Rating: 
Summary: Interesting read, just wanted more of a conclusion.
Review: Basically a book on speed. Some of the facts were fascinating, especially when it got into the lengths we go to as a society to do things faster and be more efficient. I was hoping for a little more on the negative psychological aspects of this kind of mindset though. Still, pretty good.
Rating: 
Summary: FSTR BRNG
Review: I read this book partially because I had to for a class, partially a suggestion from my dad because he'd read Gleick's other books. I read about halfway through it and, I must say, for a book about how the world is getting too fast, this book jumped around pretty quickly. It'd be talking about watches for about 6 pages (which was the longest chapter I got to), then the next chapter would come, it'd be less than half that length and about TV and newscasters. Seriously, it seemed like it had ADD! I grew up in this faster-paced world and I know that it's faster than what used to be. I hear stories, I know that television didn't exist a hundred years ago, and I certainly don't need 281 telling me that my generation has it bad because everything's sped up, especially when the chapters could most definately be cut in half because all you need to read is about the first half of any chapter to get what you'd like out of it. Not to keep rambling, but we all know the world's faster, so why don't we just slow down what we can and don't waste our time reading this book?
Rating: 
Summary: Breezy. Fast. And bright yellow.
Review: Aha! We knew it all along! Life, work, off-time - `things' - just seem a hell of a lot faster these days. Those of us with typical 21st century urban, technology led lifestyles are all too familiar with the constant background noise of accelerated living. In Faster, Gleick amasses a mixed bag of armchair philosophy, anecdotal antics and random research to document our strangely mercurial existence.And a mixed bag it is indeed. The book shines best when Gleick exposes in detail those `hidden' time-saving procedures that underpin our everyday lives. The passage on telephone directory enquiries, where we discover the drive to shave mere milliseconds from customer's inbound requests, is a real eye-opener. As is the revelation that time-saving procedures have even encroached on the age old traditions of the leisurely 9-inning baseball game. And who would have thought that a restaurant in Tokyo now offers an all-you-can-eat service charging customers by the minute? Dining by time-clock? Well, thanks, but no thanks. Still, I would have liked to have seen these sketches gather momentum and lead to a more cogent line of thought. Instead, they simply drift away and what remains is an assortment of charming but ultimately unsubstantial tales. Nothing more, nothing less. Readers looking for a more protracted cultural analysis, a deeper probe into psychological aetiology, or a broader review of our collective existential malaise will likely be disappointed. So, It's hardly a radical premise. And there's no real conclusion to speak of; no pulling together of the various threads that weave through this work. But as a collection of interesting hors d'oeuvres and after-dinner anecdotes, this is an entertaining enough read which - thankfully - requires a not considerable investment of time nor energy. Bloody good job too, as I had to cook supper and pay my gas bill online at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Mind candy
Review: I listened to it on the way to work so I could do two things at once. How ironic... This is a good book to kill time, you may even laugh at yourself as you discover your own habits revealed and explained before your very eyes. I did The elevator door close button and the double button microwave cooking methods to save time tid bits are very funny!! As well as the "500 calories a day you starve 3000 a day you are as fat as a pig"
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