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Some of yall (all 3 of you who are reading this) know how much I love Malcolm Gladwell (aka My Baby’s Daddy). The NY Times has profiled him and my love grows stronger every day. I met him in 2005 when he came to speak as a Batten Fellow. I stalked the event planners so much (and impressed them with my knowledge of all things Malcolm) that they allowed me to drive him around for the afternoon. He was amazingly gracious, a gifted orator and a total cutie pie what with all that “absentminded professor hair”.  I read Tipping Point in 2003 and finished Blink a few months ago. He’s inspired a rash of books that “create a highly contagious hybrid genre of nonfiction, one that takes a nonthreatening and counterintuitive look at pop culture and the mysteries of the everyday” Here’s a little bit of the reason why I’d walk over hot coals to bring him cold water:

“If I could vote (and I can’t because I’m Canadian) I would vote Democrat. I am pro-choice and in favor of gay marriage. I believe in God. I think the war in Iraq is a terrible mistake. I am a big believer in free trade. I think, on balance, taxes in America — particularly for rich people — ought to be higher, not lower. I think smoking is a terrible problem and that cigarette manufacturers ought to be subjected to every possible social and political sanction. But I think that filing product liability lawsuits against cigarette manufacturers is absurd. I am opposed to the death penalty. I hate S.U.V.’s. I think many C.E.O.’s are overpaid. I think there is too much sex and violence on television.”

I highly recommend Freakonomics if you like this genre and The World is Flat is on the top of my “To Read” list.