Influence : The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini
This book is awesome. You must read it.
It is by far the most enjoyable book I have read in many years.
In fact, I liked it so much I just read it again.
The book describes the basic psychological factors that allow us to be influenced by others. For example, it describes the principle of scarcity, in which something in limited supply seems more desirable, and how salesmen can use this technique in subtle ways to increase the likelihood you will make a purchase. The book is loaded with interesting explanations and descriptions of numerous fascinating experiments and observations. As another example, did you know there is an increased frequency of airplane crashes following a widely publicized murder-suicide?
As an extra bonus, you'll learn how to identify and counteract the many tactics used by salesmen and others to influence your decision-making abilities in their favor. Similarly, an understanding of these techniques will allow you to use them for your own purposes, whether that's to build consensus on a group decision or to sell vacuum cleaners. I just can't say enough good things about this book. (Click here to see Amazon's entry for "The Psychology of Persuasion"
Neuromancer, by William Gibson (hardcover)
or
(paperback edition)
One of my favorite science fiction stories. Lots of fascinating
characters and devices make it a great read. William Gibson
sets the mood well and holds your interest throughout. The
only book I have ever read straight through twice in a row.
(Click here to see Amazon's entry
hardcover
or
paperback
)
Mandarin Chinese : A Functional Reference Grammar,
by Sandra A. Thompson, Charles N. Li
If you're struggling to learn Chinese, this book can help. Whereas
most Chinese language books seem to rely on memorization, this
book provides basic rules of grammer that help you understand
how sentences and words are assembled. Lots of examples and
a direct writing style make this book readable, too. This
certainly isn't a complete course in Chinese, but instead is a very
useful companion to other learning materials.
(Click here to see Amazon's entry)
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card (paperback)
or
(budget paperback)
or
(Leather Bound Limited Edition!)
A really enjoyable sci-fi story about three smart siblings and
a battle to save the Earth from aliens. It's a lot better than
it sounds, even if you don't like kids.
(Click here to see Amazon's entry
paperback
or
budget paperback
or
Leather Bound Edition
)
Followed by several
sequels/continuations, including
Speaker for the Dead
which is almost as good as the first one.
(Click here to see Amazon's entry)
Like a Hole in the Head
An amusing mystery novel involving a tough-girl used bookseller in
Los Angeles who gets mixed up with a flaming dwarf, a cool
assassin, and a variety of other interesting characters.
It's a fun read, though definitely in the brain candy category.
Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment, by W. Richard Stevens
If you program in a Unix environment, you ought to have this book. It
is chock full of descriptions and examples of everything from file I/O
to process control to signals to networking. Covers many flavors of
Unix. I use my copy regularly.
Windows 95 Secrets, by Brian Livingston (standard edition)
or
(GOLD edition)
I don't like Windows 95, but I do like this book. It makes the
evil that is Windows palatable, by providing clear and detailed
instructions for getting things to work the way they should.
The CD included in the standard edition has lots of good Windows95
freeware and shareware, too. The GOLD edition has
even more included goodies.
(Click here to see Amazon's entry
standard edition
or
GOLD edition
)
Computer Architecture : A Quantitative Approach,
by David A. Patterson, John L. Hennessy
If you're interested in computer architecture, this is the first book
you should buy. Of course, you probably know that already. If not,
well, now you do. Don't let the price scare you, it has lots of
pages so it works out.
(Click here to see Amazon's entry)
Table Tennis : Steps to Success
A detailed, thorough course in Table Tennis. Clearly describes how
the game is played, covering everything from grip and posture up
to advanced serves, returns, and strategy. It takes more than a book
to make you a great player, of course, but combining this book with
a partner and lots of practice is a pretty good start.
(Click here to see Amazon's entry)
Siblings Without Rivalry : How to
Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too
Another well regarded book by Adele Faber
(Click here to see Amazon's entry)
A Confederacy of Dunces
The amusing story of an educated misfit and his extreme difficulty finding
satisfactory employment. I can't say this novel is exactly laugh-out-loud
funny, but it is consistently interesting and worth a look.
(Click here to see Amazon's entry)
The Origins of Virtue : Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation
Ever wonder why people live in societies, whether or not there's
such thing as altruism, or why
atheists don't (usually) run around killing each other? Well, stop wondering
and read this book. Matt Ridley presents a very readable and interesting
overview of the ideas, theories, experiments, and results that seek
to explain the genetic origins of social behavior. It may not answer
all your questions, but it certainly makes you think. It also fits
in nicely with another of my favorite books,
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.
So check out both and enjoy!
(Click here to see Amazon's entry)
and see if my impression is correct.
All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic
Avenger : The Shocking True Story of Troma Studios
Troma Studios has released a long list of very low-budget but
profitable films, including the
Toxic Avenger series.
This book is their story, as told by Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman.
Next to Influence, this is
the book I most frequently recommend to others. It is full
of amusing anecdotes, plus real advice for aspiring filmmakers.
Even if you have no interest in making your own movies, I think
you could find this book very entertaining. I should point out
that Kaufman's humor in this book is similar to that of his
movies, i.e. bordering on disgusting or offensive, so it's
not for all tastes. Still, I can't remember another book
that had me laughing out loud as frequently as this one.
Das Boot: The Directors Cut
The story of a German U-Boat during WW2. Exciting and realistic,
this one gets my vote for the best WW2 movie of all time.
The version of Das Boot shown in theaters was excellent, but
this disc contains significant additional footage and a fantastic new
surround sound audio track. The video and audio quality are both
extremely good. Couple that with a movie that stands on its own,
and you have one of the best DVDs around.
The disc also features substantial extras, including a director's commentary and a short but interesting making-of featurette. For hard-core couch potatos, be warned the disc is a "flipper", meaning you'll have to get up at least once during its 209 minute running time to flip the disc. Personally, I'd be worried about anyone who didn't stand up at least once during that time.
Lady in White
"Lady In White" is the story of a boy who becomes involved in the
mystery of a murdered girl. His involvement begins when he gets
locked in the coat closet where she died, and he sees her ghost
reliving the murder. This movie is something of a rarity, in the
sense that it is quite scary and suspenseful without being gory.
While I have no problem with gore (see Dead
Alive below), it's always nice to see a movie that keeps you
on the edge of your seat without using meat hooks or chainsaws.
This DVD has extras, including audio commentary and the short version of the film that was used to interest investors. It's produced by Elite, and shows their usual attention to quality and detail.
12 Monkeys
A fantastic sci-fi movie. Terry Gilliam pairs his trademark
visual flare with an excellent script by David and Janet Peoples
(who also wrote the excellent
Blade Runner
and
Unforgiven
).
It's the story of a prisoner (Bruce Willis) in the distant future
who is sent back in time to the 1990s in an attempt to identify the cause
of a deadly plague that has wiped out most of the human
population and forced the survivors to live underground. This
is definitely a movie that benefits from repeated viewing, so
it's a film you'll want to own.
The DVD features a bunch of extra features, including a "making of" featurette and audio commentary by Terry Gilliam and producer Charles Raven.
Dark City
Another fantastic sci-fi movie. I'm not sure how I missed
this movie when it played in theaters. This is real sci-fi, not
just another buddy cop movie set in space. The main character awakens
in a strange room with no memory of how he got there, after having
apparently murdered a
prostitute. He soon finds that he is being pursued by the police
and by strange, powerful, black-clad beings brandishing knives.
The DVD features TWO audio commentaries and a bunch of other
extras, which push it way over the "must-have" line.
Click here to see the Amazon page for Dark City
Dead Alive (aka Brain Dead)
Danger: this film is really gory. Gore is the point of
the film, so if blood, vomit, or dismemberment offend you, stop
reading now.
This one is in a class by itself. Well, at least until Bad Taste becomes available on DVD. The story is largely irrelevant, since the real goal of the movie is to show ridiculously graphic violence and ludicrous amounts of gore. It's all done to humorous levels, which makes this film enjoyable instead of sick. The story involves a rat monkey whose bite can turn people into flesh-eating zombies. When the monkey claims some victims in a small town, all Hell breaks loose.
I first saw this movie in a theater with my wife, much to her dismay. Trust me when I say this is not a date movie.
Video Essentials
The standard reference disc for setting up and maintaining
your home theater system. The disc provides instructions and
test signals to let you optimally adjust video and audio.
I have used this disc to adjust my television's brightness,
contrast, and color settings. The process is pretty easy,
and does help you get the best possible picture. I can't
say that the post-adjustment image was dramatically superior
to the pre-adjustment image, but I do think it looks better.
The Seventh Seal
The Criterion edition of Ingmar Bergman's classic. Need I say more?
The disc includes a pretty impressive extra feature that demonstrates
the restoration process. Criterion really did an amazing job.
Unforgiven
Clint Eastwood's classic story of a less-than-glamorous Wild West.
One of my favorite movies of all time, this DVD was one of the
first showcases for the promise of DVD technology. There aren't
a lot of extras, unfortunately, but the movie itself is so good
it demands repeated viewings.
For a Few Dollars More
Part 2 of the classic Spaghetti Wester trilogy, starring the incomparable
Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. Preceeded by "Fistful Of Dollars"
and followed by "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".
Young Frankenstein
Mel Brook's classic spoof of the classic horror films gets the
deluxe treatment from 20th Century Fox. The word on the street
is that in addition to an excellent video and audio transfer,
the extras on this disc (commentary and more) make it one of
the best deals going.
Casablanca
While I'm generally no fan of romance movies, I love this
one. Bogart is The Man. In addition to being chock
full of quotable lines,
Casablanca
has a good story with lots of great characters. I have seen the
film several times on television and video, and I'm really looking
forward to seeing it again in full DVD quality. Also, the disc
features a short "making of" documentary, which makes
it an even better value.
Gone With the Wind
I saw this movie for the first time on this DVD, and it really
is a great film. The DVD looks very good, and is well worth
owning.