The Thick of It

Posted October 28, 2025 by Will Romey

This week marks the tipping point of the Fall semester, as we pass the half-way mark. I’m pretty thoroughly immersed in academics right now. When I’m not bartending at work, I’m generally working on my readings, writing papers, or nudging projects along. This academic saturation is nice in some ways – I’m feeling a real focus on schoolwork, and starting to see connections in course materials beyond the superficial. 

As the end of the semester approaches, classwork begins to shift from weekly assignments and towards end-of-term projects. I’m trying to diligently put some time into my 488 website final, which seems to be a SLIS rite of passage. I’m also starting to turn my reams of notes on the Howes Bros. photographs collection in Northampton into something less nebulous and more focused.

Readings, of course, continue on. I’ve got plenty of assigned articles and books for class, but also am grinding through supplemental texts. A Gentle Madness and The Private Library have added a lot of flavor and anecdotes to 449 (Rare Books and Special Collections), and I’ve immersed myself in New England Reflections 1882-1907 to better understand the Historical Northampton photo archive I’m analyzing for 471 (Photographic Archives). 

I’ve also been diligent about maintaining some non-academic reading – Timothy Zahn’s military sci-fi Cobra, E.F. Benson’s comedy of manners Miss Mapp, and my current thriller The Blue Train, by Agatha Christie. Winding down with a book just for fun helps keep me together. I’ve also been doing my best to get outside daily and enjoy Western MA’s beautiful fall weather – as soon as I send this blog post over, I’m going to head up the nearby Goat Peak.