There's no need to hide this blog from Padma as, surprisingly and for once, it's not about me but about Alain de Botton's very first novel, "Essays in Love" (titled "On Love" in the U.S.), written at the age of 23 and made into the film "My last five girlfriends" (sorry, all I've got is this trailer).
Alain de Botton, of course, is the writer of essayistic books that have been described as a 'philosophy of everyday life'. I discovered this philosopher of everyday life sometime in the early 2000s, and I've been reading his books ever since:
- On Love (1993)
- The Romantic Movement (1994)
- Kiss and Tell (1995)
- How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997)
- The Consolations of Philosophy (2000)
- The Art of Travel (2002)
- Status Anxiety (2004)
- The Architecture of Happiness (2006)
- The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009)
- A Week at the Airport (2009)
- Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion (2012)
- How to Think More About Sex (2012)
- The News: A User's Manual (2014)
- The Course of Love (2016)
There have been so many times when I read a book I enjoyed so much or from which I learnt so much that I thought, "I wished I had read this book twenty or thirty years ago. How different my life might've been."
I don't want you to have those regrets about Alain de Botton's books which is why I listed them all above - you can even read all the underscored books online (just SIGN UP - it's free! - and LOG IN and BORROW), although for me it's all about the tactile experience of holding the book in my hand (I have been known to buy the same book again just for its exquisite binding or beautiful typeface) and then adding it to my ever-growing library. It's not hoarding if it's books!
