Pretty on the Inside AND Outside

For the last few nights I've been coming home and saying to Graham, "In case you haven't heard this before, I LOVE Oliver Sacks!" It's true, I totally do.

I had heard about him from my folks, Pam and Gary, for years. They have all his books. Then when I was staying at their house, recovering from surgery, I picked up An Anthropologist on Mars, and was immediately SMITTEN. So I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, soon following and SWOONED ever more.

For some reason, I tucked him away as I writer I would return to and savor later. For years I thought about it, but then the idea of science writing just didn't seem that interesting. OH, I am SO DUMB. I decided to read Seeing Voices recently (after all choices fell through) and ONCE AGAIN was totally enriched by his unbelievable style of mixing history, reportage, medical facts, with an honest literary bent. He's unlike anyone else I read, which makes him like a breath of fresh air in a room I didn't know had the windows closed.

Not only that, but I LOVE how Chip Kidd has designed his books. Look how YUMMY this cover is:


I have a real love of the art of book covers (I know I am not alone here). I sometimes go to the library just to find vintage book cover art that I like. Sometimes I DO judge a book by its cover. Chip Kidd is well, THE KIDD. He's an absolute artist in his field and I can often spot the books that have been designed by him. I love the series he did for Oliver Sacks and want to buy them to read AND gaze at.

I feel like I've had a few books lately that have UTTERLY knocked my socks off, which helps me to realize that I am not all that DULLED to life after all. The books I've been reading have just been good, but not great. Oliver Sacks has reminded me that there is a world out there that is deeply interesting. All you have to do is follow your curiosity. I'm glad I did.