Pursuits : Elizabeth Thomsen

Born on a Blue Day is the story of Daniel Tammett, a young man with an extraordinary mind. He has a rare combination of Asperger’s Syndrome and synesthesia, a condition which blurs the usual distinctions between the senses. In his own words:

I see numbers as shapes, colors, textures and motions. The number 1, for example, is a brilliant and bright white, like someone shining a flashlight into my eyes. Five is a clap of thunder or the sound of waves crashing against rocks. Thirty-seven is lumpy like porridge, while 89 reminds me of falling snow.

Daniel is the firstborn child in what will become a very large family. His parents had limited education and resources, and his father suffers from a debilitating mental illness, but as parents, they were patient and supportive of the unusual son. Daniel was different from the start, and suffered from frightening seizures as a child. As with any child on the autistic spectrum, his social skills were limited and he craves solitude and a predictable routine, things not easy to find for a boy growing up with a large family in small, crowded homes in London.
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Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America’s Favorite Addiction — by Jake Halpern

Jake Halpern grew up in the unglamorous Rust Belt city of Buffalo, New York, where he briefly found himself fascinated by Robin Leach’s celebrity show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous until his parents gave the television away. This book is a journalistic journey to examine the role and meaning of fame in America today.

Like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous , which showed the homes and possessions of the famous, rather than the famous themselves, this is a book is not about celebrities themselves, but about those who want to be famous, used to be famous, or want desperately to be associated with the famous.
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