Gyles Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster, and former member of Parliament and government whip, best known these days as a reporter on BBC1’s The One Show.
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Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers. Yes, it's a children's classic. It's innocent and it's fun and it never fails to make me smile and feel good about the world.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Yes, it's another classic, and a love story, but it's one that can be read again and again because it never lets you down. It's full of wit and wisdom; intelligence and heart. Who could ask for anything more?
The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain: A Book of Quotations (Dover Edition). This is my favourite bedside book from my favourite bedside philosopher. Twain had something pithy, witty and wise to say about everything under the sun. When your spirit needs lifting, open the book to any page and you'll be glad to be alive.
How to Live by Sara Bakewell. Montaigne is the founder of
the essay as we know it and I enjoyed studying him on my quest for
happiness because he has plenty to teach about the human experience. His
biography shows a man searching for answers on how best to live life,
and his mediations have brought happiness to readers for hundreds of
years.
The Art of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. One of the 7
secrets of happiness is to learn to live in the moment, to relish the
here and now, to savour the instant. Sometimes that's easier said that
done. Here is a book that explores ways of doing it. You don't have to
agree with it all to be intrigued by it.
Three Roosevelts: Patrician Leaders Who Transformed America by James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn.
If you need role models, how about three from the same family?
Theodore Roosevelt did more than give the teddy bear its name. He was
one of the great leaders and so full of energy his life-force takes your
breath away. His story and that of his distant cousin, FDR and Eleanor
Roosevelt inspire, exhilarate and remind us of the human potential. An
engagement with life is a key to happiness—and these three were
certainly engaged with life.
Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance by Gyles Brandreth. It's a murder mystery and I wrote it. All it takes to write a book is application. As Mark Twain said, “Apply the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.” I love history mysteries and this is the first of six I have written featuring Oscar Wilde as my detective and his true-life friend Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, as his side-kick and companion. I love murder stories. They are part of the happiness trail for me. As Oscar himself said, “There is nothing quite like an unexpected death for lifting the spirits."