A room filled with books

What is more beautiful than a room filled with books? There are probably very many things like love, like catching a baby staring or smiling at you. But I love books, and that joy is complete when I find myself in a room filled with them, a garden of lights and heady smells, of sparkling … Read more

Creating Innovators

I have always been a rebel – against the course of content-cramming, and soulless educating in Nigeria. And I know what Mark Twain meant when he cautioned not to “allow [your] schooling to interfere with your education” – although I have suffered for it. Our academic systems gasp for relevance but they at least subsist, … Read more

David and Goliath

Little David killed Goliath Hallelu-hallelujah Little David killed Goliath Hallelujah Little David was a shepherd boy He killed Goliath and shouted for joy, ‘Hey!’ Remember the children’s song? In David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell begins with the story of David and Goliath recorded in 1 Samuel 17 in the … Read more

These Six Books

I didn’t read many books this year. I slowed way down due to rising commitments, life changes, and an inevitable reduction in stamina. The books got replaced by blog posts and online articles; I can imagine them adding up to a significant number of volumes if only I could collate them. But these six books … Read more

From Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath

“…There are real limits to what evil and misfortune can accomplish. If you take away the gift of reading, you create the gift of listening. if you bomb a city, you leave behind death and destruction. But you create a community of remote misses. If you take away a mother or a father, you cause suffering and despair. But one time in ten, out of that despair rises an indomitable force. You see the giant and the shepherd in the Valley of Elah and your eye is drawn to the man with the sword and shield and the glittering armor. But so much of what is beautiful and valuable in the world comes from the shepherd, who has more strength and purpose than we ever imagine.”

Books I Enjoyed Reading in the Last One Year

I have read–and listened to–more books in the last one year than during any one year. Some of them though published decades ago remain great reads. Do check them out and let me know what books are on your radar this year. Here are the ones I particularly enjoyed: Business & Entrepreneurship Blue Ocean Strategy – W. … Read more