Two more books I read almost simultaneously,although they have nothing to do with each other but occasionally I enjoy simply switching between different literature,so these two were living next to each other,stuck somewhere near to my pillow.
"The Tipping point" by Malcolm Gladwell was calling my name for a long time,that little book simply looked intriguing. Contrary to what people think ("You can't judge book by its cover") t is the cover that first gets my attention - or not - this is something publishing companies are working on and I am sure they know what they are doing and why are doing it in particular way,however I am a life-long reader and there is a very special little bell inside that tells me "hm,this looks interesting" and it usually proves right. This fascinating book is about the point when a certain phenomenon "tips over" into epidemic,be it fashion,behavior,disease or say,crime. Gladwell did some very good research and comes with interesting points about human behavior - why we do the things we do - effortlessly jumping from one subject to the other,from history to present time,from children's TV show "Sesame street" to wave of suicides in South Pacific and back. One of the interesting points he makes is that every epidemic usually needs someone with strong personality (he calls them "connectors,mavens and salesmen") to lead the way and connect the right people. Another thing he mentions is how much people like to follow and repeat something that fascinated them - something that "sticks" (as opposite to everything else that "don't stick" no matter how much is invested in advertisements).
Interesting case is actually this book in itself - it really "sticks" because whoever reads it,talks about it to his friends and we are recommending it to each other without even noticing. I found myself quoting something from the book yesterday and explaining it to my friends,than saying to myself "you see,you got the bug already!"
The very first time I stumbled upon James Herbert,I read his novel "Nobody true" and was thrilled enough to give him chance several more times although nothing ever matched that first excitement - in fact,I noticed a certain sameness in his work so approached "48" with caution,ready to give up upon first negative character who happens to be big fat woman menacing the world. To my biggest surprise,this one turned out to be gripping read - in fact,action is happening so fast that I didn't have time to think about boredom,repeating or cliches - I was pulled on into never ending run through tunnels full of water,bombs falling on decrepit buildings,streets full of dead bodies and so on,really post apocalyptic world.
Sure,it is obvious re-thinking of "Omega Man" and "28 days later" but it's fine by me,I like apocalyptic worlds and one survivor fighting bad guys. This time Herbert sets his story in post WW2 Europe where germans have infected the whole world with some deadly virus and only handful survivors is left to fight pro-Nazi army who is searching for fresh blood (literary). The main hero is american pilot (Hoke) and if he is not exactly nice character, the story around him is interesting enough to keep you reading long into the night.
Interesting device: at the end of each chapter,Herbert introduces new twist in the story so it keeps you hooked and reader is pulled into next chapter.
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