Paperback reviews: The Lessons | Who Am I, and if so, How Many?

We start with two Englishmen in an Italian villa. Sensible James arrives to find that mad Mark has chucked lots of food in the swimming pool. You feel sorry for him, to do something so stupid. But then we flash back to the time when the two men met, as Oxford students; James was lonely and alienated, and Mark was the height of decadent glamour. Now we watch as James is sucked into Mark's posh, hedonistic world, and as he moves towards horror – and, of course, self-discovery. Shades of Brideshead.

Who Am I, and if so, How Many? ****

by Richard David Precht

(Constable, 8.99)

Can I think about the way I think? Or does the way I think get in the way? Here, a German writer explores the history of philosophy, very readably. He wonders what the Self is – or if it exists at all. If our minds are like a recipe, with billions of ingredients, is the Self like a meal made from the recipe, more than the sum of its parts? I found myself getting sucked into this book, and its ruminations on thinkers and thoughts – Nietzsche, Kant, Freud, Wittgenstein, Chomsky, Oliver Sacks and Mr Spock, who once fell in love and stopped being logical.

How to be Smart with Your Time ***

by Duncan Bannatyne

(Orion, 8.99)

Time is the one thing we all have equal amounts of. Also, we have quite a lot of it – you can sleep well, and work full-time, and still have 72 hours a week left over. But how good are you at managing your time? This is a self-help book, and Bannatyne's advice is excellent, and very clearly expressed. He warns us about perfectionism – after a certain point, it's best to move on. You must know where that point is. Also: get good at making decisions fast. Get to know how much your time is worth. Don't be spooked by doubt.

Paperback reviews: The Lessons | Who Am I, and if so, How Many? | How to be Smart with Your Time