- “Dishonesty Is The Second-Best Policy and Other Rules to Live By” by David Mitchell
- “Michael Palin In Venezuela” by Michael Palin
- “Happiness: Lessons From A New Science” by Richard Layard
Started: 13th January 2026
Finished: 23rd January 2026
3/5 stars
I’ve got quite mixed feelings about this one. It has much of interest in it, but it felt a bit incoherent and muddled in places, with some ideas that seemed a bit strange and outdated even when it was published 20 years ago.
There’s some interesting stuff in the book about what happiness is, what influences it (positively and negatively), and why we should strive to create a happier society. There’s some thoughts on how we might achieve this, and that all seems to be sound stuff. There’s practical ideas on policy here to create more stable families and economies, reduce conflict and crime, and tackle inequality. Sadly, political leaders in recent years don’t seem to have taken much notice. Not sure what we can do about that, really.
Some of the book seemed quite oddly anachronistic, even taking into account when it was published. There’s a lengthy chapter about the evils of television that reads like it was written by Mary Whitehouse. The internet doesn’t get mentioned at all. I know it was less prominent in society in 2005 than it is now, but by that time I had broadband at home and was online a lot. For most people the internet was part of everyday life by then, even if we didn’t carry it around in our pockets like we do now – so it seems a major omission.
Overall, the book comes across as a bit too conservative and preachy for my liking, but I’m probably influenced here by my very negative experience with organised religion.
The most useful stuff in the book was about what we can do personally to make ourselves happier, in terms of having fulfilling goals, healthy relationships, and helping others, among other things. As I say, interesting, and quite thought-provoking, if a little messy and not entirely satisfying.
