Books returned.

Okay, now you can borrow MTV Guide to Italy and The Tipping Point. They've both came home :)

What the Dog Saw - Malcolm Gladwell.

Gladwell is arguable one of the best writers with the most prolific minds in this generation. And definitely one of my idol writers. 'What the dog saw' provides a different angle to social phenomenon that we so easily misconstrue on the cause and result. The book is essentially a collection of all his work featured in The New Yorker.

Famed from 'The tipping point', 'Blink' and 'The Outliers', Malcolm Gladwell is an inquisitive writer, investigatively poking into every subject imaginable in the business and social realm to get us to rethink the norm and re-evaluate our judgements. Leaf through the pages and you'll realise more and more questions popping in your mind versus a research that the writer would normally 'report' to you. And these questions don't leave you hanging, if at all, it makes our mind work harder and our moral values stronger because we shouldn't jump into conclusions just because it's a collective result neither should we rely on intelligent people to make intelligent decisions all the time.

I'd highly recommend planners to read all of his books. It certainly helped me to look at things from another perspective. It's not merely about looking in from outside the box. It's about dismantling the box and rebuilding it in a different way altogether. Buy it or rent it. Just read it.

Lonely Planet - France.

To France, to France. Again LP has one of the most comprehensive directory and travel ideas when it comes to catering to the independent traveller. Between Lonely Planet and Frommer's France 2010, the latter is catered to those with a mid to high range budget. Therefore, if you're looking to travel on a shoestring or at least a combination of budget and luxe then, pick this up instead.

Although, I have to admit I'm getting a little bored with the LP series. Although, yea they do seem like the most comprehensive travel guide available now. And once you're accustomed it its content structure, it does make navigation and planning a whole lot easier so that you can relax on your journey. I've been researching and planning 5 days a week, so I actually would appreciate less work and planning when it comes to holidays. Maybe I'm speaking of an untapped market here? For executives who unlike the globe trotters on Travel and Living who don't want to think for themselves for a change (or at least for 2 weeks), it will be great to have someone else do the planning. Oh well, Lonely Planet is a good start ;)

Oliver Jeffers - The Incredible Book Eating Boy.

Another wonderful and heart warming tale about a boy who has an insatiable appetite for books but in a rather peculiar manner. Soon, he learned that he needs to (as the title suggests) stop eating em' books!

Needless to say the artwork which comes with the story is simply adorable. Even if you're not a fan of children books, it's worth collecting as an illustrator's inspiration.

Oliver Jeffers - Lost and Found.

Simply adorable illustration with an admirable story of love. Lost and Found is like one of those 'Little Prince' type of children books - masquerading itself as child's bedtime story but in reality, the adult probably get more out of it. Sometimes, we forget. We forget who we are, we forget about our friends and we forget even, about the simplicity of love, companionship and innocence while growing up. And Oliver Jeffers managed to bring them all back to mind in these few but wonderfully illustrated pages.

Just remember, sometimes we're not lost. We're just lonely.