Deeper meanings?

2007-09-16

Due to a sequence of circumstances I have ended up reading four books in parallel. At first glance they are unconnected:

Derren Brown - Tricks of the Mind

Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion

M. Scott Peck - The Road Less Travelled and Beyond

Christopher Booker - The Seven Basic Plots

At first glance these were totally unconnected, apart from being non-fiction and vaguely esoteric that is. Delve a little deeper and two are people wanting to debunk myths, one is explaining their roots and the other is exploring that part of the human psyche that needs them. Derren was a staunch Christian who is now keen to reveal all things "magical" as mere (though still clever) trickery, Richard is keen to state that magic is how we see things we don't understand, and Scott thinks we could all do with a bit more of it. Christopher won't be the last to point out how we love certain types of stories, but whether they fulfil a purely human or a spiritual need is a moot point. I'll let you know in, ooh, about 3,000 pages!

How did I end up reading them all at once? Who knows, perhaps it was meant ;-)