"It's the Ides of March, Lydgate!"

Big Book Club's "What the Whale!"

This week we were joined by guest host Elisia, who loves fountain pens and board games.

This week's notes include:

Pi Day, celebrated on March 14, which corresponds with 3.14

The Ides of March is a day on the Roman calendar that corresponds to 15 March. The Romans did not number days of a month from the first to the last day. Instead, they counted back from three fixed points of the month: the Nones (5th or 7th, depending on the length of the month), the Ides (13th or 15th), and the Kalends (1st of the following month). The Ides occurred near the midpoint, on the 13th for most months, but on the 15th for March, May, July, and October. The Ides were supposed to be determined by the full moon, reflecting the lunar origin of the Roman calendar. On the earliest calendar, the Ides of March would have been the first full moon of the new year.

Palate cleansers -

• Pete - Captain Marvel and More reading list
• Elisia - "Binti" by Nnedi Okorafor
• Alex - "The Sun is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon and "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi