Book Review - Social Animal

Every winter the great and the good meet in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. And every night during that week at Davos, there are constellations of parties....”

“At the molten core of the party constellation, there is always one party that form the social Holy of the Holies – where former presidents, cabinet secretaries, central bankers, global tycoons, and Angelina Jolie gather to mingle and schmooze.... The Davos social universe, like social universe everywhere, consists of rings of interesting and insecure people desperately seeking entry into the realm of the placid and self-satisfied”

You will find these scathing words  second last chapter of David Brooks’ wonderful book titled The Social Animal: The HiddenSources of Love, Character and Achievement.

In this compelling book, David Brooks tells a story of two fictional characters, Harold and Erica. Theirs is a story of emotions, intuitions, genetic predispositions and deep inner longings.

By following Harold and Erica from infancy to old age, we learn how the unconscious mind plays a big part in our lives. 

What makes this book an interesting read is that it is part a novel and part science primer.

David Brooks is a New York Times columnist as well as a commentator on PBS NewsHour. His other books are Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They GotThere (2000) and On ParadiseDrive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense (2004)

Daily Healthy Things

There are simple daily routines you can do to enjoy better health. I have listed here the 5 that I have found most beneficial.


1. Get a good breakfast

2. Exercise

3.Drink Enough Water

4. Quality Supplement

5.Establish regular sleeping habits

How To Control Your Expenditures

Your finances are in a mess. You feel you have no control on your expenditures. Everything is so expensive and you are in the verge of giving up hope of ever building the dream house of yours.

I am not going to tell you that by reading this entry you are going to solve all your money problems. I am just going to share one simple tip that can help you control your expenditures

Write down daily where you are spending your money.

I have been doing this for 3 months now and this makes me conscious of where I am spending my money. I keep my receipts for the day and the next morning I jot down my expenditures for the previous day. This makes aware that I have spend a certain amount of money yesterday and acts as I reminder for the day to keep my spending within a certain amount. At the end of the week I total up the week's spending.

By doing this, I know exactly how much I spend on each item. And at the end of the month I know how much I have spent and where I have spent my money.

By writing down my expenditures I am aware where I can cut down and this helps me to save.

It takes a bit of discipline to this everyday, but don't lose heart if you skip a day or two - just remember to write it down the next day.

I chose mornings to do this, but you can do this any time of the day. Pick your own convenient time, just remember to total up every week and every month.

Try this and tell me.