I’ve done this meme a half-dozen times before, but it’s always different because the books is never the same.
Rules for this Experiment:
- Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
- Turn to page 56.
- Find the fifth sentence.
- Post that sentence along with these instructions.
“Here is Queen Victoria photographed in 1893 by George W. Wilson; she is on horseback, her skirt suitably draping the entire animal (this is historical interest, the studium); but beside her, attracting my eyes, a kilted groom holds the horse’s bridle: this is the punctum; for even if I do not know just what the social status of this Scotman may be (servant? equerry?), I can see his function clearly: to supervise the horse’s behavior: what if the horse suddenly began to rear?”
— Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography by Roland Barthes