I often joke that I need an entire second salary to support my reading habit. “Joke.” I’ve spent more money on books the last two pay cycles than I have on groceries. RIP to my bank account. Most of the reading I’ve done this year has been for research, which I love. I’m happy to Read more
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No index—no comment
The Indexer1 is a professional journal published since 1958 by the Society of Indexers.2 The first two issues3 contained a feature titled “No index—no comment,”4 which listed recently published books that did not have an index. The quote at the start of the feature, from one Richard G. Lillard, reads, “By and large the presence Read more
Before Richard Feynman was the Richard Feynman, the renowned physicist and Nobel Prize winner (1965), he was husband to his high-school sweetheart, Arline. In June of 1945, 25-year-old Arline died from tuberculosis. Nearly a year and a half later, in October of 1946, Richard wrote his late wife the following letter. He sealed it in Read more
The moment I saw this photo of Regina King from this year’s Emmy’s… …I immediately thought of the Scrovegni Chapel ceiling: The dress is haute couture, Look 29 of Schiaparelli’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection. It’s described on the fashion house’s website as an “asymmetric bustier dress in electric blue faille embroidered with multicolored jewels.” The Scrovegni Read more
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Bellini and the bellini
Look bitch. These are the facts: The bellini was born in Venice in 1948 at Harry’s Bar; Harry’s Bar has always been popular, and remains famous for having been frequented by famous people (Ernest Hemingway being among the most famous and the most frequent); the drink is basically just an Italian mimosa—the original recipe called Read more
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John McPhee’s “Oranges”
John McPhee’s Oranges is a delightful read. A collection of seven essays, the book began in the 1960s as a pitch for a short article for The New Yorker. “I intended only some hundreds of words, a few pages in the magazine,” McPhee writes in the preface. But after visiting the University of Florida’s Citrus Read more
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Hot Cockles
Peep this palimpsest.1 It’s ivory, c. 14th century France. It was probably paired with another plaque of the same size2 and hinged down the center, the carved exterior serving as a sort of cover. The back of it, made of a thin layer of wax, would have been used by its owner to write notes Read more