Book Ten 2014: 

The Age Of Absurdity by Michael Foley

I have our own Cormac Battle to thank for handing me this one and insisting I read it. I have a genuinely love for books that examine the human experience not from a self-help angle but from a philosophical / sociological perspective (the Alain DeBottons of this world). This is right up my street.

Through a series of different lenses Michael Foley looks at the human drive to strive to be happy and why we fail so frequently, particularly since the beginning of the 20th century. He covers everything from love to work to social pressures to succeed with an equal magnifying glass and then looks to see how everyone from the great philosophers to Buddha would have dealt with the pressures on the modern day human…

There were times I was frustrated at what I read, times I was bordering on jumping out of my seat with what you could only call “Eureka!” moments of personal revelation, times I just nodded saw myself reflected.

If any of this sounds intriguing then you have to read this.

Maybe it’s all just an exercise in cognitive dissonance. His worldview mirrors mine and so I see what he says to be real and discard the other possibilities. I’ll keep reading.