Welcome to Read Like a Reader! These short interviews have been condensed from hour-long conversations by Jacob Keough-Mishler.
Today we hear from Peter Rooney, founder of Magnetic Reports, and indexer of The Mueller Report among many other works. Peter was charming company and what a beautiful voice!
Peter Rooney and I discussed the idea of the web as an index; how internet searches are “a crude tool;” why authors aren’t the best indexers of their own work; why indexers rely on nouns and try to forego adjectives; what it would be like to make a walkable, installation-sized index; how he reads, and lately what (La Peste).
Peter recommends The Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition (1910–11), which includes an entire index volume.
How To Read Like an Indexer with Peter Rooney