Since starting up the academic life again I've been reading more than I ever have before. I didn't take a lot of reading-heavy courses in college, so this volume of reading is a new experience for me. Spending all this time studying, though, has given me an opportunity to reflect on how cool the library here is.

The Courtauld Book Library is a beautiful place. Sunk into the basement of Somerset House, it retains the exposed brick arches of the building's past but adds white rolling stacks and rows of study desks on catwalks. The deep wells around the courtyard outside mean that there are still full windows and lots of bright indirect sunlight, so you don't feel like you're in a basement. It's a bright and soothing place. In comparison to other university libraries, the Book Library is small, but for a library whose holdings are limited to the history of art and related topics, it has almost all you would ever need. And since it's going to be home for the next nine months, it's a good thing it feels like a comfortable place to study!

I will say, there is a distinct lack of womb chairs, or really any kind of the soft seating spaces in incongruously bright colors that made Oberlin's library such a delightful place to spend time. On the other hand, I probably won't sleep in this library as much as I did in Oberlin's.

Now off to the first meeting of my Core Methodologies course, where I will attempt to discuss Foucault without sounding like a pretentious ass. Wish me luck!