Books and Me

by Katie Hurley (2019) With news that 9/10 teens are worried about their mental health, and that a third state that they feel helpless, sad and or fearful frequently and this problem far outstripping any help that is offered by others, these sorts of work books would seem to have a big and important function. This one does the job efficiently enough. There isn't anything you won't already have read before in other places, but it puts all the strategies in one neat place succinctly and clearly, and even if you don't have any mood disorder, often seems to offer very sensible strategies for life. Whether a teen would actually engage with it in the first place, let alone actually benefit from it, is another matter altogether. Rating 6/10

by Matt Haig (2015) This is a brave, honest, utterly engaging, at times searingly painful and finally uplifting account of one man's struggle with anxiety and depression.  He manages to make the experience very real at times, which is often a hard thing to convey to those who are broadly happy.  Despite some uncomfortable reading, it is worth the effort to engage with it as there are useful lessons to be learned even for those who have never had a tinge of the black dog, since Matt not only comes up with some very sensible suggestions as to how to get well again but also describes the unexpected value of the experience.  My only quibble: he doesn't prescribe a Stoic philosophy, veering instead towards Buddhist doctrine, yoga and a more classic version of mindfulness than The Little Book of Stoicism prescribed, but this is easily rectifiable as there is nothing that cannot easily be tweaked to bring it in line with the healing nature of stoicism.  Read the...

By Matthew Syed (2016) This book has proved to be the most essential read so far this year.  Matthew Syed explains his ideas about human error, learning from failure, marginal gains, creativity and the neurology of a fixed versus a growth mindset using the most vivid and poignant examples from a variety of fields including aviation, medicine, cycling, Formula One and manufacturing.  Syed combines all the best thinking from various sources, including the likes of Karl Popper and Carol Dweck, to produce a thoroughly convincing argument about how we should reform so many of our institutions and work places.  I only wish he could have applied his arguments to the education system as that is more than overdue for the same treatment, but perhaps that is another book all of its own. Rating 10/10