In February I stumbled across this page on the Library’s website: 2019 Reading Challenge. I thought it sounded like so much fun! It would definitely make me choose some books I probably wouldn’t otherwise have picked. Or at least pay attention to who writes the books, where the book (and the author) are from etc.
So of course, it’s me, I made a spreadsheet. Some books can easily go into different categories! For example – one of the advance challenge categories is “a book from The List: Great Reads for Youth”. So I scrolled through the list. And stumbled across this:

Yep – that’s Robin‘s name on that book 🙂 So it obviously goes in the Great Reads for Youth category but it could also go into the “a book by a LGBTQ+ author” or “a book by a Canadian award winning author.” Also if there was a “book written by a family member” that would work too lol
Most recently I finished Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey-Williams for the “a book that’s related to the periodic table of elements” advanced category. And yes, I am almost always this literal 😉

I learned an awful lot and I like how Aldersey-Williams comes across as a very smart, very friendly person just sharing his own little obsession with the world.
I loved reading the very elementary (hahaha) explanation behind the choice of gold, silver and lead chests in the Merchant of Venice – something I’m sure I just glossed over in high school. Oh and I enjoyed learning new words (hoicks for example) and loved the description of Eugène-Anatole Demarçay as “a gaunt, severe-looking man whose chief glory was his florid moustache.” My dad’s mustache is awesome so I had to go look up Demarçay’s!

There are lots of references to movies, to cars, to art, to architecture and so on. In fact, I was drawn so much to a passage on artists’ colours and the art supply store L. Cornelissen & Son that I went and looked it up – it still exists in London and Q has agreed that we should go check it out when we visit in August! You can do a tour online here. How cool is that?
So, what are you reading?