The Optimist

"Laurence Shorter picked up on something that I think all of us are aware of – that there is a huge pessimism bias in the world around us, particularly in the media. He said that he was getting sick and tired of turning on the news or reading a newspaper, because all the time it just seemed to be bad news and negative stories. He thought, surely there is a brighter side of life? Surely there is a way of becoming more optimistic and finding optimism? So his book is about his quest to go out and find a brighter side of life. He does several things. He visits scientists who have been working on optimism and he learns a lot from them. He talks to Buddhists who teach him about meditation and about being in the moment. It really is a fun read in terms of his efforts to try to find a more optimistic way of thinking and way of being. I am not sure whether he manages it in the end, but it is quite light-hearted and a fun read. Absolutely."