The following is an incomplete, list of books that have either inspired me or I just think that the world would be a slightly better place if more people read them. They are in no particular order. By “inspired” I don’t mean that they triggered or compelled me to write a piece of music. A great book, for me, is a bit like a really nice room that feels good to be in. Often just the way a good author expresses something reminds me in a non-specific way about what things are important, provides perspective or just creates a mood that hadn’t been happening before. In the way that sometimes a perfume or smell can do this. For this reason, although most or all of these books are nonfiction and to varying degrees involve the transmission of information and ideas, in my experience many of them can be read more than once. It is the immersion in the author’s mindset that is a big part of what is enjoyable for me.

The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton. De Botton is one of my favorite writers around. This book is an inspired book about architecture that evolves into a general theory of visual aesthetics. Definitely worth reading for the relaxed, open minded, writing style as well as the contents.

Equally true about two of his other books The Consolations of Philosophy . It’s a thumbnail history of western philosophy that is very readable and informative. I think that there is a tv series made in England that de Botton narrates with the same title that is supposed to be good.

Status Anxiety explores the idea that modern anxiety is different than previous because people didn’t used to have as much choice in their lives, which was mostly bad, but they also didn’t feel as responsible for their fate/status because there wasn’t much that anyone could do to move up or down the status ladder.

Eduard Tufte also has inspired me in his three books on how to present information visually.The first one that I saw is The Visual Display of Quantitative Information which investigates and theorizes about what is a good or bad way to present information visually i.e. graphs, charts maps, etc.
The other 2 are worth having if you feel like treating yourself to make a really great guide to a kind of visual grammar. Envisioning Information and Visual Explanations

The Progress Paradox by Greg Easterbrook is a look at why people in the developed world, who are materially better of than humans have ever been, are quite possibly genuinely less happy. This was partly the inspiration for the title song of RockPaperScissors. This book complements much of Status Anxiety. I liked it because it also supports and illuminates something that is increasingly important to me personally and intellectually, which is the fundamental human need for community.

In an slightly Epicurus inspired way, I have interpreted this to encourage having wine and food with people I like as much as reasonably possible.

The Birth of Plenty by Peter Bernstein is an investigation into why the West got way richer starting about 1820. This an absolutely fascinating, readable book by a very smart guy that in the final couple of chapters ends up covering some of the ground that Progress Paradox does in a very satisfying way. Bernstein’s main point is that the conditions for radical prosperity that came together in England, around 1820, were property rights, (an idea I first came across in Hernando de Sotos excellent “The Mystery of Capital” a rational science based belief system, effective communications and capital markets.

Slightly tempering my enthusiasm for both these books, and books like them is that they partially, in my opinion, are presented as waterproof theories about how something works. But it often seems that a few years after someone publishes something like this, someone else comes along and says, ah yes but really there’s another factor that explains it all much better. So I always feel a bit embarrassed about how I’ve told everyone who would listen a few years previously about some great book I’d read that really nailed an explanation of something. Although, I suppose that is science in a nutshell.

This features a wide stereo image of overlapping guitars with evolving guitar riffs, over a layer of subtle pad.