A collection of books about love on a pink background

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Reading lists

Books to help you be better at love

Image showing a selection of the best self-help books

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The best self-help books for a positive change in the New Year

Alain de Botton on how romance novels can make us unlucky in love 

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Features

Alain de Botton on how romance novels can make us unlucky in love

An Emotional Education

The School of Life

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
Give the gift of inspiration: an essential guide to living wisely and well, no matter what challenges the world throws at you - from Alain de Botton, the bestselling author of The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The Course of Love 
 
This is a book about everything you were never taught at school. It's about how to understand your emotions, find and sustain love, succeed in your career, fail well and overcome shame and guilt. It's also about letting go of the myth of a perfect life in order to achieve genuine emotional maturity. Written in a hugely accessible, warm and humane style, The School of Life is the ultimate guide to the emotionally fulfilled lives we all long for - and deserve. 
 
This book brings together ten years of essential and transformative research on emotional intelligence, with practical topics including: 
 
- how to understand yourself 
- how to master the dilemmas of relationships 
- how to become more effective at work 
- how to endure failure 
- how to grow more serene and resilient 
 
Praise for Alain de Botton: 
 
'What he has managed to do is remarkable: to help us think better so that we may live better lives' Irish Times 
 
'A serious and optimistic set of practical ideas that could improve and alter the way we live' Jeanette Winterson, The Times 
 
'Alain de Botton likes to take big, complex subjects and write about them with thoughtful and deceptive innocence' Observer

[Alain] de Botton's injunction to understand ourselves could not matter more.

It is an amazing book. Beautifully written . . . a beautiful book that you should have in your home

Alain de Botton is the author of Essays in Love, The Romantic Movement, Kiss and Tell, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel, Status Anxiety, The Architecture of Happiness, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, A Week at the Airport, Religion for Atheists, The News: A User's Manual, and The Course of Love among many others. Alain is a bestselling author in 30 countries. He lives in London, where he runs The School of Life and Living Architecture.

This is a book about everything you were never taught at school. It's about how to understand your emotions, find and sustain love, succeed in your career, fail well and overcome shame and guilt. It's also about letting go of the myth of a perfect life in order to achieve genuine emotional maturity. Written in a hugely accessible, warm and humane style, The School of Life is the ultimate guide to the emotionally fulfilled lives we all long for - and deserve.

An unforgettable story of love and marriage from the author of bestselling novel Essays in Love

The Course of Love

SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER 
 
From one of our great thinkers on modern life and the human condition - an unforgettable story of love and marriage from the author of bestselling novel Essays in Love as well as The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life 
 
'The Course of Love probes the very heart of marriage, its shifts and squalls, its great adventure, with such forensic tenderness. I laughed a lot, too' Deborah Moggach 
 
Modern love is never easy. Society is obsessed with stories of romance, but what comes after happily ever after? 
 
This is a love story with a difference. From dating to marriage, from having kids to having affairs, it follows the progress of a single ordinary relationship: tender, messy, hilarious, painful, and entirely un-Romantic. It is a love story for the modern world, chronicling the daily intimacies, the blazing rows, the endless tiny gestures that make up a life shared between two people. Moving and deeply insightful, The Course of Love offers us a window into essential truths about the nature of love. 
 
'Engaging, sympathetic, acutely perceptive... There's a refreshing honesty in what de Botton has to say' Guardian 
 
'Anyone who is, has been, or would ever like to be, in a satisfying, successful relationship, would do well to read de Botton' Irish Independent 
 
'He debunks the myth of the happily ever after with a painfully familiar, often hilarious detailing of petty arguments, the occasional extra-marital fling, the moments of loneliness and the declining frequency of sex... It's not only hugely enjoyable but life enhancing too' Daily Mail

Publisher's description. Rabih and Kirsten meet, fall in love, get married. Think this is the end of the story? It's only the beginning. With his trademark warmth and wit, Alain de Botton explores modern relationships with a novel that asks what it truly means to love and to be loved.

He's completely on the money with the minutiae of marital life and every note rings uncomfortably true. The story is told with great wit and affection... de Botton knows his stuff and the book builds into a truly wonderful and positive analysis of a successful lifelong partnership. It should be compulsory reading for anyone contemplating tying the knot.

Engaging, meticulous, acutely perceptive... There's a refreshing honesty in what De Botton has to say

One passage was so spot-on that I read it aloud to my husband... De Botton appreciates, as few writers do, the miracle and subtlety of the so-called ordinary

Well-observed and imbued with a tenderness that feels authentic and uncynical... It may even save some marriages.

Alain de Botton is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including The School of Life: An Emotional Education, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The Course of Love. He is the founder of The School of Life (theschooloflife.com).

Modern love is never easy. Society is obsessed with stories of romance, but what comes after happily ever after? 
 
This is a love story with a difference. From dating to marriage, from having kids to having affairs, it follows the progress of a single ordinary relationship: tender, messy, hilarious, painful, and entirely un-Romantic. It is a love story for the modern world, chronicling the daily intimacies, the blazing rows, the endless tiny gestures that make up a life shared between two people. Moving and deeply insightful, The Course of Love offers us a window into essential truths about the nature of love.

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

From one of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life - a lucid exploration of the state in which most of us spend most of our lives 
 
'De Botton's wit and powers of ironic observation are on display throughout what is a stylish and original book. The workplace brings out the best in his writing' Sunday Times 
 
'Timely, wonderfully readable. De Botton has pretty much got to the bottom of the subject' Spectator 
 
'Terribly funny, touches us all' Daily Mail 
 
'Brilliant, enormously engaging' Guardian 
 
Why do so many of us love or hate our work? How has it come to dominate our lives? And what should we do about it? 
 
Work makes us. Without it we are at a loss; in work we hope to have a measure of control over our lives. Yet for many of us, work is a straitjacket from which we cannot free ourselves. 
 
Criss-crossing the world to visit workplaces and workers both ordinary and extraordinary, and drawing on the wit and wisdom of great artists, writers and thinkers, Alain de Botton here explores our love-hate relationship with our jobs. He poses and answers little and big questions: from what should I do with my life? to what will I have achieved when I retire? 
 
The Pleasure and Sorrows of Work explains why it is we do what we do all day, and applies sympathy, humour and insight to helping us make the most of it.

De Botton's wit and powers of ironic observation are on display throughout what is a stylish and original book. The workplace brings out the best in his writing

Timely, wonderfully readable. De Botton has pretty much got to the bottom of the subject

Work makes us. Without it we are at a loss; in work we hope to have a measure of control over our lives. Yet for many of us, it is a straitjacket from which we cannot free ourselves. 
 
Criss-crossing the world to visit workplaces both ordinary and extraordinary, and drawing on the wit and wisdom of great artists, writers and thinkers, Alain de Botton explores our love-hate relationship with our jobs, to explain why it is we do what we do all day, and through sympathy, humour and insight, to seek to help us make the most of it.

A User's Manual

The News

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER 
 
From one of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life - an accessible and eye-opening exploration of our relationship with 'the news' 
 
'His gift is to prompt us to think about how we live and how we might change things' The Times 
 
'De Botton analyses modern society with great charm, learning and humour. His remedies come as a welcome relief' Daily Mail 
 
'Like all classic de Botton, there are plenty of insightful observations here, peppered with some psychology, a dash of philosophy, a big dollop of commonsense' Scotsman 
 
'The news' occupies a range of manic and peculiar positions in our lives. We invest it with an authority and importance which used to be the preserve of religion - but what does it do for us? 
 
Mixing current affairs with philosophical reflections, de Botton offers a brilliant illustrated guide to the precautions we should take before venturing anywhere near the news and the 'noise' it generates. Witty and global in reach, The News will ensure you'll never look at reports of a celebrity story or political scandal in quite the same way again.

One of our most consistently illuminating writers on contemporary culture

De Botton's gift is to prompt us to think about how we live and how we might change things

Today, the news occupies the same dominant position in our lives as religion once did. But rarely do we consider how it touches us. Here, Alain de Botton examines a number of archetypal news stories - a plane crash, a murder, a political scandal, a celebrity interview - from a fresh perspective to ask intriguing questions: why do disaster stories titillate? why obsess over love lives of the famous? why smile when a politician falls from grace? In so doing, he brings clear sight and understanding to a force which, above all others, informs our view of reality.

The Consolations of Philosophy

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER 
 
One of the most influential voices in modern philosophy - the author of The Course of Love, Religion for Atheists, The Art of Travel and The School of Life 
 
Alain de Botton presents a one-stop shop for solving the problems of everyday life through the wisdom of history's great philosophers 
 
'Singlehandedly, de Botton has taken philosophy back to its simplest and most important purpose: helping us live our lives' Independent 
 
'Few discussions on the great philosophers can have been so entertaining... An ingenious, imaginative book' The Sunday Times 
 
'Witty, thoughtful, entertaining... It manages to make philosophy both enjoyable and relevant' Anthony Clare, Literary Review 
 
'No doubt about it, philosophy is the new rock and roll and Alain de Botton is its Colonel Tom Parker... A pleasure to read. And good writing, like good philosophy, is always a consolation' John Banville, Irish Times 
 
Alain de Botton has set six of the finest minds in the history of philosophy to work on the problems of everyday life. Find out what Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche would say about the things that bother us all the most: lack of money, the pain of love, inadequacy, anxiety, the fear of failure and the pressure to conform.

Singlehandedly, de Botton has taken philosophy back to its simplest and most important purpose: helping us live our lives

Few discussions on the great philosophers can have been so entertaining... An ingenious, imaginative book

Witty, thoughtful, entertaining... It manages to make philosophy both enjoyable and relevant

'No doubt about it, philosophy is the new rock and roll and Alain de Botton is its Colonel Tom Parker... A pleasure to read. And good writing, like good philosophy, is always a consolation

A much-loved volume of classic Alain de Botton wisdom: a book of philosophy that helps us to live 
 
 Alain de Botton has set six of the finest minds in the history of philosophy to work on the problems of everyday life. Here then are Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietsche on some of the things that bother us all: lack of money, the pain of love, inadequacy, anxiety, the fear of failure and the pressure to conform. 
 
 Alain de Botton's bestselling books include The News, Religion for Atheists, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Art of Travel, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work and The Architecture of Happiness. He lives in London and founded The School of Life (www.theschooloflife.com) and Living Architecture (www.living-architecture.co.uk). For more information, consult www.alaindebotton.com.

Status Anxiety

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER 
 
From one of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life - Alain de Botton sets out to understand our universal fear of failure - and how we might change it 
 
'De Botton's gift is to prompt us to think about how we live and how we might change things' The Times 
 
We all worry about what others think of us. We all long to succeed and fear failure. We all suffer - to a greater or lesser degree, usually privately and with embarrassment - from status anxiety. 
 
Alain de Botton gives a name to this universal condition and sets out to investigate both its origins and possible solutions. He looks at history, philosophy, economics, art and politics - and reveals the many ingenious ways that great minds have overcome their worries. The result is a book that is not only entertaining and thought-provoking - but genuinely wise and helpful as well. 
 
'He analyses modern society with great charm, learning and humour. His remedies come as a welcome relief when most books offering solutions to the stresses of life recommend the lotus position' Daily Mail

De Botton analyses modern society with great charm, learning and humour. His remedies come as a welcome relief when most books offering solutions to the stresses of life recommend the lotus position

Measured, amused, compassionate . . . de Botton is a surefooted discoverer of the pungent but less well-known quote

A purveyor of serious but playful manuals for living

Turned me into a fan, for its range, insight, wit and sheer usefulness

We all worry about what others think of us. We all long to succeed and fear failure. We all suffer - to a greater or lesser degree, usually privately and with embarrassment - from status anxiety. 
 
For the first time, Alain de Botton gives a name to this universal condition and sets out to investigate both its origins and possible solutions. He looks at history, philosophy, economics, art and politics - and reveals the many ingenious ways that great minds have overcome their worries. The result is a book that is not only entertaining and thought-provoking - but genuinely wise and helpful as well.

The Architecture of Happiness

THE NUMBER ONE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 
 
From one of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy and The School of Life, The Architecture of Happiness explores the fascinating hidden links between the buildings we live in and our long-term wellbeing. 
 
'Engaging and intelligent . . . Full of splendid ideas, happily and beautifully expressed' Independent 
 
What makes a house truly beautiful? Why are many new houses so ugly? Why do we argue so bitterly about sofas and pictures - and can differences of taste ever be satisfactorily resolved? 
 
To answer these questions and many more, de Botton looks at buildings across the world, from medieval wooden huts to modern skyscrapers; he examines sofas and cathedrals, tea sets and office complexes, and teases out a host of often surprising philosophical insights. The Architecture of Happiness will take you on a beguiling tour through the history and psychology of architecture and interior design, and will change the way you look at your home. 
 
'Alain de Botton takes big, complex subjects and writes about them with thoughtful and deceptive innocence' Observer 
 
'Clever, provocative and fresh as a daisy' Literary Review

Full of splendid ideas, often happily and beautifully expressed . . . an engaging and intelligent book

In The Architecture of Happiness, bestselling author Alain de Botton explores one of our most intense but often hidden love affairs: with our houses and their furnishings. He asks: 
 
What makes a house truly beautiful? 
Why are many new houses so ugly? 
Why do we argue so bitterly about sofas and pictures - and can differences of taste ever be satisfactorily resolved? 
 
To answer these questions and many more, de Botton looks at buildings across the world, from medieval wooden huts to modern skyscrapers; he examines sofas and cathedrals, tea sets and office complexes, and teases out a host of often surprising philosophical insights. The Architecture of Happiness will take you on a beguiling tour through the history and psychology of architecture and interior design, and will change the way you look at your home.

The Art of Travel

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER 
 
'Honest, funny and dripping with witty aphorisms. Extremely entertaining and enlightening [...] all the way to journey's end' Herald 
 
One of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life, presents a travel guide with a difference - an exploration of why we travel, and what we learn along the way... 
 
Few activities seem to promise as much happiness as going travelling: taking off for somewhere else, somewhere far from home, a place with more interesting weather, customs and landscapes. But although we are inundated with advice on where to travel to, we seldom ask why we go and how we might become more fulfilled by doing so. 
 
With the help of a selection of writers, artists and thinkers - including Flaubert, Edward Hopper, Wordsworth and Van Gogh - Alain de Botton provides invaluable insights into everything from holiday romance to hotel minibars, airports to sightseeing. The perfect antidote to those guides that tell us what to do when we get there, The Art of Travel tries to explain why we really went in the first place - and helpfully suggest how we might be happier on our journeys. 
 
 
'Delightful, profound, entertaining. I doubt if de Botton has written a dull sentence in his life' Jan Morris 
 
'An elegant and subtle work, unlike any other. Beguiling' Colin Thubron, The Times

Richly evocative, sharp and funny. De Botton proves himself to be a very fine travel writer indeed

Delightful, profound, entertaining. I doubt if de Botton has written a dull sentence in his life

An elegant and subtle work, unlike any other. Beguiling

Honest, funny and dripping with witty aphorisms. Extremely entertaining and enlightening . . . all the way to journey's end

Few activities seem to promise us as much happiness as going travelling: taking off for somewhere else, somewhere far from home, a place with more interesting weather, customs and landscapes. But although we are inundated with advice on where to travel to, we seldom ask why we go and how we might become more fulfilled by doing so. 
 
With the help of a selection of writers, artists and thinkers - including Flaubert, Edward Hopper, Wordsworth and Van Gogh - Alain de Botton's bestselling The Art of Travel provides invaluable insights into everything from holiday romance to hotel mini-bars, airports to sight-seeing. 
 
The perfect antidote to those guides that tell us what to do when we get there, The Art of Travel tries to explain why we really went in the first place - and helpfully suggests how we might be happier on our journeys.

A non-believer's guide to the uses of religion

Religion for Atheists

SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER 
 
NUMBER ONE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 
 
From one of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The School of Life 
 
'A serious and optimistic set of practical ideas that could improve and alter the way we live' Jeanette Winterson, The Times 
 
'A beautiful, inspiring book... offering a glimpse of a more enlightened path' Sunday Telegraph 
 
'Smart, stimulating, sensitive. A timely and perceptive appreciation of how much wisdom is embodied in religious traditions and how we godless moderns might learn from it' Financial Times 
 
'There isn't a page in this book that doesn't contain a striking idea or a stimulating parallel' Mail on Sunday 
 
Alain de Botton takes us one step further than Dawkins or Hitchens ventured - into a world of ideas beyond the God debate... 
 
All of us, whether religious, agnostic or atheist, are searching for meaning. And in this wise and life-affirming book, non-believer Alain de Botton both rejects the supernatural claims of the major religions and points out just how many good ideas they sometimes have about how we should live. 
 
And he suggests that non-believers can learn and steal from them. 
 
Picking and choosing from the thousands of years of advice assembled by the world's great religions, Alain de Botton presents a range of fascinating ideas and practical insights on art, community, love, friendship, work, life and death. He shows how they can be of use to us all, irrespective of whether we do or don't believe.

Smart and stimulating . . . a sensitive analysis of the deeply human needs that faith meets

A beautiful, inspiring book . . . offering a glimpse of a more enlightened path

A serious and optimistic set of practical ideas that could improve and alter the way we live

His prose is lovely: clear, gently persuasive, light of touch

Cool, crystal-clear prose . . . There isn't a page in this book that doesn't contain a striking idea or a stimulating parallel

All of us, whether religious, agnostic or atheist, are searching for meaning. And in this wise and life-affirming book, non-believer Alain de Botton suggests that religions, far from being nonsensical as atheists maintain, are instead full of good ideas on how to live. 
 
And that we should steal from them. 
 
Picking and choosing from the thousands of years of advice assembled by the world's great religions to get practical insights on art, community, love, friendship, work, life and death, Alain de Botton will show how each of us may find our place in the world.

From one of our greatest voices in modern philosophy, author of The Course of Love, The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life 
 
The Architecture of Happiness explores the fascinating hidden links between the buildings we live in and our long-term wellbeing 
 
'Engaging and intelligent... Full of splendid ideas, happily and beautifully expressed' Independent 
 
'Alain de Botton takes big, complex subjects and writes about them with thoughtful and deceptive innocence' Observer 
 
'Clever, provocative and fresh as a daisy' Literary Review 
 
Bestselling author Alain de Botton has written about love, travel, status and how philosophy can console us. Now he turns his attention to one of our most intense but often hidden love affairs: with our houses and their furnishings. He asks: What makes a house truly beautiful?Why are many new houses so ugly?Why do we argue so bitterly about sofas and pictures - and can differences of taste ever be satisfactorily resolved?Will minimalism make us happier than ornaments? 
 
To answer these questions and many more, de Botton looks at buildings across the world, from medieval wooden huts to modern skyscrapers; he examines sofas and cathedrals, tea sets and office complexes, and teases out a host of often surprising philosophical insights. The Architecture of Happiness will take you on a beguiling tour through the history and psychology of architecture and interior design, and will forever alter your relationship with buildings. It will change the way you look at your current home - and help you make the right decisions about your next one.

Alain de Botton (Author, Reader) Alain de Botton is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including The School of Life: An Emotional Education, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The Course of Love. He is the founder of The School of Life (theschooloflife.com).

The abridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Alain de Botton's extraordinary The Architecture of Happiness, read by the author himself. 
 
Alain de Botton considers the hopes and fears we have for our homes at a new level of depth and insight, considering such questions as: Why do people disagree about taste? Can beautiful surroundings make us good? Not to mention: What makes a window frame attractive? Rooted in the idea that architecture has the power to influence how we feel, and that we are different people in different buildings, he suggests how we might learn to build better, more attractive dwellings, in which we would stand a higher chance of happiness. 
 
'Because it is De Botton reading, in an engagingly low-key way, the experience is amusingly close to listening to a very clever friend...' Christina Hardyment The Times

Alain de Botton

A good conversationalist, friend or romantic partner is someone who makes you feel heard and understood. That’s exactly what you’ve achieved with this book . . . This book does a wonderful job of making you realise that the thing you’re going through, and the way that you are, isn’t evidence of your inadequacy. It’s actually evidence that you are perfectly human

Steven Bartlett, author and host of The Diary of a CEO

It is hard to think of a timelier and more relevant read

Written with kindness and the author's signature brand of empathy . . . a companion for trying times and a resource on how to build resilience when redemption seems intangible

Lessons from the School of Life

A healthy mind knows how to hope, hanging on tenaciously to the reasons to keep going. 
 
A healthy mind resists unfair comparisons, not allowing others’ successes to throw it off course. 
 
A healthy mind avoids catastrophic imaginings, distinguishing worries of what could happen from what likely will. 
 
Just as there is no such thing as a human being who will never become physically ill, there is no human who will go their whole life without becoming mentally unwell. But recognising ourselves when we’re well can do a lot to help us identify what can go awry. Written with his signature kindness and empathy, this book is Alain de Botton’s practical guide to caring for our mental health – from the acts of self-care in which we find respite to the help which psychotherapy can bring. 
 
Mental illness is as common, and as unshameful, as its bodily counterpart. We should be no more reluctant to seek help than we are if we develop a chest infection or sore knee - and we are no less worthy of love and sympathy in those moments. This book is a reminder of that.

Alain de Botton

Books by Alain de Botton

Articles featuring Alain de Botton

Books to help you be better at love

The best self-help books for a positive change in the New Year

Alain de Botton on how romance novels can make us unlucky in love

Videos

5 Ways To Start Your Therapeutic Journey with Alain De Botton

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