Happy World Penguin Day
So you might be wondering what exactly is World Penguin Day? I know I was when I stumbled across it while reading the news earlier this week. It was mentioned in an Earth Day article and I was intrigued to learn more about it. I've always found penguins fascinating, the fact that they are monogamous, mating for life. So romantic, eh? They are incredible creatures.
World Penguin Day allows us the time and space to think about these flightless birds, to learn more about them, their habitat, and how human activity is affecting them. If you don't have access to a local zoo (especially right now with COVID), a good movie or documentary will give you the information you need. I love a good David Attenborough documentary and there's a lovely video of David meeting penguins here on Youtube.
There's also some fun movies like March of the Penguins, Happy Feet, The Penguin King, and Mr Popper's Penguins.
Some fun facts about penguins:
- There are 18 different species of penguins living today
- They have a wonderful vascular system helping them to minimize heat loss
- Penguins are fast divers, diving at up to 7.5 miles per hour
- The Emperor penguin is the biggest at 4ft tall, while the Fairy is the smallest at 1ft tall
Favourite Penguin Classics Books
A lot of these covers have been updated since I last read them. I like the updates, change is good in my mind and it's cool to see new introductions as well. Although these are classics and the stories remain the same, it's nice to see some new art and some fresh eyes on some of my favourites.
This is a deluxe edition which is rather fancy compared to the one I remember reading. I like this cover though and adore the font. The updated version includes a new intro by Min Jin Lee (
NY Times Bestselling author of Pachinko).
One of my favourite books and movies. I recently watched Ratched on Netflix too. Sarah Paulson was amazing. I like this new take on the orange collection. It's part of a limited run series of 12 influential and beloved American classics. The book is wonderful, as is the movie, which has a smashing 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. I highly recommend both.
I'm a big fan of Roald Dahl, having grown up reading and watching Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Twits, The Witches (scared the heck out of me), and of course Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
I like this new deluxe edition of the book, with an introduction by Lev Grossman (#1
NY Times bestselling author of
The Magicians). The cover was created by cartoonist
Ivan Brunetti.
I read this novel in school and I absolutely loved it. It was so gripping, captivating, and thrilling, and at the same time, it absolutely broke my heart. Written in 1937, the book is nearing 100 years. I highly recommend this one.
To Read Soon
I bought this book at Indigo a couple of weeks ago. For the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, it's a published anthology chronicling the tumultuous fight for LGBTQ rights in the 1960s and activists who spearheaded it, with a foreword by Edmund White.
This is on my list to read and review over the next couple of weeks so you'll be seeing it pop up on here shortly.
Penguin Classics Wishlist
Some books that I don't own but hope to one day.
So there it is, my top picks from Penguin Classics! Old reads, soon to read, and two I hope to get my hands on soon :)
