Anecdotal Evidence

A blog about the intersection of books and life.

Saturday, June 13, 2026

'Green As an Arbour Grew Leafy June'

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I had seen the phrase before and guessed correctly at its meaning from context but still found the expression puzzling: “widow’s weeds.” It ...
Friday, June 12, 2026

'The Excitement of Entomological Exploration'

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A pivot or lasting change of focus occurred to me as a teenager. For years, since probably late toddlerhood, I had thought of myself as a bu...
Thursday, June 11, 2026

'Keep Abreast of the Essentials First'

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In a letter to his friend the Rev. William Unwin, written in March 1784, nine months before Dr. Johnson’s death, William Cowper says he is “...
1 comment:
Wednesday, June 10, 2026

'The Changing Year’s Successive Plan'

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Walter Jackson Bate tells us in his biography of Dr. Johnson that as he aged, the crusty old man mellowed. “[I]n many ways,” Bate writes, “h...
1 comment:
Tuesday, June 09, 2026

'Cherries, Nectarines, Apricots and Early Peaches'

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Neighbors gave us a sack of golf-ball-size peaches from the tree in their front yard. I’ve been watching it for months through the front win...
Monday, June 08, 2026

'Acquainted With His Real Character'

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We all do it, even the most sophisticated and open-minded among us: we draw conclusions about people based on their physical appearance. Sur...
1 comment:
Sunday, June 07, 2026

'Among the Essential Text-Books of Our Schools'

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A reader in North Dakota tells me he has acquired Donald Frame’s translation of The Complete Essays of Montaigne (Stanford University Press...
2 comments:
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Patrick Kurp
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