Shades of Grey

Finished August 7

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

This is the first book in a series set in Chromatacia, a similar world to ours a few hundred years after some kind of catastrophic event. Hierarchy in this world is by what colours you can see. Some people can't see colour at all and they are categorized as 'grey'. People that can see colour have social status depending on which colours they can see and how well they see them. They have last names that give some indication of their colour ability. In their twentieth year, all people undergo a test called an Ishihara that tests their colour perception and determines their status for life. It is not unusual for people to move up or down from the status of their parents. People also earn merits from what they do and what other people confer on them. Having merits is important as if you get down to zero merits you get sent off to Reboot, which is an educational program that is remedial and then you are relocated somewhere else in the world. It is difficult to travel between places, and a ticket is necessary to do so. One of the few modern modes of transport is by train. 

The main character is Eddie Russett. Eddie has high perception of red, but he hasn't undergone his Ishihara yet, although it will happen soon. Eddie has done something that requires him to undergo a task and he is sent to a remote village near the edge of the controlled world to do a chair audit. He is accompanied by his father, who is a temporary replacement for a Colourman who has recently died. 

Eddie has a half-promise to marry a young woman back home, but she also has another suitor. He soon finds himself attracted to a young Grey woman named Jane, one with quite an attitude. He also finds himself questioning some of the things he has been taught and about the society itself and its controls. He faces carnivorous plants, conniving new friends, and an entitled woman determined to marry him.

When he goes on an exploratory expedition to an abandoned city, he finds himself with more questions, and yet he knows that those in charge don't like questions. He must learn to choose his battles, and think about more long-term goals. 

I like the imagination of this author and the way he fully creates societies in his worlds. This is an interesting one, with a dystopian feel to it. There is also an element of hope. 

It will be interesting to see where other books in the series lead. 

A House Among the Trees

Finished May 4 

A House Among the Trees by Julia Glass

This novel reads almost like a memoir, except we have more than one character's point of view. The biggest voice is from Tomasina (Tommy) Daulair, who was the assistant to the children's book author and illustrator Mort Lear. He has recently died and she is surprised to find that he has left her his house and its contents, as well as appointing her his literary executor. As Tommy reflects on her relationship with Mort, we see how they came to meet, and how she eventually became such an important person in his life. We also see how his life became hers in a way that she didn't expect or necessarily want. 

Another voice is that of Nicholas Greene, an Oscan-winning British actor who was recently cast in the role of Mort in a biopic about a portion of his life. Nick is in his thirties and, while he has been an actor for years, only recently came into real fame. We see his background, how he found his career, who he looks to for guidance, and his short, but intense, conversations with Mort prior to his death, resulting in Nick having secrets about Mort that no one else knows. 

The third voice is that of Meredith (Merry) Galarza, a divorced museum curator, who had formed a good relationship with Mort and his art, and was planning a new building featuring his work, along with other children's author/illustrators. She is surprised and disappointed not to be named his literary executor and get possession of his work. She is under pressure from her superiors to regain some ground in this regard, so the plans regarding the new building will be able to go ahead without significant reworking. 

One of Mort's most famous books is Colorquake, a picture book about a young boy, Ivo, who lives in a world without color until he discovers he can draw things that come to life and bring color to his world. He had done other picture books along with a series for teens and many other projects. 

One of the things he has tasked Tommy to do in his will is to create a foundation that will fund a shelter for runaway and homeless boys. This sense of a boy in poverty, feeling alone, is one that runs through the book in more than one way. 

Julia Glass is very good at creating strong, deep characters, ones that you really get to know the inner workings of. You see their insecurities, the personas they present to the larger world, and the way that they relate to a number of people in their lives. 

The novel brings these characters together and ties their stories together in interesting and unexpected ways. 

I really enjoyed this book and all three of these complex characters. 

Wrap-Up of Colour Coded Reading Challenge 2021

 Colour Coded Reading Challenge

I definitely didn't do well on this one, 

The challenge is hosted here: https://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2020/10/color-coded-reading-challenge-2021.html

You have to read nine books in the following categories

* A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Red" or any shade of Red in the title or on the cover

    The Woman in Red by Diana Giovinazzo. Finished April 22

* A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow in the title or on the cover

    Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson. Finished March 27

* A book with "Green" or any shade of Green in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Black" or any shade of Black in the title or on the cover

    The Blackhouse by Peter May. Finished December 1

* A book with "White" or any shade of white in the title or on the cover

    Two White Queens and The One-Eyed Jack by Heidi Von Palleske. Finished May 12

* A book with any other colour in the title or on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, etc.)

* A book with a word or image that implies colour in the title or on the cover (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Shadow, Paint, Ink, etc.)
    The Blondes by Emily Schultz. Finished January 4

Colour Coded Reading Challenge 2021

 I've done colour themed reading challenges hosted by other sites before and wanted one this year.

The challenge is hosted here: https://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2020/10/color-coded-reading-challenge-2021.html

You have to read nine books in the following categories

* A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Red" or any shade of Red in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Green" or any shade of Green in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown in the title or on the cover

* A book with "Black" or any shade of Black in the title or on the cover

* A book with "White" or any shade of white in the title or on the cover

* A book with any other colour in the title or on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, etc.)

* A book with a word or image that implies colour in the title or on the cover (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Shadow, Paint, Ink, etc.)

Wash On!

Finished March 15
Wash On! by Michèle Marineau, illustrated by Manon Gauthier, translated by Erin Woods

This lovely tale of a young girl who finds the magical power of words while taking a bath, will delight all young readers. Petronilla insists on saying "Wash on," instead of "Wash off," when her mother gives her a bath, and the color of the washcloth transfers to her cheek. As Petronilla continues to insist on washing on, the colors of everything she touches transfer to other objects, and the phenomenon spreads to other people. As the colors transfer, it becomes difficult to distinguish between objects, and things get very messy.
The fun of imagining such a thing happening is enhanced by the illustrations showing color moving to other objects and the confusion it causes.
A fun book.

Gentle Spectrums 2017

I am committing to Gentle Spectrums again this year

This challenge runs from February 1, 2017 to January 31, 2018

The challenge has two parts,

A Limitless Hues

This part has the names of colours in book titles or the word colour or terms like iridescent, bright, light, hue, spectrum, rainbow, shade, etc. Terms that might be shades of a color like cherry or canary don't count with the colour itself

B Gentle Subjects

This part has ten subject categories to match to book titles. Some will also allow content matches.

1. History
Historic people, content, places, symbols, and books set in 1967 or earlier.

2. Food
Food and drink, and words typically used to describe them like sweet or sour.

3. Sky
Elements by day or night, astronomy, spiritual terms

4. Canadian
Titles do not need to match this category. Canadian authors and features do. A brief Canadian setting does not count

5. Money, Valuable, Class
Monetary terms, gems, etc.

6. Music
Musical terms. Also books about music or musicians, or by musicians.

7. Is the Third a Charm?
Titles associated with "three". A third volume, or your third book by an author. Include a comment as to whether the author is more appealing or less at this third book.

8. Traditions, Practices, Celebrations

9. All Critters

10. Clothing or Fashion

Crafting a Colorful Home

Finished September 20
Crafting a Colorful Home: a room-by-room guide to personalizing your space with color by Kristin Nicholas, photographs by Rikki Snyder

The book appealed to the creative side of me when I spotted it at the library, and I found several things in it that appealed to me. As the subtitle indicates, it is organized room by room, with a few techniques and projects spelled out for each room or area. These instructions are very well done, with photos for the different steps and clear wording.
I would have liked more photos and discussion on what she's done in her own rooms as some of the room shots showed interesting things that I would have liked to see closer and learn about how/why she did them.
As the title indicates the rooms here have two themes. One is color, lots of it, mixed with thought but not looking too planned. Vibrant colours played across more subtle ones. She does discuss color palettes and layering of colors in the first chapter to get you familiar with good color design practices. The second theme is crafting. A lot of her home has been done by herself from painting to textiles to useful and decorative objects. Nothing here is too difficult for a beginner which is great. She also provides templates for the projects.
The areas she covers are: studio; garden and entryways; kitchen; living room; dining room; library; and upstairs bedrooms and stairway.
As a librarian, I also liked how she worked books into her rooms. It made it feel very cozy and comfortable to me.
Lots of ideas here, and I'll plan to put some into action.

Color Coded Reading Challenge 2014 Wrap-Up Post

Color Coded Reading Challenge 2014 Wrap-Up Post

My post.

Here is the page where one signs up Color Coded Challenge.  
Here are the rules:

*Read nine books in the following categories.

1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc) in the title. 

   The Blue Fox by Sjon. Finished May 9

2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgandy, etc) in the title.

3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.)in the title.
  The Golden Egg by Donna Leon. Finished June 22

4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc) in the title.

5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Chocolate, Beige, etc) in the title.

6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc) in the title.

7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc)in the title.

8. A book with any other color in the title (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, Magneta, etc.).

9. A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.).

    The Night Rainbow by Claire King. Finished May 27

* Any book read from January 1 through December 31, 2014 will count.

*Crossovers with other challenges are fine.

As you can see, I didn't do very well, despite having many books that would have worked on my shelves. 

Gentle Spectrums Reading Challenge

Once I found the Color Coded Reading Challenge, it led me to another interesting one

Gentle Spectrums, which has two parts. 

 
(A)  LIMITLESS PALLET

Share any 10 books entitled with a colour.

You may repeat the colour spectrums;  even exact hues.
A different book title is a different book title!
Funky lipstick or paint shades might be a stretch.
Well-established hues are at your leisure:  maroon, jade, emerald…

 (B)  GENTLE SUBJECTS

Fit one book title into each category.
Here are abundant subjects to peruse together!

(1)  PLANTS
Trees, flowers, grass, gardening & crop-sowing references.

(2)  STRUCTURES
A building, rooms, a room or building’s parts.

(3)  NATIONS
Culture names, locations ~ lakes, towns, famous spots.

(4)  STONES
Synonyms, gems, ruins, geological formations.

(5)  FAMILIES
Types of relatives, last names, full names.

(6)  QUINTUPLED
A title of 5+ words (articles are fine).

(7)  CHEESY
Lame puns or quotations, outrageous, silly;  actual cheeses!

(8)  ENCHANTING
Mystical, eerie (enchanting content fulfills title;  no debunked ending).

(9)  WEATHER
Any words approximating weather or seasons.

(10)  CHEERFUL
Positive messages, conveys pleasant images!

I like being able to use a colour more than once (I have several with the word Blue in them) and I also really liked the second part, as it offers so many ideas. I'll work through what I've read so far to see what I've already read and then look through my TBR piles.

Color Coded Reading Challenge 2014

I've been looking for a challenge involving colors in book titles and just came across this one, so am adding it to my challenges for the year. 

Color Coded Reading Challenge 2014

Here is the page where one signs up Color Coded Challenge.  

Here are the rules:

*Read nine books in the following categories.

1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc) in the title.

2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgandy, etc) in the title.

3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.)in the title.

4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc) in the title.

5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Chocolate, Beige, etc) in the title.

6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc) in the title.

7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc)in the title.

8. A book with any other color in the title (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, Magneta, etc.).

9. A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.).

* Any book read from January 1 through December 31, 2014 will count.

*Crossovers with other challenges are fine.

*Everyone who completes all nine categories will be entered in a year-end drawing for a book-related prize package.

Sign ups accepted until Nov 30, 2014.

Colorful Reading Challenge

Heard about this one from Melwyk and had to join.

The challenge is pretty simple:

1. Just choose 9 books with colors in the titles.  
2. The books can overlap with other reading challenges (because let's face it, we need them to.)  
3. Post your links to your reviews each month to share with other participants.
4. The challenge runs from January 1, 2013 to December 1, 2013.
5. Read to your heart's content!

I have a few colourful books on my shelves that should get me started.

Think Colour

Finished June 10
Think Colour by Naomi Beth Wakan and Ruth Artmonsky

This book was created as part of the celebration of the authors' 80th birthday (they are twins) and the photos used to illustrate were all taken by family members.
They give us a celebration and meditation on colour, from the idea of colour and questions around it, to specific colours. Included are beautiful photos and great quotations, as well as brief but thoughtful commentary.
For the individual colours included, they begin with a brief list of colour names associated with the colour, qualities associated with it (with examples) and commentary followed by photos and quotations. I found the choices interesting and thought-provoking, as were omissions: where are my favourites French blue, Lime green, and Pewter grey? I know, I know, there are so many colour names as to make the task impossible.
A lovely book to inspire, and enjoy.