With Memorial Day Weekend coming up, I’m sure many of you (like myself) are looking forward to getting some reading done. You may have already chosen your book(s), but if not, I have a recommendation you may enjoy…

COLOR, by Victoria Finlay. Available wherever, apparently.

This book has earned a permanent spot in my little desk library at work, by virtue of ticking solidly the following boxes:

• Acceptable writing. Not apex level, but pretty good.
• Exceptional content, well-researched and clearly presented.
• Fairly unique. Resembles James Norwood Pratt’s Tea Lover’s Treasury, in that the flow from start to finish is almost novel-esque, without getting too weird. There are some characterizations I didn’t like, but they’re they’re objectively bad or anything.
• Guaranteed vocabulary enhancement for anyone who regularly deals in color. Honestly, the author did a great job of systematically packing in all kinds of information, some of which I’ve never encountered through any other source.

So, if you’d like something that’s fun, and guaranteed to provide fodder for conversation, this book’s for you. Just imagine blowing your aunt’s mind at the family table with some trivia about mummies being used to make paint, or how cochineal insects were crushed, or whatever. That nephew you’ve been trying to impress might just realize how cool you are, after all.