Things of 2008

The best books I’ve read were Norwegian Wood and Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami and The Undercover economist by Tim Harford.

Haruki Murakami always strikes me as one who can describe human feelings raw as they are. He’s a realist in the sense that his stories are all a sort of unfinished symphonies – just as human relations are. The first book is a science fiction story though one which is moulded within a network of contemporary human relationships. Norwegian Wood struck me as a story of how humans are moulded by their youth experiences.

The Undercover economist, on the other hand is a different type of book. It deals with basic economic principles but elaborates them with modern day business examples. If all economics books were written this way, economics would be one of the most popular areas of study of students. After reading this book I believe that economics is considered by some as a dismal science only because it is dealt by dismal writers. I recommend this book to all economics students.

The worst newspaper article title I’ve seen for years was ‘New energy rates workings – Families will save €27 a year’ by Mathew Xuereb which appeared on The Times (4^th December 2008). I don’t think there is much to say except quote two comments which were posted when this article (?!) was published.

The first was from a certain Mark Fiorentino – “This is a perfect exercise in giving a nice title to a piece of very bad news. Journalism or political spin?” The other was from a certain Joseph Micallef – “At times like this I begin to seriously doubt the objectivity of our press. How can one say one is saving when one is paying more? This is a tactic the government uses continuously, and the press seems to be in on the game.”

This title will haunt Mr Xuereb for years to come - if it was his!

The best article on consumer affairs was the one by Marie Louise Coleiro Preca titled ‘Monopolji u Kartelli’ which appeared in l-Orizzont on the 12^th December 2008. It gives an idea of the charade that we making of the principle of competition and consumer protection. It points out also to one main weakness – unless the regulators stop operating as government departments, serving the government’s interest, consumers cannot expect a fair deal. If anything it shows that Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca is still very much aware of the problems in this area.