http://www.indigocafe.com Book Reviews and Columns from Our Members Copyright 2005 - 2007 Indigo Cafe & Books, Inc. en-us http://www.indigocafe.com/img/indigo-logo.jpg http://www.indigocafe.com http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=121 Jennifer Brissett 2007-12-13 This is a test ... http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=93 Geoff Wisner 2007-12-10 What makes us happy? And why do we do such a poor job answering that question? These are the topics addressed with considerable insight, and a lot of jokes, in 'Stumbling on Happiness' by Daniel Gilbert, a professor of psychology at Harvard. Rather than try to reproduce Gilbert's argument, I will just touch on some of the observations and conclusions that I found most interesting. The wisdom of a decision, the Dutch thinker Daniel Bernoulli once proposed, can be calculated ... http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=94 Geoff Wisner 2007-12-10 I found out about 'Erasure' from a reading list that accompanied the article Writers Like Me by Martha Southgate, about the obstacles that face black writers in America. The list included David Bradley and Reginald McKnight, two of my favorite authors, so I figured it was worth digging deeper. 'Erasure' is so good that I was embarrassed not to know about it already. It was doubly embarrassing to find that the author has published thirteen previous books that I also ... http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=92 Geoff Wisner 2007-12-07 When people recommend books to me, I listen, but I pay attention to who's doing the recommending. A couple of people told me I should read 'The DaVinci Code', for instance, but they weren't people whose literary taste I trusted. On the other hand, 'The Kite Runner' came with an enthusiastic recommendation from several of the most serious readers in my office. I borrowed a copy, and I was soon absorbed in the life of Amir and Hassan, two boys ... http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=37 Jennifer Brissett 2007-12-04 These are the books the group has been reading and that we discussed in the last Meetup. The were varied, interesting, and great fodder for the thought provoking discussion we shared. It was great meeting with all of you. Please feel free to add any comments to the books on the Indigocafe.com site. Thanks to everyone that made it to the Meetup! And to all those who couldn't come I hope we will see you next time! We will meet ... http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=32 Jennifer Brissett 2007-11-02 I read this during my vacation. It wasn't quite a downer, but it wasn't the spirit lifter that I would suggest for leisure vacation reading either. The one thing that I can say about this title is that it is one amazing book and I am really glad that I read it. I'm not sure that I can add anymore to what has been already said about this book. After all, it has racked up a lot of critical acclaim ... http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=109 Geoff Wisner 2007-09-13 'The Dip' is Seth Godin's shortest book yet. It doesn't give you a whole new way of looking at marketing, the way 'Purple Cow' did, but it does address an important question: When do you quit what you're doing and try something else? Achieving anything valuable is generally hard. If it weren't hard, everyone would do it and the prize would no longer be scarce and therefore valuable. In the quest for the prize, the fun of getting started ... http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=110 Jennifer Brissett 2007-09-10 Zadie Smith wrote this really nice piece on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God for the 'Guardian'. It reminded me how I discovered the book. When I was a teenager a woman named Alta Star (yes, her real name) gave me a book of collected writings of Hurston's called I Love Myself When I am Laughing. I didn't know what to make of it, so it sat on my shelf until I went ... http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=114 Jennifer Brissett 2007-08-23 Planet Chomsky is an Internet radio station dedicated to the speeches of Noam Chomsky. It boasts 'over 140 hours' of Chomsky speeches, interviews, talk, and lectures. This is proof that you can find just about anything on the Internet. (Isn't great!) This station is perfect for those of you who are unfortunate enough to have never heard Noam Chomsky speak (and for those of you who are looking for a new more inventive way to torture that friend or ... http://www.indigocafe.com/columns/article.php?c=33 Jennifer Brissett 2007-08-15 I was so excited to get this graphic novel. I can't even tell you how much. Neil Gaiman trying something new is a real treat. But I'm afraid that this title left me cold. I expect more from Neil Gaiman. Or is it, I expect more from this genre. It used to be enough for comics to be about superheros flying around and hitting people, but that simply is not enough anymore. It hasn't been for a really long time. ...