A smol read/ing update this month—most of my reading since this time last month has been related to work, so there’s not been a ton of time for personal or leisure reading.
Recently read, in reverse chronological order by date finished:
- Studying Early Printed Books, 1450-1800: A Practical Guide by Sarah Werner
Enjoyed it, but took me longer to read than I expected. Full of way more information than its size suggests, though nothing overly complicated or abstract. Definitely targeted toward the student/beginner researcher. If you’re not genuinely interested in the history of the book as an object, you’re not likely to get anything from this one. - Draw Your Weapons by Sarah Sentilles
LOVED. This is one of those “right time, right read” books for me. I wrote more about this book here and created a visual/digital companion to the 18 contemporary art works/series/exhibits mentioned in the book, which you can see here. - Technologies of the Human Corpse by John Troyer
Liked it better than I thought I would when I sat down to start it (the front matter is way more memoir-y than I prefer for books about “the history of…”). A fair amount of overlap with content in Draw Your Weapons (above) and The Body Keeps the Score (below). - Perfectly Reasonable Deviations: From the Beaten Track (The Letters of Richard P. Feynman) edited by Michelle Feynman
Big fan. This is the first collection of correspondence that I’ve read and I think it’s my newest favorite genre (though I think reading the collected correspondence of a writer might be insufferable). I loved that the letters included weren’t overly technical, or even fully related to physics. Lots of good bits of life advice in this book.
Currently reading, in reverse chronological order by date started:
- “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman
Having a much harder times getting into this than I thought I would. I really loved Feynman’s letters (#4 above) and I really love listening to his lectures and interviews but I’m struggling getting into his narration voice in print. Not sure that I’ll make it through the thing this pass, but not ready to give up on it yet. - The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. I: The New Millennium Edition: Mainly Mechanics, Radiation, and Heat by Richard P. Feynman
I’m not actively reading this as much as I’m consulting it when I get stuck on things.
On hold, in reverse chronological order by date started:
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
No update from last month. This book is good but difficult. I’ve not been able to pick it back up since I put it down around Thanksgiving. Still working through some ~triggers~. - The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual v. the United States of America by Eric Cervini
No update from last month. Started strong but faded fast. The writing is great and the book is so thoroughly researched and reported but it’s just not grabbing me the way I hoped it would.
On deck:
Not sure what I’ll pick next. Something off this list of books I want to read.