Loves

Cats - We always had dogs in my house growing up, and I never understood the appeal of cats. They don't do loyalty, they won't stop burglars and they seem to have contempt for humans generally. But now I have a cat, and I'm beginning to understand their charms. Mostly it's asleep, and when it's awake it's usually biting me, but in the moments between it being asleep and biting me I think we've got a real connection. You really have to earn the love of a cat and I think it appeals to my masochistic side.

Yoga - I am not a pliable person and I don't have the best balance. Nevertheless I leave yoga class every week feeling happier and healthier. What would the world be like if everyone did 10 minutes of yoga each morning? We'd all be late for work but no one would care.

Altruism - The response to the Haiti earthquake in Ireland made headlines, but every day ordinary people show extraordinary levels of kindness and generosity that doesn't get on the news. Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk who's made a study of the science and physiology of happiness, argues that this is our natural setting: we're inherently altruistic beings, forced into a system that promotes competition and egoism. He says that surrendering to our altruistic side will make us happier.

Ingmar Bergman - I'd only encountered Bergman as a reference in Woody Allen films, but recently I saw a whole load of his films on BBC4. As you might expect, they are gloomy and intense and usually about suicide. But they're also totally compelling, have a depth rarely found in cinema, and are genuinely and surprisingly beautiful.

Loathes

Televised football - I used to really like football, but when Sky moved in and the game got saturated with money, everything changed. Now it's never off the TV, and the players have morphed from the doughty, chippy heroes of my youth to a bunch of creepy billionaires for whom the game is a 90-minute inconvenience between endorsing aftershave and an orgy in a hotel.

Air travel - Some clown louses up in airline security and lets a known terrorist board a plane. Now everyone in the world has to pay the price. It's only a matter of time before they try to charge extra for the pleasure of having our gonads X-rayed. At some point, and maybe it's not that far away, air travel will become so unpleasant that we'll happily hand over our money, including fees and charges, to be let stay at home.

Techno-fetishism - I'm not sure what an 'app' is. But I'm fairly certain it's not going to change your life, no matter how much you think it will. Today's pocket miracle is tomorrow's piece of crap, and being able to find the nearest Tesco on your phone will not make you significantly happier. Likewise plasma TVs. I don't understand why anyone would want to see Gordon Ramsay's giant terrifying head in high definition.

Cycling in the city - People's behaviour changes when they get behind the wheel of a car. Sometimes you get the distinct impression that the sanctity of human life is no longer that important to them, especially when said human life is on a bike and between them and an amber light. Often, after almost running you over, they will tell you to 'get a helmet'.

Paul Murray's novel, 'Skippy Dies' (Hamish Hamilton), is out now