The footnotes of curiosity

I love footnotes. It might be my training as a historian, but looking at the footnotes, the brief mentions, the fleeting glances in books opens up a whole new way of reading. The footnotes often tell a deeper story. They show the influences of the author, a way to look back at how they shaped their thoughts and ideas. Footnotes take you out of the immediate narrative. As a reader you can digress. Follow your curiosity. That is my right as a reader. To strip a book bare and find what I need. I love hearing a reference to something I’m unfamiliar with, googling it and picking out anything of interest. It is a form of independent research, undertaken with no clear aim or responsibility. It’s curiosity. You can stop what you are reading any time and move on to something else if you feel the tug of curiosity.