Afterthoughts by Richard Ayoade

Just read in the Guardian: a list of books that can be read in a day—which prompted me to complete this post about a small but interesting book.

It was the bit about the pistachios in the subtitle—a subtle hint at the tone—that made me determined to read Ayoade’s book. His aphorisms veer between the zany and the profound. Here’s a sampling of my favourites:

On psychology:

“A thought is as real as a bullet, and even harder to remove from your head.”

“We must find our own purpose, before someone else’s purpose finds us.”

In conversation, it’s frustrating when the other person departs from the script you’re imagining.”

“When people talk about how important it is to be in the moment, it doesn’t feel like they’re really in the moment.”

“No one is naturally tidy. The factory setting is laziness.”

On contemporary life:

“A civilization relies—relies absolutely—on the lies it tells itself.”

“By the time you can afford it, you should be old enough to know you don’t need it/you should be wise enough to know you shouldn’t buy it/you’re too old to enjoy it.”

“The saying ‘all things must pass’ will not get you through security.”

“Ironically, the debate about ‘woke’ is very tiring.”

“Whoever said ‘cheats never prosper’ is cheating themselves out of a comprehensible relationship with reality.”

“How can we live without community? The modern world is an attempt to answer that question.”

“People fear cancellation. I fear subscription.”

“Recently, I’ve started to see warnings about ‘historical’ attitudes that I might find offensive. But what I find offensive is the implication that it is even possible to have an ahistorical attitude…or, the thing that I find offensive is your prediction of my offence.”

“Nowadays, the word ‘crazy’ carries an understandable stigma. But how else can we describe the sheer scale of these discounts?”

“Maybe the real problem is that apple carts can’t emotionally regulate.”

“Human evolution has tipped. What we have now are small minds in big heads.”

I highly recommend this short book, which is full of laughter and insights. For those who admire speed, it can easily be read in a day—or even an afternoon.