the art of distinct thinking - rolf dobelli (2011)

rolf dobelli has published columns in several journals. a collection from his writing about all kind of thinking-errors that the human race tends to make, has now been published in this book:

the swimmer's body illusion for example describes the wrong belief that if you start swimming you'll get a swimmer's body. it is the other way round: if you have a swimmer's body, your sport of choice is probably swimming, because you have natural advantages for it. same about cosmetic-product-models on tv, they are not pretty because they wear make-up, they make ads for cosmetics because they are beautiful people.

that's just one of the 52 misunderstandings and twisted thought-schemes, that are explained in an easy understandable and funny way, always with some nice anecdotes and examples. even if i already knew a lot of those errors, and also think i mostly avoid them by simply making use of my brain (haha) it is definitively interesting to see those failures happen not only in private life but also in politics and economy etc. and to have it labeled with a fitting name.

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man in the dark - paul auster (2008)

august bril, a former book-critic, cant sleep at night, but due to a serious accident some years ago, he cant leave his bed. in order to not think about the things he doesnt want to think about, he tells himself stories...

owen bricks, a magician, is suddenly waking up in a world where an american civil war is going on. he has been chosen to end the war, which is being created in the head of an old man, who tells stories to himself. he has to go back to his world and kill this man.

i love me a little sci-fi, even if it's only in a mind ;-)

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invisible - paul auster (2009)

new york 1967. 20-year-old adam walker, an aspiring but rather withdrawn poet meets rudolf burn, a charismatic french guy and his girlfriend margaret. they both seem to be interested in the young man's well-being and his future. not long after their first encounter, walker becomes witness of a crime, that will haunt him for the rest f his life. 

paul auster's 15th novel is written in four parts, with each a different narration style and from three different points of view, which makes it additionally interesting.  

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