![\"scholar's](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/scholars-mistress_sm.jpg?resize=576%2C346&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I learnt a new expression late last year: “the scholar’s mistress.” What it means is the pile of books that accumulate beside the bed, books that you are reading, plan to read, ought to have read, might read again.<\/p>\n
At my house, the dog’s kennel does for a nightstand. Note highlighter pen at the ready. Also \u2014 right-most pile, lower \u2014 a stack of academic journals.<\/p>\n
It is time to talk about some of these books\u2014short reviews, quick comments, whatever. Then maybe some of them can move on to their new book-lives, while others can stay there at the bedside longer for re-visiting.<\/p>\n
Watch this space.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I learnt a new expression late last year: “the scholar’s mistress.” What it means is the pile of books that accumulate beside the bed, books that you are reading, plan to read, ought to have read, might read again. At my house, the dog’s kennel does for a nightstand. Note highlighter pen at the ready. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-7025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-books"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6xQTg-1Pj","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2059,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=2059","url_meta":{"origin":7025,"position":0},"title":"Mapping Pagan Religious Identity","author":"Chas S. 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To be honest, I probably liked Eliot's poetry more, and I wrote a just-slightly-tongue-in-cheek paper on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, although I did not have the chops\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"California\"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=california"},"img":{"alt_text":"William Butler Years","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/young-yeats.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13919,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=13919","url_meta":{"origin":7025,"position":5},"title":"Did the Professor Die for What He Knew of His Mentor’s Past?","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"February 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Shortly after 1 p.m. on May 21, 1991, a secretary working on the third floor of Swift Hall at the University of Chicago heard a faint \"pop,\" as she described it. The sound came from the men's restroom next to her office. 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