I seem to want to be a readers' digest and tell everybody about the interesting things I have read. Oh, no, wait: I want to be an abstracter! (Do I get points for applying something I learned in grad school?) I don't have the energy to summarize it at length, or analyze and research it like a good student. I want to give you a quick summary and throw it at you.

For instance, one article in my Alumnae Quarterly is about class(ism) at the college. At Mount Holyoke, women talk readily about race, ethnicity, and gender in and out of the classroom, but not class. Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickled and Dimed became a campus-wide read (it's been on my list). Most alumns who responded to a call for input to the article self-identified as "working class" and shared observations about what it was like, for instance, to first encounter peers who announced airily, I couldn't possibly start my day without The New York Times. Yet some alumnae from affluent backgrounds described not wanting to be "out" about it. A sociology professor asks students in her class on class does "'our privilege rest[] on the disadvantage of others, and if so, does it matter, and what can/should be done about it?'"; Whoa. Short answer: Yes; I don't know.

In hometown news, I went round to the new location of Black Swan Books, today, to welcome them to my neighborhood. The old-book dealer moved from the other end of the Fan to Main at Robinson (they renovated that meats company building). It's a great space -- tin ceiling, polished concrete floors, a sofa and a chair -- though currently pungent with new paint. Just about the first thing I saw when I walked in was something I needed: one of Helen Rountree's books on Virginia Indians. The next couple hundred things I saw were other excellent Virginia books, across all eras. I found plenty of history, art, and religion; also a strong showing in collectable children's books. The shelves have yet to be labelled; it's possible I leap to conclusions about the classification system. That said: I bought a gift from the Gardening shelf. I predict spending more time there.

Despite a chill wind, I made it 3.5 blocks back west and tried to shop in Mongrel, but it was too crowded. All I wanted was a festive little handsoap. Luckily, I was able to secure study rewards for myself at the not-quite-as-crowded chocolate shop.

I feel good about the start I made on studying and paper writing; but I feel better about Finishing than Starting.

Capital City weather: cold and windy and clear
At the Byrd: Seabiscuit