So often we exhaust ourselves and the planet in a search for very large pleasures, while all around us lies a wealth of small pleasures, which if only we paid more attention could bring us solace and joy at little cost and effort.

This is a book to guide us to the best of life's small pleasures: the distinctive delight of holding a child's hand, having a warm bath or the joy of the evening sky. It is an intriguing, evocative mix of small pleasures to heighten the senses and return us to the world with new-found excitement and enthusiasm.

Small pleasures are points of access to the great themes of our lives. Every chapter puts one such moment of enjoyment under a magnifying glass to find out what's really going on and why it touches, moves and makes us smile.