2 Must Reads:1 Must See

in the past three weeks i had the good fortune to read two outstanding books and to view one outstanding movie. all three of these works have stayed in my thoughts for days afterwards.

the two books are "the blank slate" by steven pinker and "cloud atlas" by david mitchell.

the blank slate is non fiction, and deals with the theories and ideas of how our brain/mind is developed and what are the qualities that are caused by genetics and what qualities are caused by environment. this is not easy reading, but i would not call it difficult reading either. you do have to pay attention, but you don't have to be a scientist or a psychologist (i am neither) to understand pinkers arguments. i think the most pertinent sections for most people are the refutations pinker makes against what he believes are the false views that so many people seem to hold. pinker refutes views of the political and social right as well as the political and social left. pinker shows that the fears of the left wing and of the right wing about what the reality of brain development and brain function consist of are false as well as hurtfull. this is a must read if you are curious about our brains and human intelligence. your views and biases may be challenged, but if they are i think you will still respect pinkers sincerity and thoughtfullness.

cloud atlas is fiction. it is six stories that each take place at different times, three in the past, one in the present, and two in the future. the stories are connected by the souls of the characters which seem to be reborn into the main characters in each story. furthermore, mitchell breaks the first five of the stories in the middle and starts another story. then after the last story has ended each of the first five story endings are told in opposite succession that the stories started the book. this makes for a very interesting perspective when you read the endings because of the partial knowledge that you get from each first half of the stories and from the tension and anticipation of the action in the stories. mitchell filled each of these stories with passion and tension, and all of them are great, but the way he put them together really makes this book something superb. i think this is one of the best fiction books i have ever read, and i cannot recommend it highly enough!

the movie i saw (on dvd) is "the house of sand and fog". this movie was so well made that i am almost amazed that it didn't win a few oscars.. it is a tragic story though, and tragedies rarely do well against the usual feel good fairy tale crap in box office numbers and at award shows. anyway, i am not going to give away anything about this movie with a review. just rent it, turn off the phone when you sit down to watch it, and you will be riveted by this tale and the great performances by the cast !! (most famous of which are jennifer connelly and ben kingsly)