Colin Marks's Blog

I’ve had Essentialism on my to-read shelf for almost two years, and after reading Effortless, I’ll definitely be pushing it towards the front of the queue. The premise of Effortless can be summed up in two sayings, “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast”, and, “Work smart, not hard”. Most of the lessons would be taught […]

I read Kazou’s The Unconsoled over twenty years ago, and loved the dreaminess and confusion, a tale of a man unsure what his life held, and where he was and where he was going. Never Let Me Go has similar themes – how despite your dreams in life, you’re still moulded by your environment and […]

It seems these days people are becoming polarised, stuck in the trench of their opinions and unwilling to listen or accept other views. This is prominent in politics, especially in the USA, where the majority of votes follow party lines. This wasn’t always the case, but the explosion of social media and politicised news broadcasting […]

F&R (Freedom and Responsibility) are the cornerstone of the values held at Netflix. Unlimited holiday, no need to follow your bosses instructions, financial sign-off to any amount – all this F&R gives employees the sense of ownership and empowerment, and with that, Reed argues, comes greater creativity. The book is well written, with a well […]

I’ve just finished the audio book version of American Dreamer and it’s a light and enjoyable listen, but doesn’t really add anything new. It starts with Biden’s aneurysm, before going on to describe the other tragedies and highs of his life. He’s portrayed as a good man, a relationship builder, and someone who was so […]

I’ve been listening to Seth Godin’s Akimbo podcast for a while, so bought this book to give him something back. Unfortunately I chose the wrong one. It’s his voice in the book, you can imagine him narrating it, the problem is that the book is dated. The world was a very different place back in […]

An interesting book with a broad range of meditations to follow in the various meditative styles. I did feel it was slightly over-written – many of the stories could have been trimmed – but a good book for those wishing to expand their knowledge of mindfulness and meditation techniques. See review on Goodreads.

I loved the concept of Space Hopper, and on the whole, the execution was pretty good. It’s a light read, a couple of easily predicted twists – but the book felt less than the whole. Though well written, it was very bloated – a couple of pages dedicated to Faye cleaning the house definitely wasn’t […]

Ashley Audrain is definitely going to be a very successful writer if her debut novel, The Push, is anything to go by. The film rights have been snapped up even before the novel’s release. Not many authors get that confirmation of their ability so early in their career. The Push is a tight, doom-laden telling […]

I do like the premise of this book – habits can be formed through the repetition of small routines. You don’t have to think big – think small. Completing a marathon starts with putting your running shoes on every day. The book dissects how to create lasting habits, by finding and nurturing behaviours that are […]