The British Journal of Psychiatry | 2021
Ten books
Abstract
Teenage encounters with great books convinced me that I have a decidedly mediocre mind – powerful enough only to appreciate other people’s interesting thoughts, not able to generate my own. To have an exciting intellectual life, I must poach off the creativity of others via constant reading. Selecting just a few favourite books is lots harder than recommending a thousand, but these are the ones that most expanded my appreciation of our implausibly beautiful world.