A rather luscious book giveaway
When was the last time you were passing a bookshop and a title in the window made you stop in your tracks and gasp? It happened to me a couple of weeks ago when I was heading home from work. I gawked at the book in the window and I think I may have audibly moaned with longing.
From the first glance I already knew the smooth feel of the cover, the way the deep brown of old wooden banisters would seem to leach through full-page photos. I knew the clean lines that would surround succinct descriptions to compliment the images. And I knew just how each page would fall open with the tiniest whoosh and come to settle with a sigh against its neighbour.
It was the most beautiful book I had seen in a long time. It was this book:
The front cover, which features The Dome, gives you a sense of what is to come inside. The book is split into sections, covering shops, restaurants and hotels, clubs and societies, domestic interiors, banks, schools, colleges and institutions, government and civic buildings, and churches.
David credits his mother “for unconsciously giving rise to this book by dragging me around stately homes as a child.”
For me, this book fits perfectly with the sentiments of this blog because it goes against our modern-day rush-around natures and invites us to slow down and take deep pleasure in our surroundings.
From the plush red and pink tones of Leslies Bar, to the chocolate coloured panelling at the Library of the Royal College of Physicians, or the gold-panelled ceiling of the Advocates Library, this soft-bound tomb is a reminder that books are more than just forms of entertainment or escapism. They are also beautiful objects, and often downright luxurious.
Inside Edinburgh has been published by Birlinn, Scotland’s Largest Independent Publisher. I couldn’t resist asking them if perhaps they could sponsor a copy for one of my Edinburgh-loving readers to win in a giveaway. They said YES! In thanks, please take a moment with me to send them page-turning sensual vibrations.
So yes, I have a copy of Inside Edinburgh to send to one very lucky person.
To enter to win this 200+ page dream book:
Leave a comment below about the interior of a building that has inspired you. Any building, any country - just something that fills you with pleasure and awe that you would recommend to others to see.
If you don’t have a blog to link back to, you can email me your inspiring interior comment to scotland4thesenses@gmail.com Please include “Inside Edinburgh” in the subject line.
Deadline for entries is Saturday, 27 November. I shall draw the name and announce the winner on Sunday 28 November. Also, if you would like to peruse more of Birlinn’s titles, you can visit their website. They have a write-up about Inside Edinburgh on their blog.
