Books I Read Over Break

As this is my last full day in Boston and also a blizzard day (16-18″!), and as I have no books left from the library (I had to go back and cancel my extra holds yesterday 😥 ) this list isn’t going to go through any alterations before the actual end of the break tomorrow around 7 pm (at which point I will be at the airport) (unless I finish The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur SUPER QUICKLY), I can get away with posting this a bit prematurely.

I have packed my bags and read my last book.

• The Secret Lives of Color, Kassia St. Clair: An excellent and really interesting book about the histories of various culturally significant colors (like Mountbatten Pink, Lead White, Cerulean, et al.) featuring odd and various anecdotes from the past.  Each color discussed gets a few pages.  Very far from dry, perfect for increasing your store of random information for use at parties and family gatherings, and a very aesthetically pleasing book.
• Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult, Bruce Handy: I’m a huge children’s lit reader. Possibly more so than I was as a child (and that’s saying something).  Watching the author discuss and examine childhood favorites (Goodnight Moon, Peter Rabbit, Green Eggs and Ham) through an adult lens, with an attention to various social/cultural movements, is so fascinating. It doesn’t hurt that the author is really witty. I think I audibly chuckled a few times.
• The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, Hyemin Sunim: Part of what inspired my very crunchy and zen resolution list (the other part being that I’m just a crunchy and zen person) (well, I try to be zen).  Beautiful illustrations and lots of crunchy and chewy food for thought. So glad I stumbled on this in Shakespeare and Co. (And so glad BPL carries it!)

Contrary to my usual preferences, if was a very nonfiction-heavy vacation.  But I feel edified, improved, and most importantly full of odd anecdotes to share.

Spectacular Seuss

My break continues to go well, although my back’s a mess after all the post- Winter storm Stella shoveling I did yesterday.  Because it was such a wet and heavy snow all that was on the ground had cemented into something rather brick-like.
But it’s good for cardio, right? And having been semi-sedentary since Winter Ball, the feeling of being so wiped and wrung out was pleasant.  And I have a massage tonight, which will hopefully take care of my back, though I’m not sure what to do about the palms of my hands being bruised.

Anyway, have you heard of Dr. Seuss? A silly question because most everyone has, chances are you even have a favorite story.  I wanted to mention some of my favorites, which tend to be lesser known.
I promise there are some generally popular things I love, but I do tend to go my own way when it comes to literature and film. And there’s a good reason this time! The classic books were all ones we read (or had read to us) in school, while the more obscure stories were the ones I had at home, in a lovely compendium called ‘Six By Seuss’ (which definitely had more than six stories in it?). It’s still on my bookshelf.
And reading a book over and over again at home is always a different (better) memory that reading at school.