Essential reading: nine experts on the books that inspired them

From film to philosophy, from music to history and economics, masters of their crafts pick the five books they could not live withoutAuthor Alain de Botton is known for applying philosophical concepts to everyday life; his books include How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997), Status Anxiety (2004) and The Architecture of Happiness (2006). In 2008 he co-founded The School of Life, an innovative school with a focus on emotional intelligence.For Proust the meaning of life turns out to be located no