“What is pleasant about Baggini, and explains why he has such a presence as a popular professor (‘do not assume that because someone is described as a “popular philosopher” lots of people actually like him’), is that he uses familiar examples and takes us through them with clarity and good humour; we may not consider ourselves philosophers but we can appreciate it when he tells us an anecdote which suggests that Eric Bloom from Blue Öyster Cult has a low opinion of Folkestone.”

Nicholas Lezard picks Do They Think You’re Stupid? as his paperback choice in this week’s Guardian.