Book Info

Here Begins the Dark Sea: Venice, a Medieval Monk, and the Creation of the Most Accurate Map of the World by Meredith Francesca Small (2023)
Genre: Nonfiction, History
LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/work/29433561/book/293129903
Acquired from: Little Free Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Started reading: August 21, 2025
Finished reading: TBD
Bookmark: Powell’s, “Never Lose Your Place”
Reading Updates
Page 0: This font size is so small! I thought Iβd be able to speed through this book because it didnβt look that big, but with this font size itβs actually probably very long whoops
I do love maps! Iβm trying to train myself to use a paper map when Iβm out sightseeing, but itβs a bit cumbersome compared to just pulling out your phone. And youβre obviously a tourist if youβre looking at a map (paper, street sign style) which can be a problem in some places. Anyway I’m excited for this book!
Page 8: Lots of science stuff about why humans do symbolism etc anyway Iβm skimming it because tbh it could be shortened to a few paragraphs. Getting a bit repetitive, like me in grad school when I was trying to lengthen a paper to meet page quotas.
Page 18: Ancient city (with a street map): ΓatalhΓΆyΓΌk, Turkey β building entrance not at street level but through the roof?? Is this city visitable and can I go there? I wanna see!
Word List
Eagerly anticipating some great words to add to my dictionary!
See also: Books Read (2025) / All Reading Logs