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David’s Year In Books

David’s 2025 Year in Books

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2026 Reading Challenge

2026

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David Spanagel has read 15 of 26 books.

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David I. Spanagel

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Born

Cleveland, The United States

Member Since

August 2013

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David Spanagel is an Associate Professor of History in the Department of Humanities and Arts at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass. His college teaching career began at the tender age of 23, when he was hired full-time to teach mathematics and computer science at St. John Fisher College, in Rochester, NY. Ph.D. work in the History of Science at Harvard University shifted his attention from mathematics to the history of the earth sciences, but he remains interested in all areas of science, technology, politics, and society.

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

David I. Spanagel If I need to get my juices flowing on any particular day (and the place I had most recently left off composing is not already pressing me to return th…moreIf I need to get my juices flowing on any particular day (and the place I had most recently left off composing is not already pressing me to return there), I may start a writing session by reviewing material that was written and set aside some days before to rest and review later. If a distinct feeling of not knowing where to begin (especially on a newer project), my favorite solution is to being the day by writing a personal message (or even writing an old-fashioned letter) to a friend or relative who has not heard from me in some time, and somewhere during the course of that message I will attempt to broach the subject of my current writing project (at an appropriate level of generality for the designated recipient of the message). This move always helps to overcome any fluency obstacles for writing as an activity, per se, and often also reminds me of what is the principal value or main purpose/idea of the thing I am struggling to start writing. (less)

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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

David I. Spanagel In my opinion, the very best thing about being a writer is that your ideas have the opportunity to reach and affect more people than you can through p…moreIn my opinion, the very best thing about being a writer is that your ideas have the opportunity to reach and affect more people than you can through personal contact. Ironically, however, the very best feeling I ever get as a writer is to connect (or reconnect) with someone personally, and to discover through conversation that they have read my work, and found it interesting or at least memorable for some reason. Ultimately, the benefits of any extended reach of writing (as a preservation or dissemination technology for ideas) must ordinarily be taken on faith, since the act of confirming its value through direct interaction requires the same opportunity as getting to share an idea through conversation would in the first place. (less)

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David I. Spanagel’s books

Average rating: 4.13 · 8 ratings · 0 reviews · 2 distinct works

	DeWitt Clinton and Amos Eaton: Geology and Power in Early New York 4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	[DeWitt Clinton and Amos Eaton: Geology and Power in Early New York] [By: Spanagel, David I.] [April, 2014] by David I. Spanagel (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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David is Currently Reading

David Spanagel is currently reading

The Painted Drum

by Louise Erdrich

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Jun 03, 2026 11:23AM

David Spanagel is currently reading

Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life

by Jason Roberts (Goodreads Author)

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May 31, 2026 12:35PM

David Spanagel is currently reading

Investigations of Nature: Europe in a Global World, 1450s-1780s

by Domenico Bertoloni Meli

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May 27, 2026 06:06AM

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David Spanagel is on page 165 of 288 of Folk Music Folk Music: A Bob Dylan Biography in Seven Songs by Greil Marcus progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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David Spanagel is on page 118 of 416 of Peace Came in the Form of a Woman Peace Came in the Form of a Woman: Indians and Spaniards in the Texas Borderlands by Juliana Barr progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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David Spanagel rated a book it was amazing Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A second-order miracle, deriving from the first-order miracle of my friend and colleague Mario Biagioli's scholarship, life, and spirit. ...more
Jun 03, 2026 04:25PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel started reading The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 03, 2026 11:23AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel rated a book liked it Fear the Future: Dystopia and Political Imagination in the Twentieth Century by Matthew Benjamin Cole	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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David Spanagel is currently reading Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life by Jason Roberts (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 31, 2026 12:35PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel rated a book liked it H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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David Spanagel wants to read The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 30, 2026 12:59PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Spanagel rated a book really liked it Bamboula!: The Life and Times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk by S. Frederick Starr	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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David Spanagel is currently reading Investigations of Nature: Europe in a Global World, 1450s-1780s by Domenico Bertoloni Meli	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 27, 2026 06:06AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Investigations of Nature by Domenico Bertoloni Meli. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Investigations of Nature by Domenico Bertoloni Meli <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">