Gems from Warren Buffett by Mark Gavagan (ARC)

Hmm... where to begin? Well, for one, I'm a huge fan of Warren Buffett. I don't know why, I guess it's because he seems like a nice person. Well, after reading this book, I'm an even bigger fan! Gems from Warren Buffett: Wit and Wisdom from 34 years of letters to Shareholders is simply of book of quotes from his letters.

The book is quite short but that's ok. The material is very funny. I really wish that my IB textbook was this funny, I would even more gladly look forward to reading it again and again (and again and again for exams). No wait, I take that back, I wish for the shareholder reports to be this interesting instead (I can still enjoy reading my textbook, I haven't learnt how to do that for shareholder's reports.

So, without further ado, here are some of my favourite quotes:

"Purchase -price accounting adjustments are ignored for reasons we have explained at length in previous reports and which, as an act of mercy, we won't repeat. (We'll be glad to send masochists the earlier explanations, however)." (1995 letter)

"You can live a full and rewarding life without every thinging of Goodwill and its amortization. But students of investment and management should understand the nuances of the subject." (1983 letter)

And finally,

"Were I to die tomorrow, ... Berkshire's earnings would increase by $1 million annually, since Charlie would immediately sell our corporate jet, The Indefensible (ignoring my wish that it be buried with me)." (1990 letter)

I should also mention that 20% of sales (not profits, that's an important difference) will go to a charity that Mr Buffett personally supports :D

Disclaimer: I got this book free from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

Poirot - The Perfect Murders by Agatha Christie

A few days ago, I shared a teaser from this book. Well, I had some free time (and this book is addictive), so I've finished it earlier than planned. If you haven't heard of this book, it's simply an omnibus of the four most (supposedly) difficult cases ever encountered by Hercule Poirot.

The first book was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It was also, for some reason, the story I took the longest to finish. But to be fair, it's also the longest story. The story is quite "Miss Marple" in setting, a small town (lots of gossip) and murder.

I was very amused to see that they played Mah-Jong, although I cannot recognise the words that they spoke at all.

But with regards to plot... well, the book is rather winding at time. And -spoiler alert- I thought that the plot was very unfair to the reader due to the choice of the narrator. There is maybe one hint (told to us at the end), but the reader doesn't have any chance of figuring out the murderer at all.

The second book was Murder on the Orient Express. I really enjoyed reading this one. The clues, taken individually are so puzzling, but as a coherent whole, it makes a lot of sense. And this book invoked some 'deeper thinking' as it considers the idea of justice. What is justice? Is it the Law? Or something entirely different?

And, I thought the character of M. Bouc was very endearing. I don't think we're given enough of the other characters, so in this book, it is the character of Poirot and M. Bouc that stands out. Even though the doctor accompanies them throughout the story, I found myself forgetting his presence quite frequently.

Murder in the Mews is the third and shortest book of the four; I finished it in one go. But even though it's short, the twists and turns of the story is ingenious. But also because it's short, the characterisation is woefully lacking, unless you count on learning more about characters you already know.

Finally, Hercule Poirot's Christmas. This book, and Murder on the Orient Express, tie for the favourite novel of this omnibus. There is a diverse cast of characters and the book is sufficiently long for the reader to get to know all of them. In fact, I liked all the characters except George and his wife Magdalene. Those two were irritating >.<

I can actually visualise this story as a movie/episode in a series. In fact, I think a show might be better, because of certain visual details that could be included (this is only if the casting is done right though! Or if this was animated, then we won't have to worry about casting choice).

I highly recommend this omnibus. In fact, if you're moving and have to limit the number of books you bring along, buy this book. It counts as one book (physically) but has the content of four. ^^

Overdressed by Elizabeth E. Cline (ARC)

I remember reading a book like this before. It was about branding and clothes and through this topic, I actually understood a lot more about IP rights and stuff. Sadly, I forgot the title so I can't share it with you. But, what I'm trying to say is that this book is just like that - excellent, amusing and educational.

Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion takes a deeper look into the implications of cheap fashion like H&M, Target, etc It's actually a very well-down piece of research, seeing how the author actually went to China and other countries to understand how the clothes are produced.

Even though I myself hardly buy clothes (really, why buy clothes when you can buy books?) I thought this book was very interesting. It seems to cross genres, cover personal experiences, the business managements part, the economics behind this industry, etc. There's even some history in it, if you count the fact that she traces how consumer expenditure on clothing has changed throughout the years, and the socio-economic conditions that accompany/cause each change.

I actually agree with the main thrust of the book. Cheap clothes are a vicious cycle. It makes sense that if you pay less, you value the object less (well, unless it's a book). And if you look at things like Economies of Scale and profitability margins, then the quality of the good has to go down since quality is inversely related to price (think of demand and supply).

Honestly, growing up, I always wore hand-me-downs, so I don't really have the "disposable clothes" mentality that she had. I did try shopping at a cheap fashion store once (I think it's bankrupt now), but I really didn't like the clothes (...so loud...so garish...-shudder-). I tend towards pink(:

If you like the book (and I did), then you should be pleased to know that there is also a blog! It's called The Good Closet and the posts there are thought provoking and interesting (there's a nice mix of both types).

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

TGIF #1

Hello, today, I decided to take part in TGIF. Actually, it's just because I really like the question(: Anyway, TGIF is a meme from GReads and well, I hope to take part in it more often (it really depends on the questions...)

So, this week's question is:

Reading Blues: We all get them from time to time. What helps you overcome those reading slumps when nothing seems to grab your attention?

Hmm... I seem to get blogging blues more than reading blues. I just don't feel like writing down my feelings (even though I may have a lot). I deal with that, however, by simply taking a break, because I don't want blogging to turn into a chore. That being said, it's very rare for me to have a reading slump. In fact, I normally have the opposite problem, too many books to read! But when I do get these rare slumps, I normaly re-read an old favourite, like Sarah Dessen or Agatha Christie until I find what I need. Sometimes, I need really weird books, like a business and management textbook :p Once I re-read, I tend to get out of the reading slump and all these new books suddenly look enticing again(:

So, what do you do when you have a reading slump?