January 2025

Five extra books/articles/links/etc. that piqued my interest in January 2025 (excepting what I’ve written about elsewhere):

1. The Women’s Petition Against Coffee was a 1674 pamphlet about exactly what the title says. As for the reason the women (AKA the “Several Thousands of Buxome Good-Women”) are petitioning—well:

   Sheweth, That since ‘tis Reckon’d amongst the Glories of our Native Country, To be a Paradise for Women: The fame in our Apprehensions can consist in nothing more than the brisk Activity of our men, who in former Ages were justly esteemed the Ablest Performers in Christendome; But to our unspeakable Grief, we find of late a very sensible Decay of that true Old English Vigor; our Gallants being every way so Frenchified, that they are become meer Cock-sparrows, fluttering things that come on Sa sa, with a world of Fury, but are not able to stand to it, and in the very first Charge fall down flat before us.

   Do read the whole thing.

2. Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang. I don’t think it’s for everyone, but if you enjoyed The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, it may be for you.

3. The delightfully dramatic song Barbarians by The Darkness about the Viking invasion of England, plus the related Wikipedia page on Ivar the Boneless.

4. This post on some extremely well-preserved Incan mummies.

5. The following XKCD: