Antilibrary

I just checked out two books from Robarts Library for leisure. I hope I end up liking and finishing at least one of them. Currently, as I write these words, I have a Margaret Atwood book open in my Kindle app, and a browser tab containing Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, "On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence." I have Monday off, so this qualifies as a form of hoarding...of reading intentions. Honestly, I have a lot of chores and other things to do so realistically, I won't be able to finish any of them this weekend. I enjoy having these physical and virtual books around me, and I'll enjoy the feeling of the possibility of reading.

A fun fact is that a collection of books that one possesses is termed an antilibrary, which was popularized by the writer (and fellow statistician) Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilibrary). Taleb further states that the those who are interested in antilibraries can be referred to as antischolars.

The Bar is now Sky High

I've allowed myself to be algorithmically persuaded. How can one not find Mary Bennet and Tom Hayward charming (from the series entitled The Other Bennet Sister)? The fourth episode is probably my favourite, with a particular scene involving Wordsworth's Composed Upon Westminster Bridge. A version of this poem was recited by Jonathan Pryce below.

A good reference article to read that nicely explains the relevance of the scene in the series can be found here https://theconversation.com/the-other-bennet-sister-this-fresh-take-on-pride-and-prejudice-transforms-the-overlooked-mary-278555