My top ten books

Dom Casmurro (Dom Casmurro), by Machado de Assis.

This is one of the most interesting books that I have read. It is extremely smart, and I often became stunned with the ingenuity and complexities presented in the story.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.

Back to when I was reading this novel for the first time, I would think about

the characters and try to imagine what was going to happen even when I did not have the book in hands. After all, I believe that this is one of the most fascinating books that I have read in my life.

Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.

This was the first book that I read after I started having classes in English. I must say that I did not find it very easy at first; however, as my English improved, I became amazed by how Dickens used so many techniques to make such a remarkable story.

Mister Pip, by Lloyd Jones.

This book is strongly connected to Great Expectations, and I love how it puts Dickens’s work in a completely different context as it would be expected. This is a great reading, and it really made me reflect about the conflicts and exploitation that happen around the world.

Olhai os Lírios do Campo (Look at the Lilies of the Field), by Erico Verissimo.

This book is about a man that gives up on everything to follow his dream career. At the end, he perceives that, to reach his objectives, he has hurt everyone that loved him, and that, now, he must renovate his life. For some reason, this book has an emotional meaning to me, and I really appreciate how it makes critics to many ideas are imposes on individuals by the society (e.g. we must be successful and rich, life is all about progress).

The Harry Potter Series, by J. K. Rowling.

This series has a greatly influenced my life when I was younger, and it definitely helped to increase my love for reading.

Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert T. Kiyosaki

This book has taught me a lot about how we should deal with our ambitions and dreams, and how we should never give up on our ultimate goals. In addition, it has an emotional meaning as it reminds me of my father, who gave this book to me, and who is one of my idols.

O Auto da Compadecida, by Ariano Suassuna

I simply love this play. Also, it had a major influence in the way that I see the Brazilian traditions and culture.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer.

This book gave me a completely different perspective on literature as an actual form of art. It is incredible how Safran Foer used many different techniques to make the story more interesting, complex, and meaningful.

Vidas Secas (Barren Lives), by Graciliano Ramos

Similarly to O Auto da Compadecida, this book gave me a new perspective about the Brazilian culture, poverty, and our goals in life.

Editorial - The Power of Pesticides

As a result of the increased use of pesticides in agriculture over the last years, there has been a significant rise in the quantity of toxic substances in the diets of people from all over the world. Besides the awful immediate problems that can be caused by these chemicals, in the long run, the ingestion of pesticides is also directly related to cancer and various mental disorders. In an attempt to control the utilization of these substances, governments have certainly created various regulations; however, as it tends to happen to anything that goes against the work of corporations, most of the laws are simply ignored.

In the mid-1990’s, the Consumers Union, a respected nonprofit US organization, found out that most of the pesticides used in agriculture were being employed in levels well above the safety limits for young children. As a consequence, innocent people have been exposed to dangerous substances, which are associated to serious diseases and deformations. In the case of children, the situation becomes even worse as kids are believed to consume 60 times more intoxicated fruits than adults in relation to their weight. In other words, the weakest and most precious people for our future are, essentially, being bombarded with toxic substances that can cause major problems even at minimal quantities.

At the same time, the excessive amounts of pesticides do not only cause gigantic problems to humans; in most cases, the substances also end up going to the ground and to the organisms of plants and animals, which affects entire food chains and may cause massive extinction in some areas. Due to the lower enforcement of regulatory laws in underdeveloped countries, important ecosystems are being threatened as farmers make use of pesticides that are often more powerful and dangerous. It has also been observed that the loss of crops to pests has increased by 5% from 1945 to 1987, which implies on adaptation of the unwanted organisms, and on the progressive need for stronger chemicals.

Pesticides have certainly played an important role in the food sector over the last years, and there is no doubt that we would not be able to feed the world population without them. Yet, we must pay attention to all of the risks generated by the excessive use of these substances, and to how they will affect us in the long run. With the increased awareness of people about all of the problems that might be caused by pesticides, solutions such as biological controls or more law enforcement have already been imposed in certain places. Nevertheless, it is necessary that action takes place in a global manner, so that safety and better life standards become a reality for people all over the world.

Book Review - Buyology by Martin Lindstrom

As the result of one of the greatest market experiments in history, and an authentic insight into our modern mass culture, Buyology can be of remarkable interest for pretty much anyone, from professional marketers to pathological consumers.

“Nowadays, most brands are almost the same as the keys of a hotel room; people forget where they put them even before getting to the room for the first time.” Every year, approximately 21000 new brands are created, of which around 52% fail. For individual products, the statistics get even worse, roughly reaching the 75% mark of failures in the first year.

After observing figures like these, the author of Buyology, Martin Lindstrom, decided to investigate what was the difference between a total fiasco and a successful market campaign. Differently from what had been previously done, however, Lindstrom perceived that not all marketing theories worked as expected. Consequently, he decided that he would go directly to the main source of our desires and choices; he would go directly to our brains.

As a result of this rather extraordinary task, one of the greatest and broadest market experiments was performed. Costing seven million dollars, and taking three years, the investigation concerned the use of brain scanners to observe how our brains respond to different marketing strategies. The outcome of this extended research project led to the creation of Buyology, which presents the conclusions that were taken from the experiment, together with plenty of examples of past market campaigns that confirm what is said.

“We may think we know why we do the things we do – but a much closer look into the brain tells us otherwise”. With this simple sentence, it is already possible to perceive the principal idea that is expressed throughout the entire book. By comparing the findings of the experiment with what people said about their opinions, it was observed that, in most cases, people say exactly the opposite to what their subconscious minds think. This, therefore, explains the failure of so many marketing strategies, as these are mostly based on tests that go for people’s opinion, and not for their brain’s.

Structurally, the book is divided into eleven chapters, which have the objective of exploring different aspects of marketing. From the various interesting facts and thoughts that are discussed, there are, for example, the popular myths of the use of subliminal messages and the effectiveness of sex in advertisements.

After all, the book truly justifies the nomination of Lindstrom as one of the 100 most influential people in 2009. Instead of just following the traditional practices that are taught around the world, Lindstrom decided to do his own research and study the most fundamental origins of our buying behaviors. At the end, together with the revolutionary results that were observed, Buyology also exposed the existence of a mass culture society, in which it is impossible to escape from things such as branding and marketing.