Lectures on Architecture and Painting, Delivered at Edinburgh in November, 1853 Book

When I was a child I used to have long walks with my parents (both architects) along the streets of my home town and listen to them discuss almost every building, every design choice and ornament we passed. Since then I got used to walking the streets looking up at the buildings (this resulted in stepping inside numerous puddles, dogs business and never finding any coins) and I thought that I could really "see" a building.
After reading this book I discovered a whole new way of "looking" at architecture. I discovered that buildings have their own psychology - it's in a way the building speaks to it's surroundings, it's in the way windows, doors, and other elements co-exist.
In this book Alain asks questions like, why we consider some things beautiful. What is elegance. And what buildings say about the times they were build in, and what they don't say about people who live in them.
I think that anyone who deals with aesthetics should give this book a go even if he doesn't find architecture particularly interesting. I can assure you will find this book very stimulating.

I also looked up some of the authors Alain mentions and found some interesting titles to add to my reading list:
Wilhelm Worringer - "Abstraction and Empathy: A Contribution to the Psychology of Style" and essays
Rudolf Arnheim - "Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye"
And essays by Friedrich Schiller