Since I finished “Freddy and Fredericka” last night and my shipment from Amazon hasn’t arrived yet, I decided to start re-reading a book I’ve already read. In this case, I chose “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” by Mary Roach. It’s the kind of non-fiction I really love and am sometimes conflicted about enjoying so much; it’s well-written, accessible and a joy to read. Why do I feel conflicted about that? Well, I’ve come to expect non-fiction to be boring and less-than-fun to read. In the last few years, I’ve discovered that it’s usually not the case and have come to love a great many non-fiction works, but I sort of feel like I’m cheating when I say I’m reading non-fiction and I mean something by Bill Bryson or Paco Underhill. It’s not a textbook, or an annual report. It’s FUN. Oh, the torture.

Anyway, I’m reading about corpses. That’s the point.

I have also agreed to go hiking with my mother and my cousin tomorrow morning. It should be OK as long as I wrap my wrist in an ACE bandage (since the wrist brace will give me a nasty heat rash if/when I start sweating) and wear good sneakers. It will be a nice jumpstart for the first weekend of the Minister Makeover.

Lastly, I’m watching a PBS special on the DeMedici family and their patronage during the Renaissance. It’s quite interesting and I’m going to have to restart the DVD since I know I’ve missed some stuff while writing this. Anyway, it inspired me to learn more about art history, so I found an art history book and added it to my Amazon wishlist. It’s actually a textbook which includes a CD with visual content, etc. - but I think that’s the best way for me to learn it. I really love college textbooks, so enjoying the visual and tactile sensations of the book itself will help with the experience of learning about it. I think. It would be cool, though.

Next on my list of topics to self-educate myself about - in survey course style - is US history and world history. World history will probably the more interesting and important topic. Yeah. A lot more to catch up on there.

OK. Back to Brunelleschi and DeMedici and architecture and the Papacy.