Alain de Botton



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Alain de Botton

goodreads author profile


born
December 20, 1969

gender
male

place of birth
Zurich, Switzerland

website

genre
Nonfiction

influences
Seneca, Marcel Proust, Montaigne, Stendhal, Gustave Flaubert

member since
June 2007


about this author

Alain de Botton is a writer and television producer who lives in London and aims to make philosophy relevant to everyday life. He can be contacted by email directly via www.alaindebotton.com

He is a writer of essayistic books, which refer both to his own experiences and ideas- and those of artists, philosophers and thinkers. It's a style of writing that has been termed a 'philosophy of everyday life.'

His first book, Essays in Love [titled On Love in the US], minutely analysed the process of falling in and out of love. The style of the book was unusual, because it mixed elements of a novel together with reflections and analyses normally found in a piece of non-fiction. It's a book of which many readers are still fonde...more




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avg rating: 3.81 | 6,326 ratings | 960 reviews | 26 distinct works | 109 fans
How Proust Can Change Your Lif... How Proust Can Change Your Life: Not a Novel
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.76 — 1,051 ratings — published 1383
21 editions
my rating:
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The Art of Travel The Art of Travel
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.90 — 949 ratings — published 2002
14 editions
my rating:
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On Love: A Novel On Love: A Novel
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.88 — 864 ratings — published 1993
16 editions
my rating:
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The Consolations of Philosophy The Consolations of Philosophy
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.95 — 791 ratings — published 2000
23 editions
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The Architecture of Happiness The Architecture of Happiness
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.68 — 594 ratings — published 2006
16 editions
my rating:
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Status Anxiety Status Anxiety
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.74 — 556 ratings — published 2005
16 editions
my rating:
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The Romantic Movement: Sex, Sh... The Romantic Movement: Sex, Shopping, and the Novel
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.69 — 207 ratings — published 1994
4 editions
my rating:
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Kiss & Tell Kiss & Tell
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.59 — 168 ratings — published 1995
5 editions
my rating:
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The Pleasures and Sorrows of W... The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.51 — 164 ratings — published 2009
16 editions
my rating:
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On Seeing and Noticing On Seeing and Noticing (Pocket Penguin 70's #70)
by Alain de Botton (Goodreads author)
avg rating 3.80 — 46 ratings — published 2005
2 editions
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More books by Alain de Botton…

interviews

February 2009, Alain de Botton
"Adolescents who can't get a date are in a uniquely privileged position: They will have the perfect chance to get grounding in world literature. There is perhaps an important connection between love and reading, there is perhaps a comparable pleasure offered by both." ...More

more interviews »

Alain's recent updates (rss)

November 12, 2008
An Intimate History... Alain gave 5 of 5 stars to:
An Intimate History of Humanity (Paperback)
by Theodore Zeldin
my rating:
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Deceit, Desire, and... Alain gave 5 of 5 stars to:
Deceit, Desire, and the Novel: Self and Other in Literary Structure (Paperback)
by René Girard
my rating:
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November 10, 2008
What Should I Do wit... Alain gave 4 of 5 stars to:
What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question (Mass Market Paperback)
by Po Bronson
my rating:
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
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October 24, 2008
Praeterita: The Auto... Alain gave 3 of 5 stars to:
Praeterita: The Autobiography of John Ruskin (Oxford Letters & Memoirs)
by John Ruskin
my rating:
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The Elements of Draw... Alain gave 3 of 5 stars to:
The Elements of Drawing (Paperback)
by John Ruskin
my rating:
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Sesame and Lilies Alain gave 3 of 5 stars to:
Sesame and Lilies (Paperback)
by John Ruskin
my rating:
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Selected Writings Alain gave 4 of 5 stars to:
Selected Writings (Oxford World's Classics)
by John Ruskin
my rating:
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On Art and Life Alain gave 4 of 5 stars to:
On Art and Life (Penguin Great Ideas)
by John Ruskin
my rating:
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
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Unto This Last and O... Alain gave 5 of 5 stars to:
Unto This Last and Other Writings (Penguin Classics)
by John Ruskin
my rating:
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More of Alain's books…
"We are all more intelligent than we are capable, and awareness of the insanity of love has never saved anyone from the disease."
Alain de Botton (On Love: A Novel)
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"That said, deciding to avoid other people does not necessarily equate with having no desire whatsoever for company; it may simply reflect a dissatisfaction with what—or who—is available. Cynics are, in the end, only idealists with awkwardly high standards. In Chamfort's words, 'It is sometimes said of a man who lives alone that he does not like society. This is like saying of a man that he does not like going for walks because he is not fond of walking at night in the forêt de Bondy.'"
Alain de Botton (Status Anxiety)
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"Rather than teasing the buyers, we may blame the society in which they lived for setting up a situation where the purchase of ornate cabinets felt psychologically necessary and rewarding, where respect was dependent on baroque displays. Rather than a tale of greed, the history of luxury could more accurately be read as a record of emotional trauma. It is the legacy of those who have felt pressured by the disdain of others to add an extraordinary amount to their bare selves in order to signal that they too may lay a claim to love."
Alain de Botton (Status Anxiety)
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polls

21563
Alain de Botton is writing A Week At The Airport A Heathrow Diary live at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport the week of August 17, 2009. What do you think?

Cool
 
  17 votes, 68.0%

Weird
 
  3 votes, 12.0%

Silly airport publicity stunt
 
  3 votes, 12.0%

Something else (tell us in comments!)
 
  2 votes, 8.0%

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message 1: by Iris

1440073 Félicitations - what a tantalizing review of your new book in the Economist. Subtil plaisir que celui de l'attente de cette lectrice américaine pour la sortie du livre ici aux Etats-Unis.


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