Come Read With Me, Introduction

Like, Twitch streamer, but on substack and with books.

I love libraries.

This is, probably, an acquired taste. I certainly don’t remember being fond of libraries (or even books, for that matter) when I was a child. The older I got though, the more I came to love it.

There’s great intimacy in being able to peer into the minds, worlds, and experiences of someone by looking at the books on their shelves.

There’s also great wonder in the vast, yet distinctly finite, nature of a “tall” library. This is to contrast the infinite-ness of the internet that somewhat overwhelms before I even begin.

There’s also something about physical libraries in particular that is especially poignant, visceral. As far as I can tell, reading with physical pages in one’s hands and reading by listening or reading by screen are all distinct (but obviously closely related) mental activities.

Recently, I had the distinct privilege and pleasure of visiting a rather unique library. It wasn’t particularly large, but it was exceedingly old. Some of us have probably seen this type of library, books alluding to tomes lining a well put together library, indicating great intellectual sophistication and depth, except fake in the form of a wallpaper or simply empty book shells made for a staging shot on Zillow:

Wait a minute, those are deceptively not-actually-books!

Except this one is real. The tomes are real, ancient books with actual words inside.

By ancient, I mean, the oldest books on the shelves are sixteenth-century. That’s the 1500s. That’s older than many nation states that exists today. Shelves and shelves of books from the 1600 - 1900s, and what’s incredible is:

I get to actually read them.

These heirlooms that could only be seen in a museum behind glass, I could take them off the shelves and peruse with my grubby, and hopefully sufficiently respectful, paws.

Granted, of some of the oldest, reading is… a bit of a stretch.

Socrates, 1571. From original greek to latin. I wonder if someone who knows Greek reads it the way I read Confucius in original text – mostly confused and perhaps subtly enlightened?

Other times, even if it’s a language I have a little familiarity with, doesn’t mean I can make much headway into substance.

The Century of Louis XIV, 1753. You know, I forget that Lingua Franca used to be French few centuries back. Noteworthy, also, “Nouvelle Edition” really taste different when it’s new 300 years ago. The old, outdated version was published 1751 in case you were wondering.]

Though fortunately, many, and I do mean many, are on par to the best of Fantasy via the fascinating glimpses into times and perspectives past.

Some can be quite whimsical.

The ladies’ pocket magazine, 1835. Didn’t they once say the ladies are becoming deviant due to being too distracted by their books?

The ladies’ pocket magazine 1835. Mexico! That exotic place across the ocean! Isn’t that where my fur comes from? Or is that Canada? O this vast world is just too much for me sometimes.

Others, greatly informative in subtle and curious ways.

Chamber’s Encyclopedia 1890. Title page: Universal Knowledge can be rather different 150 years ago. | On Britain: Surely a sociologist’s wet dream. Yes, please tell me more about carrying capacity of the royal navy circa 1890 ughhh. | On Britain_2: It’s not easy managing an empire. Especially when there’s no Microsoft Office. | On Gravitation: Wanna hear how gravitation is defined pre-Einstein?

Yet others still, can give us great perspective in contemplation and reflection.

A Century of Stupendous Progress, 1926. Wait until Joseph hears about 1925-2025 amirite. Nice teaser also of his other works like “ABCs of Evolution”, from Physics to Biology to Social Sciences, McCabe is a studied man.

A Century of Stupendous Progress, 1926. Progress Studies people would surely find interesting the pursuit of similar understandings of a century past?

A Century of Stupendous Progress, 1926. Unclear the connection here to progress, but illuminating nonetheless of a significant subculture. Why duel when you can throw hands? Also, 70 rounds fight for 2 hours – I bet a good half of this time is where they just yell obscenities while being out of breath lol.

As well, without need for leaping perspectives, simply come together in shared inquriy that our forefathers have also wondered before us.

Sermons on the Diginity of Man, 1802. One of two volumes – it’s a big subject after all. Also, Leipzig used to be called Leipsick, huh.

While I was enraptured in reading, I also had the mind to consider the fates of these books. There’s quite a tension between the eagerness of:

and the nervousness of did-I-just-bend-the-spine-too-much:

On the one hand, these books are heirlooms — meant to be preserved well, well into the future. On the other hand, it feels tragic to think they might never be read again. I may be one of the last people ever to touch some of them, and that thought makes me sad. A good book is one that has passed through many loving hands and curious minds.

While it was a unique privilege for me to read in this library, one way I can extend that privilege is by inviting you into my experience. I’d like to take you on a tour of what I read and share my reactions to the various books I had the chance to explore in depth. Perhaps you’re not interested in my reactions — in which case, you can simply enjoy the photos of the original pages. Or maybe you are curious about my thoughts as I read, like the caption I’ve been putting in here. Better yet, you might even want to comment your own thoughts here. Either way, I hope you find as much value and enjoyment as I did in peering into our collective (and mostly British 😅) past.

Think of this like a Twitch streamer doing Let’s Play videos, but like, instead of minecraft, it’s for the people who gets hot and bothered for the “BBC Yearbook of 1947”.

BBC Yearbook of 1947. Look, it’s an important year, ok? Just after the war and also in the twilight decades of British dominance. And how could you not go wild for BBC’s orientation to Television Services in 1947!?

It’s also important to me that I honor, not only the joy of these perspectives, but also the immense intimacy captured in these pages. Not only was the owner of the library kind enough to permit me to read, within these books also contain lives that wrote without awareness of us. There is a difference between voyeurism and reverence.

Diary from The Times of George IV, 1839

Diary from The Times of George IV, 1839. Whatever justice and grace you were hoping for 50 years after publication, dear editors, I hope we may do it well 200 years after.

In the next three parts, I will respectively go over sections of:

The Gentleman’s Magazine for January, 1738.

The Life and Correspondence of Henry John Temple, Viscount Palmerston Volume I, by Evenlyn Ashley, 1879

My Four Years In Germany, by James W Gerard, 1913.

May you enjoy and value them as much as I did.