59 Seconds

You've probably seen self-help books where the whole book is about how to be happy, or about how to be successful, and etc. This book is kindda like a summary of all those books and backed up by quotes of researches done by universities. Among the chapters that I found very interesting were Creativity, Attraction, and Decision Making. There were quite a lot of new things that I learned such as a fascinating study on 'regrets' where 75% of respondents regret not doing something while only 25% of respondents regret doing something. When it comes to things that you decided not to do because of certain limiting circumstances at that point of time, the negative consequences are not known and therefore, the possible positive things/benefits (that could have happened but did not) seem almost endless.

There were also elaborations on studies that I already knew about such as the marshmallow test (in chapter Parenting), baby picture test (in chapter Persuasion), and loosing weight (in chapter Motivation). The book backs up what you already know (or disputes against what you thought was right) with quotes/summaries of academic findings. Not all of the summaries or points brought forward by the writer I believe in (despite being backed up by findings) but it is an interesting perspective to know.

I bought this book at Big Bad Wolf's last December sale for only RM10. Since it's so cheap, I can confidently say it's worth every ringgit. It has 12 chapters and if you don't have time to read all the 320 pages, there's a summary at the end of each chapter where it only takes you about 59 seconds to read. Hence, the name of the book "59 Seconds".