BOOKS: Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay

Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun walk through the origins of colors used in dyes, paints, etc. The history and the descriptions of her journeys to the various ancient sources of different colors were fascinating. However, I do question the wisdom of traveling to the saffron fields in Iran, the lapis lazuli mines in Afghanistan, and coastal Lebanon (in search of purple dye from shellfish) considering the current turmoil in those areas.



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BOOKS: A Guide to the Birds of East Africa

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What a delightful and heart-warming story!  It was filled with likable people, a sweet story line, and bits of Kenyan history.  I also enjoyed the info/descriptions of the various birds of Kenya. The book cover gives and excellent description:  "A beguiling novel that does for contemporary Kenya and its 1000 species of birds what Alexander McCall Smith's Ladies Detectives series does for Botswana".



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