Kate So
LightNews LightNews
banner
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Kate So
@drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
6.6K followers 2.3K following 230 posts
Above all, pluviophile 🌧️ 📙Freelance book detective 🕵️‍♀️Health and Heritage ♥️ 👩‍🏫Cataloguing enthusiast 📚Medical humanities nerd 💊Away with the faeries🧚‍♀️
Posts Replies Media Videos
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
How it started vs how it’s going

Happy three year anniversary to my lovely @alfredso.bsky.social ! Our elopement was one of the best days of my life.

Thankfully he’s never dragged me away from a museum (especially not my fav @surgeonshall.bsky.social), or I wouldn’t have made it down the aisle!
Distracted boyfriend meme THE SURGEONS’ HALL MUSEUM ME (distracted boyfriend looking at surgeons hall museum) ROMANTIC HOLIDAY WITH My boyfriend (looking at ‘me’) Kate in her wedding dress leaning away from her husband towards the surgeons hall museum. Her husband holds her by one arm to tug her away
October 27, 2025 at 8:59 AM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Mum? Can you come pick me up? The ‘we are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn’ girlie pops are being really fucking weird again. This is so gross.

Besides, everyone knows the true challenge would a PB chest press challenged called ‘More weight’.
Advert for a salem themed walking challenge with the tag line ‘walk virtually in Salem and lose weight’
October 26, 2025 at 8:09 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Just spent five minutes googling whether these little robot guys actually existed or whether I had a key stage 2 fever dream
A ‘roamer’ robot with a tag saying ‘easily the best part about primary school’
October 25, 2025 at 10:50 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
I miss my girl Tallulah so much. I love how her St Tallulah tattoo is on my dog petting arm, so I can pass on a blessing with each pat.
A beagle sitting on a wooden floor. Kate’s right hand reaches down to pet the dog, showing a tattoo of her late dog, Tallulah, with a halo A small whippet cross with big ears sat on an orange rug A dog with large ears sat on a chair at a dining table
October 22, 2025 at 9:15 AM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
So great to be back at The North Wing to celebrate its reopening and the hard work of the teams who made it all happen. 💕 ✨
Kate standing at the top of the Hogarth Staircase looking at the painting of the Pool of Bethesda on the wall opposite her
October 10, 2025 at 9:19 AM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
I’m going to make the best autumnal soup 🥣 🍁
An assortment of squashes, mini pumpkins and sweet potatoes
September 29, 2025 at 12:40 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Thesis? Submitted! The next few days will be spent reading spooky books.❤️❤️ I debated sharing I’d submitted because I’m so unsure about the Viva, but honestly if that goes badly I’ll be talking about it publicly too. Success comes in all forms and on its own timeline. Celebrate the little wins!
Acknowledgments I am grateful to be a recipient of LAHP/AHRC funding, which has opened a world of opportunity and academic, professional, and personal growth that would otherwise remain unavailable to me. As part of this doctoral funding, I was able to undertake a placement at the Royal College of Physicians London library, which was a dreamy six months under the tutelage of Dr Katie Birkwood and the wider RCP team. This thesis would not be possible without the expertise of Information Professionals. The names of those who made significant contributions are present in the body of my thesis, where they should be. This journey was by no means solitary, nor did it start with the PhD. I am indebted to many wonderful tutors who supported my enthusiasm for all things books. I would like to thank the late Dr Nora Bartlett, Dr Abi Shinn, Dr Katie Garner, and Dr Olivia Smith. This thesis is also indebted to Dr Matt Symonds and Dr Robyn Adams and their colleagues at the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters. I am also grateful to Dr Hannah Leah Crummé for her insights on Recusant receipts. A special thank you goes to Dr Daniel Starza Smith for convening the remarkable MA now known as Books That Matter at KCL. Not only did this MA light my brain on fire (in a good way), but also gave me a ready-made community of peers, some of whom have become the truest of friends. I am extremely grateful for the patience and guidance of my supervisory team made up of Prof Jane Gilbert, Prof Alison Shell, and Dr Debbie Lee. They also quickly identified that I may have dyslexia, confirmation of which has been a soothing balm on a lifetime of frustration and self-doubt. Sam Brown and Dr Grace Murray have been the most steadfast of PhD pals throughout my thesis, but they have been a boon towards the end. Together they have gently but firmly steered me towards the finish line with kind words, even kinder feedback, and an extremely generous number of coffees. Their co-founding of the online Miscell…
September 28, 2025 at 7:37 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Summoning autumnal energy to help me focus on editing my thesis. My favourite Whisky and Honey candle from the highland soap co and rainy soundscapes ♥️ I’ve decided to split my thesis into 7 chapters instead of five which maybe a fit of clarity and insight or …pre submission madness!
A picture of a coffee table with a candle on it. In front of a tv with an autumnal sound scape video playing. The soundscape image features a book, a steaming hot drink, a few candles, a fireplace and autumnal leaves scattered on a table. The background is a window through which there is heavy rain and trees waving in the wind.
August 30, 2025 at 1:27 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
I was at the Science Gallery London yesterday and they have an audio instillation about cultural phenomenon of girlie chats in the bathroom. It’s so lovely!
hey, SiS. like what you're hearing? allow us introduce ourselves we are hey, sis. Hey, Sis. is the platform where gen z women and girls - particularly from the global majority - can connect, create and thrive free from societal limitations. We create creative and safe spaces, experiences and opportunities for growth, connection, expression and discovery individually and collectively as a sisterhood. we are the Science Gallery London's 2025 Just Futures residents, working in collaboration with the Visual Embodied Methodologies Network (VEM) at King's College London. you're listening to: the quietest kind of loud Welcome to the girls' bathroom - a sacred, everyday kind of space. For 3 minute and 40 seconds, you're surrounded by the unspoken magic of sisterhood in motion. There's laughter. There's tears. Lip gloss passed hand to hand. Hygiene shared without hesitation. Compliments tossed like confetti. Strangers becoming safe spaces. The Quietest Kind of Loud is a sonic glimpse into the everyday rituals of care, connection, and community that unfold in front of the mirror and behind the stall door created by Hey, Sis. This is sisterhood - tender, ordinary, and louder than it seems. the science of sisterhood The Science of Sisterhood is a research-led creative project from Hey, Sis. that explores the emotional, cultural, and physical power of sisterhood: how it supports us, heals us, and helps us grow. Grounded in our mission to help Women of Colour connect, create, and thrive, it blends social science, art, storytelling, and community knowledge to understand how sisterhood works and why connect with us. This is your invitation to be part of something bigger. Join the journey, contribute, and grow with US: www.heysis.co.uk info@heysis.co.uk @hey sis.uk This audio installation emerges from a collaboration between Hey, Sis, Science Gallery London and VEM researchers at King's College London. it forms part of the Economic and Social Research Council-funded project Visual …
August 30, 2025 at 12:53 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Having to include a bit about New Historicism in my intro and following the debates between New Historicism and New New Historicism and New Materialism, has me feeling a bit New new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new York.
picture of david tennant as Dr Who with subtitles saying 'so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York'
August 25, 2025 at 11:07 AM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Born with teeth was definitely for the early modern girlies who made their Barbie’s kiss each other.

What fun!
August 22, 2025 at 12:28 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Pointing a manicule at every single receipt is the seventeenth century equivalent of highlighting the whole textbook when taking notes. 😂🤣 (Wellcome MS.373)
a seventeenth century recipe book in a neat italic hand. each recipe is marked with a manicule (a pointing hand) in the left hand margin.
August 17, 2025 at 1:16 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
These contemporary clasps making the same satisfying ‘click’ as they would have in the seventeenth century. Sometimes the distance between past and present is a whisper.
August 13, 2025 at 3:38 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
I always take my wedding rings off when I handle special collection material, and it makes me feel like I’m abandoning my husband for my one true love….manuscripts 🥰😏
A picture of two gold rings on a desk. One ring has three rubies surrounded by small diamonds
August 13, 2025 at 12:13 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Anne Lamott's book 'bird by bird' was live changing for me. Here's the eponymous story.
I also remember a story that I know I've told elsewhere but over and over helps me to get a grip: thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write, which was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'
July 28, 2025 at 9:51 AM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
When you’ve got to get some practise shooting hoops at 4, but need to entertain the king and his court at 7pm. Jester Day to Knight wear.

The go to shoe for rat catchers with pipes.
Picture of a woman’s feet wearing black high top converse with long pointed toes Shot from the side of leather converse with a heel and long pointed toe
July 11, 2025 at 8:08 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
A Valediction of ✨MY ✨ name in the window! 🪟

I have been busy cataloguing the names in the windows of London’s oldest house (still a private residence)

It has been an enormous privilege to uncover the stories behind those names. One added today needs absolutely no research!

I’m one lucky duck!
Picture of a 17th century town house Kate So written on the window
July 10, 2025 at 7:02 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
As a library nerd, it was amazing to stand in the huge space and watch the morning’s light stream through the stained glass windows and onto the desks. Such opulence designed to maximise the reader’s experience!! A very special moment - one of many- from my birthday Florentine Nerd Trip of 2025
Kate standing at the bottom of the stairs of the vestibule
June 27, 2025 at 7:12 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Many famous architects had a hand in the building of the library, which is located in cloister of Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze; Michelangelo, Tribolo, Vesari, and Ammannati. All of whom contributed to the iconic architecture of Florence.
A picture of the vestibule to the library’s reading room. A grand grey staircase with three sets of stairs - left, middle, and right. The walls adorned with pediments and windows. Another shot of the vestibule showing its wooden ceiling.
June 27, 2025 at 7:12 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
No theft on this library’s watch! Books were extremely expensive, especially those collected by the Medici family. A great book collection featuring the (literal) classics was a not so subtle soft power move, portraying the family as erudite rulers. The decor features Medici family motifs.
A close up of the mosaic floor featuring classical egg and dart motifs, a ram’s head, and festoons and swags. A shot of the wooden ceiling with classical motifs and rams heads
June 27, 2025 at 7:12 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
The Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence was commissioned in 1523 by Pope Clement VII. It was a chained library, meaning books were fixed to the library’s seats by chains. Readers would have find the book they wanted on the book lists on side of the desks and access it at that spot!
A large long room. On the long sides of the room are dark wooded desks and seats which are roped off. The floor is carpet which is cut to reveal a mosaic strip down the middle. There are large windows with stained glass in them down the whole stretch of the room. The ceiling is carved wood. Kate stands in the middle as a reference for size. She looks very small in comparison to the room. A close up on the tilted desks and seats. The desk is joined to its corresponding seats like a carrell. The seat is made up of a communal bench with a high back. The high back of the bench is flush with the desk behind it. They are a dark wood with carvings. On the side of the each bench’s back rest is a hand writing book list detailing which books are fixed to the desks. Close up of manuscript book list detailing books in each section (in latin)
June 27, 2025 at 7:12 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
saw this cutie patootie blushing face today. Kind of reminds me of the Botticelli's Zephyr. (Wellcome MS.373)
a manuscript doodle of a profile of a face with hair stretched behind it. The head is on top of a spiral flourish of a pen that looks like a little tornado
June 24, 2025 at 5:28 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
I went in January one year in the snow! Stunning! My friend and I were dickin’ about singing folk songs and the echo whipped the whole way round the mountains. Scared us rotten until we spoke to the shopkeeper and she explained 😂😂😂 big up grizzle mhór !
June 22, 2025 at 2:24 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
He’s done it again. 5 minutes ‘about me before his presentation’ and he’s made a slide dedicated to our relationship’s ladybird lore
Three pictures. 1. A painted lady bird on a wall, my arm is next to it showing a tattoo of a ladybird. 2. A lady bird on our kitchen wall. 3. a picture of our wedding with a ladybird on my wedding dress
May 20, 2025 at 4:51 PM
drsoandsoresearch.bsky.social
Absolutely creased to find out my husband had to open his lab presentation with 5 minutes about himself and started with ‘hi I’m Alfred and I love my wife’. That’s my wife-guy 💕
A presentation slide which says ‘5 mins about me!’ With a picture of HK and 3 photobooth pictures of me and him at a wedding.
March 1, 2025 at 9:41 PM