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Books about synesthesia


Here’s a list of books on synesthesia that I’ve read and can recommend. All can be bought online and some are available for download from pdfdrive.com.


IN ENGLISH (in chronological order of publication):


The Man who Tasted Shapes (Richard E. Cytowic). The MIT Press. 1993

 

Bright Colors Falsely Seen. Synaesthesia and the Search for Transcendental Knowledge (Kevin T. Dann). Yale University Press. 1998 


Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens. How Synesthetes Colour their Worlds (Patricia Lynne Duffy). Times Books. 2001

 

A Mango-shaped Space (Wendy Mass). Little, Brown and Company. 2003. (Fiction for young readers: ideal for teens but any age will enjoy it)


The Hidden Sense. Synesthesia in Art and Science (Cretien Von Campen). The MIT Press. 2007


Born on a Blue Day (Daniel Tammet). Hodder Paperback. 2007

 

The Frog Who Croaked Blue. Synesthesia and the mixing of the senses (Jamie Ward). Routledge. 2008

 

Wednesday is Indigo Blue. Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia (Richard E. Cytowic and David M. Eagleman) The MIT Press. 2009

 

Mirror Touch. A Memoir of Synesthesia and the Secret Life of the Brain (Joel Salinas). Harper One. 2017


Synesthesia (Richard E. Cytowic). The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series. 2018


Synaesthesia: A Very Short Introduction (Julia Simner). Oxford University Press. 2019


Audio Book: Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens. How Synesthetes Colour their Worlds (Patricia Lynne Duffy, narrated by Appelusa). With research updates and synesthetic music. Available from Audible (in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Australia and Japan). 2021


Synesthetes: A Handbook (Sean Day). Second edition. 2021. Available in PDF format, here.

Synesthesia and Synesthetes is Sean Day's latest book. 2022. Now available on Amazon.


(For very young children) Sereya's Superpower (Christy Gurley). 2022. Available from Starshine Designs.


Painting Music (Ninghui Xiong). Artecittà Fundación Internacional. 2023. Available in ebook format here or here.


FINDING MORE FICTION (in English)

Pat Duffy has a list of plenty of fictional works with synesthete characters on her Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens website:

Fiction Synesthete Characters

And here's a website that lists and provides a resume of some fictional books with synesthete characters that might appeal to teenage readers:

Booklist: Synesthesia in Middle Grade and YA

 

IN SPANISH:

 

Sinestesia. El color de las palabras, el sabor de la música, el lugar del tiempo… (Alicia Callejas and Juan Lupiáñez). Alianza Editorial, 2012

 

IN FRENCH:

 

Des phénomènes de synopsie (Théodore Flournoy). Elibron Classics. Facsimile edition. 1893.



This page last updated: 29 August 2024

Books about synaesthesia; Books on synaesthesia; Books on synesthesia

4 comments:

  1. Book about synesthesia in Dutch: "Tussen Zinnen" by Cretien van Campen.

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    1. Thank you Linda! I'd read a few things by him online, about synesthesia and hallucinogens, which I found very interesting, and I'd also heard of his book The Hidden Sense, although I haven't read it (yet!). It would be good to extend this page and include more books and also books in more languages... so I'll do that soon and include it.

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  2. Next time you post something like this could you maybe put what it's about (specifically- they are obviously all about synesthesia) and maybe the age level? I'm trying to research and need at least 2 book sources (school project) but this was a pretty helpful list otherwise. Thanks! ;)

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  3. Ultraviolet and Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson :)

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