolm GladwellThe title of the book leads to the phenomena that when something becomes popular, it reaches a tipping point where it catches fire to become an epidemic. The author generalizes it all into three rules: The Law of the Few, The Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. While the author is not an officially-published psychology professor, he wrote this book to help people make sense of human nature. The book is very entertaining to read with great stories and insights into them. This is my first Gladwell book and I loved it. I definitely recommend it and I'll be looking into reading his other books, Blink and Outliers. My rating: 9/10 |
The Wealthy Barberby David ChiltonThe story of a Barber who didn't make much money through his career, yet managed to retire wealthy. The book is organized like a story, but divided into chapters which explain different activities one can do to put away money for retirement. Examples are wills, life insurance, home investment, and RRSP's. This is definitely one of the easier reads of all the personal investment books. It was published in 1989 and remarkably all concepts still hold true today. This is another recommended reading for everyone who needs a pointer on basic pesonal savings and investment. My rating: 8/10 |
Influence - The Psychology of Persuasionby Robert CialdiniThe author uses 6 simple techniques to illustrate how anyone can persuade another to say 'yes'. The 6 techniques are: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. By writing in a simple style and using stories as examples, it creates an easy and memorable read so anyone can pick up the book and read in a few hours. Along the same lines as the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, I recommend this book to anyone who wants to persuade people with social engineering, whether it be in business or personal life. My rating: 8.5/10 |
How to Win Friends and Influence Peopleby Dale CarnegieHonestly, this is the first book I've completed in about 6 years. I'm not a reader, I was never a reader, but Mr. Carnegie should feel proud that his book is the first one I've decided to read after a – long – break. He should also feel proud with the fact that I thought it was a good book. One that anyone who wants to know more about human behaviour in respect to sales and business in general should read. It discusses little triggers that help manipulate people, and I mean that in a nice way, if that's possible. The book is not about forceful salesmanship, and more about using language to steer conversations and thought processes in the right direction. If you want to learn how to win friends and influence people (The title is quite fitting, isn't it), please read this book. My rating: 8/10 |
Ray's Pizza
27 Prince Street, New York City, NY
I've had the craving to go to this restaurant after seeing a program on TV about how it was the first "Ray's" pizza in New York City. Then reading a bit more on wikipedia, my craving only grew stronger! I had the opportunity to go when my brother and I visited the city in October 2008. We made the trek down from 53rd Street to Prince Street (and at one point, taking the wrong train and having to walk a few blocks) in one piece. I was a little disappointed in the appearance of the place. I had imagined a larger, modern restaurant as it appeared on TV. Also, there was no one else in the small take-out style store (I thought it was famous!), at least there was no line up. So we both got slices. It was either, order a large pizza or a slice. I got one with ricotta cheese. The verdict: I wasn't entirely impressed. Yes, it was a good slice, nicely baked on the bottom, well cooked on top, and a rather large size at that; but it wasn't over-the-top, better-than-life delicious.
My ratings:
Store: 6/10 (I was disappointed in the appearance)
Service: 7/10 (You can't get much better in NYC)
Food: 7.5/10
Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usabilityby Steve KrugSteve Krug’s book, Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability is a no nonsense guide to website usability. It demonstrates what to do and what not to do to retain users of the website without losing them due to faulty design. Krug uses Jacob Neilson’s recommendations of website usability and explains them in his book in very easy to understand terms. The title of the book itself explains its main point, don’t make the user think when trying to find something on the webpage. It should be logically laid out so the users experience is more about the content than the site navigation. And when I say content, I mean the content that is left after its been cut down by 75% as recommended by Krug. If you or someone you know is designing their website, this book is one of the most highly recommended as a starter guide. My rating: 8.5/10 |
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