I have loved reading since I was a little girl and often spent my Sunday afternoons reading a chapter aloud to my Grandparents. I remember at school filling my book bag full to the brim with The Magic Key books in a race to finish them first. Although I don't have as much time to read as I used to, I still get that same excited feeling when I know I can spare half an hour to sit down and read. Last year I received a Kindle as a gift and absolutely I love it. I wouldn't compare it to a book as I personally think they are completely different. There are a few things that niggle at me such as only being able to see how much you have read in a percentage, rather than feeling a chunk of the book. However, this is hugely outweighed by the fact you can download hundreds of books for free. Recently I have been reading classics such as Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, and Dracula just to name a few. I have decided that the classic books deserve more recognition among modern readers and have decided to start my own collection of fiction. I'm aiming for a sea of orange across all my book shelves. Historically, classical books were only read by academics and students for educational purposes. They were often considered unreadable by the public eye. During the Second World War, translated versions of the classic titles started to be published by Penguin in mass. These books became a huge success and Penguin books became an important part of many soldiers lives, helping to guide them through. The classics books were no longer only owned by exclusive groups of society, and over time the translations were produced in a number of different languages and evolved into a group of several series. The design of the books was kept to its simplest form of thee horizontal bands. The upper and lower of were colour-coded according to which series the title belonged to. The color schemes included: orange and white for general fiction, green and white for crime fiction, series and white for travel and adventure, dark blue and white for biographies, yellow and white for miscellaneous, red and white for drama, purple and white for essays, and gray and white for world affairs. In 1986, all series were merged together and the collection Penguin Classic was born. Titles have moved on a considerable amount again since then and are available to buy in many different formats, including hardback, cloth bound, illustrated designs, and gift sets. So next time you are in a charity shop browsing through the book collection, take a minute to remember the history of the all of the Penguin books that are sitting on the shelves in front of you.Check out more about the brand here, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
