Agent Palmer

Maybe it’s because we’re an island nation, with a proud history of seafaring. Maybe it’s because my early years were spent living on the coast. Whatever the reason, the sea has always fascinated.

That said, I’ve never been particularly fascinated by lighthouses, as interesting as they are. Unlike writer and building conservationist Tom Nancollas. His love and admiration for these stone monoliths shine through in this book from the cover right through to the epilogue.

I don’t read many self-help books, but the distinctive factor that makes the difference between the ones I read and all the rest is that the few I have read, all come across as conversations. They all feel like a friend giving you some advice… And Out of My Mind…and Intending to Stay There: A Battleplan for Life by Kurt Sussman is one such example…

It is an easy read because it is conversational, but don’t assume it’s also a quick read, as it will make you think… In fact, that’s the goal… Truth be told, the synopsis is pretty much one of the better and most accurate synopses I have read, especially for a self-help book.

You may or may not know David Mitchell from Peep Show, Would I Lie To You or one of his many other panel show appearances, or he may be someone you know absolutely nothing about, but neither knowing him nor not knowing him should deter you from reading his back story in his autobiography David Mitchell: Back Story: A Memoir.

What Mitchell has written is perhaps the most authentic and self-critical autobiography I have, and may ever, read. It’s refreshing in that way, because he’s not afraid to take the piss out of the industry he’s in or, most often, himself.