For nineteen weeks over lockdown we gathered (virtually) together for A Drink with the Idler, with philosopher Mark Vernon, editor Tom Hodgkinson plus a special guest.

TV comedy producer (of Spitting Image, Blackadder and QI fame) John Lloyd was one of our early guests. He talked about how reading philosophy books has helped him through the dark times of his life. We knew that this must be true because we could see an intimidating number of hefty volumes on his shelves via Zoom.

After the event we had a clamouring from the Idlers in the audience for a list of the books he had found helpful.

Here it is, in his own words:

JOHN LLOYD’S PHILOSOPHY READING LIST

General books on philosophy as a route to happiness and meaning:

The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

Flow: The Psychology of Happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Philosophy for Life by Jules Evans

The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts

Books on how the essence of all religions and philosophies is the same:

The Perennial Philosophy by Aldous Huxley

Real Philosophy: An Anthology of the Universal Search for Meaning compiled by Jacob Needleman and David Applebaum

Mysticism: A Study and an Anthology by FC Happold

Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu, translated by Stephen Mitchell

The Book of Chuang Tzu translated by Martin Palmer with Elizabeth Breuilly

Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen

I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

God In All Worlds: An Anthology of Contemporary Spiritual Writing edited by Lucinda Vardey

Moving personal journeys towards philosophical enlightenment:

The Darker the Night, the Brighter the Stars: A Neuropsychologists Odyssey by Paul Broks

Music of the Mind by Darryl Reanney

Not I, Not Other Than I: The Life and Teachings of Russell Williams ed. Steve Taylor

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M Pirsig

Books showing how connected modern science and ancient philosophy are:

The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics by Gary Zukav

The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra

Art and Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time and Light by Leonard Shlain

Popular New Agey works but the best of the bunch in a patchy market:

Be Here Now by Ram Dass (Dr Richard Alpert)

Creative Visualization by Shakhti Gawain

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle

Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh

Books that throw light on the mystery of consciousness:

Thought As A System by David Bohm

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes

The User Illusion by Tor Norretranders

These are not strictly books of philosophy, but they are all eye-opening in their way and helped me finally start thinking for myself in my 40s:

Chaos by James Gleick

Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman! by Richard Feynman

Labyrinths of Reason by William Poundstone

The Phaedo by Plato

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy by N.A.M. Rodger

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

We like to get our books from anywhere but Amazon. If in doubt, try Hive, who come recommended by our friends at Ethical Consumer.

For those wanting more, our Introduction to Modern Philosophy online course with Mark Vernon can be found here.