Sean

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton

I used to think of philosophy as the study of the arcane and intractable.  I imagined philosophers discussing such matters as the all pervading intrusion of the black diagonal, spinning in an existential hurdy-gurdy.  Matters that have no relevance to practicality or ordinary people.

Alain de Botton proved me wrong.  A philosophy scholar, I’m sure he’s spent his fair share of time pondering the esoteric like whether Schrodinger’s cat is alive or not; however, he is able to brilliantly distil the teachings of philosophy and relate them in an entirely engaging and approachable way.  In fact, he’s so good at doing this he has appeared in numerous of his own television series as something of a David Attenborough of the mind.

Alain takes a handful of the more influential philosophers throughout history, starting with Socrates and finishing with Nietzsche, and looks at how their philosophies apply to coping with every day life.  He talks about unpopularity, not having enough money, frustration, inadequacy, broken hearts and difficulty.

I discovered de Botton’s Consolations of Philosophy through the ABC television series.  Ever since, in difficult or frustrating times, I have actually found myself asking questions like, “Quick – what would Seneca do?

Greg

When I get excited enough about a book to recommend it, it’s more than likely already out of print.  That’s because I generally buy books by the fistful at my local Vinnies book exchange. Two bucks a hit and I can afford to taste-test a whole swag of new authors, without the risk of blowing a heap of dough. Mostly I’m on the look out for a short read, my collection includes heaps of short story collections by Lawson, CJ Dennis and Banjo. Yarns about the Aussie outback will always grab my attention, so will pretty well anything about dogs, sailing – square rigger type sailing – and Aussie pioneers.

I met the brilliant work of the prolific Patrick O’Brien at Vinnies. If fact, Vinnies is about the only place I’ve since been able to find most of the no less than 20 titles on the adventures of one Jack Aubrey and his sailing mate Stephen Maturin. If the names don’t ring a bell, this is the series on which Russel Crowe’s Master and Commander was based.  O’Brien wrote his stories in the very charming language of the period, when blokes referred to their best mates as “my darling”, and when exchanges between naval officers was very gentlemanly and polite. But, he leaves you with no doubt about the toughness of these men and the ruthless nature of life and war at sea in the Napoleonic years. The language takes a little getting used to, but the stories are fast moving, exciting and from what I can see, well researched. If you’ve read the Hornblower series, I reckon you’ll enjoy Patrick O’Brien’s work. While his books are written as a linked series, I have read some out of sequence and I reckon reading the first one you find won’t spoil the rest of the series for you.

Here’s a  tip for newbies to the world of book exchanges. Before you buy any book, always check that the last page is there. I’ve been caught out a couple of times ..and it’s very bloody annoying!