Today is 'Wear Something Gaudy' Day, and while I'm not sure Hawaiian shirts really qualify as gaudy, it was the only thing I could find. The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands, by Dale Hope, with Gregory Tozian is a wonderful history of the shirt whether you give it a serious read, or just look at the pictures. (Be on the look out for movie stars, performers, and a U.S. president). There are fun bits of legends, and short biographies of the artists who created wonderful designs.

Canadian Reader tells me that Dorothy L. Sayers has a mystery titled Gaudy Night. I'll try and find it and include in a later post. :-)

I'll continue today's post with books from other trails. :-)

There aren't too many books about artichokes, so this one caught my eye: Annie Pitts, Artichoke, written and illustrated by Diana de Groat. Struggling actor Annie is cast as an artichoke in the class play. A play with a dull topic, as far as she is concerned ... nutrition! It turns out not to be as dull as she imagined. There is another book about artichokes in the April 12, 2014 post.

This one belongs with several other posts ... language, England, words ....

I know this book came out a while ago, but I am just now getting around to reading it. The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way, by Bill Bryson is a wonderful history of the evolution of language. Sometimes I think it's a wonder we can communicate at all! This book got better and better the more I got into it. Don't miss the chapter on swearing (and be careful what you say). ;-)

Reading Hermit With Dog