Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I cannot remember a time in my life when I have not loved music and loved to sing. I was raised in an environment where singing, and singing in front of others was pervasive. That being said, other than voice lessons, I have very little formal knowledge of what music is. I do not play an instrument or read music easily, and I most certainly have never been taught how music impacts the brain. Fortunately for me, in Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain Oliver Sacks addresses the latter, and does so in his beautiful flowing style. Somethings I’ve suspected were confirmed. Other pipe dreams, like that I could someday acquire perfect pitch, were dashed, but that is fine because of how fascinating the book was. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in any facet of music or the workings of the human brain.
Less whimsical than the title would suggest... 