Praise and Criticism for “Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas”
“Many of Ponnapalli's essays are intellectually challenging, short, well written, and entertaining. …
Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas closes with several short chapters on expanding space exploration, profiting in the stock market, reducing production-inhibiting interruptions of IT workers, hiker safety, and making a dishwasher for people with bad backs. They are all satisfying to read, and Ponnapalli's enthusiasm for each topic is refreshing and can't help but pique one's interest in looking at the stuff of life with a more creative eye.” – Patty Sutherland, Foreword Reviews
“Author Pardu S. Ponnapalli offers a collection of ideas on a variety of subjects in his new book, Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas. Seventeen distinct ideas are explored that turn out to be not so crazy. The book examines alternative ways to play chess and hockey and makes suggestions about changing things we use every day, like dishwashers. This book is infused with humor and encouragement to readers to discuss the author’s suggestions and come up with their own creative solutions…..
Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas is fun and informative. The author presents a broad spectrum of topics that will challenge readers and possibly spark a streak of innovation among them.” -Melissa Brown Levine, Independent Professional Book Reviewers
“Crazy ideas??? If you were living in the 1940s most people would have considered the idea of men walking on the moon as a crazy idea. At that time, the thinking was crazy, thinking outside the box.
So, what’s to say that thinking crazy isn’t the way to solve our present day solutions?
…
The essays were well-written and mostly thought through. Based on his personal experience, they were enlightening and at times, laughable. More importantly, they make the reader take the time to think about our future, ponder on the problems, and look for the solutions we need” .-Teri Davis, BestSellersWorld.com
“Some of my fondest memories of university were those informal gab sessions in the common room. You’d walk into the room and two or three guys would be adamantly discussing how to solve world hunger or which Star Trek captain would win in a fistfight. Before long, others had joined the conversation. Everyone was welcome.
Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas reminds me of those times. We were all so filled with ideas, most of which had very little to do with what we were studying. Afterwards, paying our bills and living our lives took precedent and no one ever made good on any of those crazy ideas.
As with all those gab sessions in the university common room, Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas presents some good ideas and some not so good ideas. Take them as you will. Laugh at them or be inspired by them. Please, please find a better way to deal with cat litter odor but don’t you dare change my hockey game”. –Tami Brady, TCM Reviews
As we all know, when brainstorming stops, evolution stops. Some ideas throughout history that people have tossed out there were considered absolutely silly and crazy. One was radium; another was putting a man on the moon. Crazy, right? From finding a way for people to breathe under water, to the illustrious Clapperв that everyone seemed to go ga-ga over, crazy ideas are what made this country great. And this author has come up with some real doozies, yet doozies that could most definitely work! ….
In fact, every reader will find this book extremely interesting and will, perhaps, spark other imaginations out there to sit down and create!- Amy Lignor, Feathered Quill Reviews
“’That is one of the greatest joys in brainstorming—the ability to provoke extremely intelligent people to come up with revolutionary thoughts and ideas.’
Ponnapalli's book is a collection of creative ideas that range from the stock market and the national debt to thoughts about cat litter. Ponnapalli wants the reader to have intellectual fun and suspend their disbelief. His goal is to revive a sense of wonder and speculation, and perhaps stimulate the intellectual discourse.
Ponnapalli understands that the implementation of innovative ideas depends on their commercial viability but also notes that when an idea captures the imagination and interest of the general public, people will spend money on it. The act of brainstorming can result in new ideas and surprising results. The author ends each chapter with the words, "Discuss and enjoy!" That is exactly what the reader of this "bunch of crazy ideas" will do.” – Libby Grandy, US Review of Books
“As advertised, the author weighs in on everything from space travel to litter boxes in this collection of intriguing but often half-baked proposals.
…The author presents his ideas in a lucid, engaging style, but doesn’t always think them through;… Ponnapalli’s thinking shows both the strength of inspired dilettantism and the need for expert analysis to rein it in. Still, there are some nifty ideas here, and even the questionable ones will provoke reflection.
A stimulating grab bag of outside-the-box—sometimes out-of-left-field—brainstorms”.- Perry Crowe, Kirkus Indie Reviews
"Ponnapalli's crazy (impulsive, but fun and thought provoking) ideas cover some timely and popular topics; U.S debt and defecit, overweight, stock market, space exploration, alternative energies, cat litter and more. The book is easy to read."- Recommended & Reviewed in The Mindquest Review of Books, by Lightword Publishing
There are 17 chapters in this little book, each on a particular topic: 1) Space Elevator; 2) Alternative Energies and Energy Conservation; 3) More Thoughts on Energy Conservation; 4) Gas Stations and Filing Up; 5) Luggage and Airplanes; 6) Thoughts on Chess; 7) Thoughts on Ice Hockey; 8) Thoughts on Cats and Cat Litter; 9) Our National Debt and Deficit; 10) I Am Overweight and So are Most Americans; 11) Star Trek and the Reboot; 12) Thoughts about Laptops; 13) Thoughts about Space Exploration; 14) Thoughts on the Stock Market; 15) Automatic Inform Systems for IT Workers; 16) Hikers Who Hurt Themselves; 17) How to Improve Dishwashers.
Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas is a fairly quick read as it’s only 78 pages–a good read before bed. I don’t think you’ll find any earth-shattering ideas or patents pending, but it was interesting. My favorite chapter was Ponnapalli’s self-designed diet program...soups, black coffee or black tea. He includes, in chart form, the progress of his diet. On day one he weighed 208.5 pounds. At the end of his chart, he weighed 204 pounds on day 23. He had tried many diets, as we all have, and decided to create his own. Why not? The only thing that matters is...does it work? I have my own plan: eat your main meal in the middle of the day (whatever your heart desires) and then have a bowl of cereal or cup of yogurt with fruit in the early evening.
As far as Ponnapalli’s writing style–informal to a fault–or quality of writing, it’s evident he’s not a professional writer, but he does gets the job done and his enthusiastic personality shines through. If you have a taste for such an eclectic read, then I’m sure you’ll find some value in this little book.
Kaye Trout - August 8, 2011
“There has never been a more accurately or honestly titled book than that of Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas. From kitty litter and calories to space exploration and the stock market, Ponnapalli ponders whatever crosses his mind in search of a solution, and those solutions run the gamut from surprisingly simple to mindbogglingly unfeasible. I must admit, there is a proactiveness and ingenuity to Ponnapalli that is really engaging. I appreciate anyone who sees a problem and, instead of simply accepting it or bemoaning the unfairness of it all, tackles it head-on with gusto. His enthusiasm for each topic is obvious, and his willingness to appear silly or to be criticized is well-tempered by his overwhelming positivity. If you can imagine a melange of straightforward outside-the-box thinking, you’ve got an idea of Mr. Ponnapalli’s style.
He pulls from his personal experiences — including an ongoing struggle with weight management and a harrowing accident while hiking — as well as his physics and IT background in order to examine problems both trivial and crucial.
Yes, some of these ideas are pretty crazy. We certainly differ in our opinions on where the new Star Trek film should head, for example. And I don’t know about the feasibility of his building-cum-stepping-stones approach to the space elevator — for instance, where could we build it that could offer both the necessary land and the population to make it a viable workspace? — but I did experiment with both of his proposed revisions to chess with great results. The book is a bit of a mixed bag.
As a handbook of solutions to major and minor problems, it falters a bit, but as a conversation sparker, Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas is a success.” San Fransisco Book Review – September 15, 2011
“Sometimes you throw things at the wall and see what sticks. "Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas" is a collection titular crazy ideas from Pardu S. Ponnapalli as he offers his random thoughts about the world as he sits on his Ph.D in Physics that's currently getting him nowhere. With a decent dose of logic and humor, "Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas" is a thoughtful collection of life and everything else, highly recommended.” Willis M. Buhle, MidWest Book Review