The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St. Clair
I kept seeing this book when I was last in the UK. At every bookshop, I would see it on a table, or on a shelf looking at me. Intrigued, I would pick it up and look through it, admiring the coloured pages and short histories of many of the colours of the spectrum. But I didn't buy it, saying I would order it later. And like I said, I kept picking it up at each bookshop. Well, I finally did order it, and read the fascinating tales of colours - how many of them were created, how they were originally used, what they mean, and how they influence us today. It was a very enjoyable book, and if you are even remotely interested in history, colours, art, or just generally interesting tidbits, I would certainly recommend this book.
White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
This was a short story I picked up in South Kensington in London. I had never seen any short stories by Dostoyevsky, so it was an easy book to grab (plus it is a wonderful Penguin mini classic). This is his earlier writing, more juvenile in style and subject, but still mysterious and enjoyable in the way that he can only present. A young man leads a solitary, lonely life, but comes across a young girl in the streets. He boldly "saves" her from a stalker-type stranger, and they become friends. He falls in love immediately, and they meet each night near her home, but she soon reveals she holds onto hope that a certain man will come back for her, but will he come back? It is a thought-provoking tale of young and naive ventures, but it seems to hold truth of our older selves at the same time.
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
I saw this book while in the UK as well, and I picked it up a few times, but hesitated as I always do with more modern fiction. Will it be worth my time? Will I be disappointed in the themes? Then when I got home, I saw an author/writer I admire who lives in Oxford post a photo of this book and how charming it was, and I immediately ordered it, and I am so glad I did. It is the story of four women from England (they hardly know each other at all) who go on a month-long holiday in Italy, to stay in a castle perched on a cliff. To get away from life and their frustrations, husbands, or stresses to get married. What they each find is not what they expected, it's even better. Definitely a charming read.
The Monster and the Critics by J.R.R. Tolkien
This is a book of essays that I had on my shelf, and just never read yet! Imagine that! I picked it up again, when I was doing some research for a story I am writing, and by referencing something in one of those essays I ended up reading it all. As I continued to read that one essay, I just ended up reading the whole book. Every bit I read of Tolkien reminds me how much of a language and philologist genius he was. One who loved words and their origins above all. It is so clear, as I try to keep up with his fast-moving brain. I probably pick up a tiny bit of what he is saying, and yet it is still enjoyable to read. It must be like sitting in a lecture of his. I would be scribbling madly as he talked, in his characteristically mumbled speech, trying to comprehend and soak in all that genius in his word-loving brain.
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