All of this for $6.50! (from the Rochambeau Library book sale in Providence, on until tomorrow!)

Riveting new book on the Zong massacre that adds a wealth of new archival detail (starting with the fact that the ship was named Zorg, and not Zong, but early commenters apparently misread the r as n).

Dystopian piece in today’s NYT

First time seeing a note like this in a peer-reviewed journal (it’s in the “plain language summary” section and not the article text itself, but depressing nonetheless).

Spotted in bookshop in Basel

Best book I read in 2024: Anna Shechtman’s totally brilliant and also surprisingly moving memoir / feminist history of the crossword puzzle. It’s equal parts history, memoir, media theory, & cultural criticism, all spun together in a really smart, original, and absorbing way.

Spotted in Italy: Richard Eaton in Italiano!

Hyderabadi Irani chai with Osmania biscuits

Pondering the psychic dilemmas of the human condition next to Freud’s couch (at Freud Museum in Vienna)

Tortured Poets Department

Went down to the Mall today to see the commemoration of the execution of Charles I (they do it every year on the last Sunday of Jan). The march starts on the Mall and then goes down to Horse Guards before ending with a wreath laying ceremony at Banqueting House.

whew, finally got the monday puzzle under 5 mins! 🎉😅

Some of my favorite 2023 books (non-academic)

Got a new pb for a wednesday puzzle! #nytxw

Apparently it’s the 20th anniversary of the release of Kal Ho Na Ho, so of course I’m listening to this on repeat all day. What a classic!

Gilmore Girls, always asking the important questions

long weekend reads

Excited to delve into this stack today