Ian Ritchie

Architect; Interior Designer; Urban Designer; Product/Industrial Designer / United Kingdom / Ian Ritchie Architects

Ian Ritchie’s Book List

I love words. They are at the root of our communication and culture. Books are central to our existence. To write without reason is difficult, to write without imagination is impossible, and memories are essential to knowing and grounding oneself at any given time. Good books have these characteristics.

The following list is a sampling from libraries at my office and home.

2 books
Sorley Maclean

I discovered the writings of Sorley MacLean during a short working holiday in Raasay, a finger of an island lying between the Isle of Skye and the mainland. MacLean was a poet who wrote in Gaelic about his home and the struggles of the islanders during the 18th- and 19th-century clearings, but in this volume he wrote about his inner conflict and angst during the Spanish Civil war and World War II—whether to go and fight or to stay home and alive with his loves. His moral dilemma set in a historic and social context is so beautifully expressed in this book of love lyrics.

Robert Burns

The first book of poems I received. My father was born in Edinburgh and I sensed his desire that I should know my “roots” and the significance of Burns to the Scots.

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