The idea for this book came out of a conversation with photographer Jim Marsden, who took the pictures for it too. It seemed to both of us that conversation is about as important as food and rather than just a medium of communication can be one of life’s great joys. Researching it allowed me to spend time having delightful conversations about conversation itself with all kinds of wonderful people. As a result I came to think of it as an ‘everyday miracle’…

‘Do – Pause’, my second Do Book, came out on March 13th 2019. It turned out to be the best selling Do book of that year. It has also been translated into Spanish (not by me, thank goodness) and is widely available in Latin America.

When, in 2020, we entered what was called by some ‘The Great Pause’ it took on new significance and I was asked by the Do Lectures to do the first ‘Do Lecture Live’.

The book is about using pauses, short or long, to actively change the rhythms of your life and work rather than feeling subject to the clock. I argue that this is far more fruitful than trying to create ‘work-life balance’.

You can read an excerpt from it on the Do Book Co page on Medium and my article in The Observer here. You can find the book here. There is an audio version too which you can get on Audible (you get it for free if you buy a paper copy from the Do Book Co).

“Do – Improvise” was my second book. It first came out in 2013 and yet, thanks to Miranda West and all at Do Books, and designer James Victore’s lovely cover, it keeps on selling. Come the pandemic it seemed more relevant than ever and a second edition came out in 2022. You can find it here or, much to my delight, in the National Theatre Bookshop or the Tate Modern in London – amongst other places.