“As
a writer, the best mindset is to be unafraid.”
– Malcolm Gladwell
I read my first Gladwell book right
after I had open heart surgery and I have to say that it’s not the best idea to
do something like that because it’s difficult
to heal when you keep tearing open your incision by reading something that
makes you throw your arms wide apart and say "Oh my, I never thought
of that!”
That book was Outliers: The Story
of Success, and I couldn’t wait to have people visit me while I was
recuperating so I could share things from the book with them. Great "medicine" for the recovery process. So, when Gladwell’s next book, What
the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures, was released, I rushed to get that one
too.
Gladwell's books and articles often
deal with the unexpected implications of research in the social sciences and
make frequent and extended use of academic work, particularly in the areas of
sociology, psychology, and social psychology.
And while that might sound dry, it’s absolutely the opposite and some of
the most enjoyable and thought-provoking reading you might encounter. 
“All my books are optimistic,”
Gladwell said. “I wrote my first book
when I was in my late 30s, and I had so much optimism to share by that
time.” As for the process behind
his writing, he said, "I have two parallel things I'm interested in. One
is, I'm interested in collecting interesting stories, and the other is I'm
interested in collecting interesting research. What I'm looking for is cases
where they overlap.”
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