I’ve been a fan of Alain de Botton’s for a while now – one of the few people we can properly call a public intellectual (in the good sense) in this country. A brilliant ‘philosopher of everyday life’, who teaches us everything from how to think subtley about defining success and failure, to how we can harness the power of religion even if we consider ourselves to be atheists, he is also a fantastic speaker. Check out his two TED talks here and here.

Being such a fan, it was particularly exciting to go and meet him at his North London offices this week, and even more thrilling to hear that he is working on a new book on the philosophy of Art, which will be out in 2013. Here’s one reader who can’t wait…