I've changed my mind

Remember how I said that my beloved dictionary would accompany me if I were ever stranded on a deserted island? Well, I found another book that may just take its place.

The art of looking sideways by Alan Fletcher is the book in question, and it captured my attention from the get-go. I'm feeling too lazy to write my own description though, so I'll let you read what the inside cover says:

"The art of looking sideways is a primer in visual intelligence, an exploration of the workings of the eye, the hand, the brain and the imagination.

It is an inexhaustible mine of anecdotes, quotations, images, curious facts and useless information, oddities, serious science, jokes, memories—all concerned with the interplay between the verbal and the visual, and the limitless resources of the human mind. Loosely arranged in 72 'chapters', all this material is presented in a wonderfully inventive series of pages that are themselves masterly demonstrations of the expressive use of type, space, colour and imagery.

The book does not set out to teach lessons, but it is full of wisdom and insights collected from all over the world. Describing himself as a 'visual jackdaw', master designer Alan Fletcher has distilled a lifetime of experience and reflection into a brilliantly witty and imitable exploration of such subjects as perception, colour, pattern, proportion, paradox, illusion, language, alphabets, words, letters, ideas, creativity, culture, style, aesthetics and value.

The art of looking sideways is the ultimate guide to visual awareness, a magical compilation that will certainly entertain and inspire all those who enjoy the interplay between word and image, and those who relish the odd and unexpected."

Couldn't have said it better myself. Snort. Borrowed (and already renewed) this deliciously huge book from the library, but anticipate that I'll have to have my own copy. Especially if I'm to be island bound!