#polymathreadingchallenge

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finished reading The Seabird's Cry by Adam Nicolson

Adam Nicolson: The Seabird's Cry (Paperback, 2018, William Collins) No rating

The full story of seabirds from one of the greatest nature writers. The book looks …

Part of #polymathreadingchallenge I chose this for Marine Biology, but endangered animals may be a better fit. The book sits between science and poetry (the chapter on the albatross is a great example) with each chapter dealing with a different seabird (aprt from the last which consolidates the endangered nature of thse beautiful complex birds). I don't think I'll ever look at a gull the same way again

book 3 (History of Music)

Honestly I never really got the whole opera thing, but now I am suspecting they were teaching it wrong in Music class. This book was a wild ride, more adventurous than any novel a writer could have come up with. Da Ponte is a holy fool, a hopeless romantic, a charming idiot, an annoying genius, an easy mark, a talented poet, a self-absorbed weirdo, and an all-around fascinating character.

Cover of the book "The Librettist of Venice: The Remarkable Life of Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's Poet, Casanova's Friend, and Italian Opera's Impresario in America" by Rodney Bolt. The cover features a painting of a Venice lagoon, the portrait of Lorenzo da Ponte, and two other paintings feautring a lady and a group of masked people.

Nunca hice mi / . Así que, aquí va: me gustan los juegos de mesa, mi favorito es So Clover! Soy medio adicto al Rocket League, aunque me quedé en champ. Me gustan las matemáticas, tengo la meta de leer y resolver todos los libros de matemáticas que tengo. Juega basket los Domingos, soy malo, pero lo disfruto.

En la actualidad estoy llenando mi solicitud para ingresar a la maestría, tengo la intención de correr medio maratón, hacer 4 reps de 10 dominadas y me uní al (aunque no creo leer los 12 libros).

Saludos a la tan amiable banda mastodonte.

Book 2 (Category is: 17th-18th century)

I was worried at first that this would be a sad read, but it was truly fascinating. A Dutch sea captain brought a tame Indian rhino named Clara to Europe, and toured the entire continent with her for 20 years. She didn't only become the first well-known example of her species - but also the subject of the first viral marketing campaign in history.

Cover of the book titled "Clara's Grand Tour: Travels with a rhinoceros in eighteenth-century Europe" by Glynis Ridley. Cover features a drawing of a wooden cart carrying a rhinoceros.

I've already started well into my first book for the and really enjoy it: "Music - a subversive history" by Ted Gioia. I am 3 or 4 chapters in and find it meticulously researched and written in a very engaging way. https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ted-gioia/music/9781541644373/

However, I've also realized that it will be hard to read 600+ pages each month on this challenge alone, as I have other reading projects (for work, and current topics) and want to read some light fiction for fun.

Alright, here it is:

2025

Read 12 books

Rules:
- you can read them in any order
- (auto)biographies count
- write a review of each (here or on Bookwyrm)
- use the # when posting about the challenge

Categories: See next toot in this thread.

Everyone gets their 12th category randomly through WikiRoulette. If you want to take part, respond to this thread and I'll give you one.

Feel free to use # for recommendations

So, this year I inherited the Polymath Reading Challenge from its creator. 📚

It is a yearly 12-book nonfiction reading challenge. You read books of your choice for 12 categories, and post your reviews of them. I have had immense fun finding books for topics I otherwise wouldn't read.

Would people want to join in if I also ran it on Mastodon?