Book #4: The Tipping Point

This is such an easy read, but still it took me a couple of weeks. Whatever -- I'm still done my fourth book of the year!!

The subtitle for this book is "How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" and Gladwell's book is an example of this. The book came out in 2000, and now, newer versions contain an Afterword about companies and people big and small who've initiated a difference in their own ways and own lives after reading The Tipping Point. Like a library that wasn't clearly visible, that put out a sign around the corner so people could find it. Love it. (Oh, and I'm glad I read the Afterword even though I wasn't going to, because technically if I'd read the book in 2000 there wouldn't have been an afterword so I would've been finished the book a half-hour earlier, but really, what's a half-hour when it took me two weeks to read the book?

The book, much like Blink, uses examples to illustrate Gladwell's point, in this case, why some behaviours and events cause epidemics and why others don't. While Blink used shorter chapters and more examples than The Tipping Point, Gladwell's debut still brings up quite a few interesting topics, including a few of my favourites: cigarettes, Columbia House Records and Rebecca Wells' Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. The Sesame Street/Blue's Clues chapter went on a bit too long. I mean, I'm just not sure how knowing how many times kids can watch the same episode of SS in a row without becoming bored can really help me in my day to day life. Still, I learned that Big Bird and Oscar weren't slated to interact with the people in their neighbourhood. And where would we be if they hadn't, you ask? Well we wouldn't have Avenue Q -- which isn't Gladwell's point but since Avenue Q is my favourite Broadway show, I thought about it.

Definitely a worthwhile (and quick) read. You know, for most people.

Which means, I'm on to Book #5!