This article is from the February 2013 issue of Total Politics

My comfort blanket is Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  It’s been beside my bed since childhood and it is now in my iBooks library as my anchor in the storm of life.
However, reading is such an important part of my relaxation time, and there are many other titles to choose from. My background in business and as shadow minister for science, combined with my role as chair of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, led me to enjoy Mark Henderson’s The Geek Manifesto, Jaron Lanier’s You Are Not a Gadget, and Don Tapscott’s Grown Up Digital. I believe that a scientific and evidence-based approach to policy-making can lead to a new age of reason where rational policies are adopted in place of unthinking ideology. These authors help me to retain my optimism for the future of democracy – if parliamentarians can keep abreast of the emerging digital world, there may be a future.
I’m currently inspired by Kofi Annan, who carefully identifies the fragile balance between national self-interest and international intervention on humanitarian grounds in Interventions.
Outside of politics, I’m fascinated by the insights into human psychology of Scandinavian authors like Jo Nesbo and the late Stieg Larsson.
Adam Afriyie is Conservative MP for Windsor

Tags: Adam Afriyie, Conservative, Issue 55, My old book