Leah Constantine

Author: Leah Constantine

  • The 10 best thrillers I’ve read (so far)

    A not-so complete list of the best thrillers I’ve read so far in an attempt to influence myself into developing greater lists in the future.

    1. Night Film

    Marisha Pessl
    A mysterious woman is at the center of a dangerous collision between a reclusive film director who decided her fate and an investigative journalist on the edge of his career. The twists and turns are drawn all over the map of New York City’s streets and tunnels like a long exposure capturing the paths of old and new lights.

    This novel has been in my top 3 favorite books of all time next to The Secret History (1) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2) for many years. It would take a wrecking ball to see it budge.

    2. Out

    Natsuo Kirino
    A group of women all trapped in their own oppressive environments find one thing that unites them: a husband’s murder.

    3. The Drowning Woman

    Robyn Harding
    The first, second, and third twists won’t prepare you for the shocking final moments of the main character’s story as she tries desperately to escape her own life, not knowing the whole time someone is also wishing to steal it.

    4. The Alienist

    Caleb Carr
    Throwing itself into the chaos of 19-century New York, this story mixes the thrill of police procedurals with the grit of an expanding city in the midst of volitile change.

    5. The Butterfly House

    Katrine Engberg
    Engberg’s Danish mysteries carry you throw multiple storylines, all reaching a point as sharp as a blade that at the end cuts through every page and takes you back to the firsts chapter’s reveal.

    6. Hidden in Shadows

    Viveca Sten
    The least likely character is revealed as our murderer by a detective duo as they struggle between seeing the worst in themselves while missing the same in others. I would dare to say Viveca Sten is Sweden’s Tana French. I am perpetually pre-ordering her next novels.

    7. The Shadow of the Wind

    Carlos Ruiz Zafón
    If you’ve ever found yourself obsessively lost between the chapters, pages, and words of a novel, you’ll find a commonality with this book’s main character. A cursed book from a library held secret within his family leads to him inheriting the same curious questions about the book’s author as his father before meeting his fate.

    8. The Quiet Tenant

    Clémence Michallon
    The lines of safety and danger and truth and secret are blurred when a woman held captive in a crude shed is brought into the family home by her captor.

    9. Final Girls

    Riley Sager
    The main character’s secret relationship to a massacre manages to break through all of her attempts to suppress it with the help of another final girl’s manipulations. But memories hidden for so long begin to come back distorted and unreliable, causing her to second guess her own methods of survival.

    10. The Current

    Tim Johnston
    Every chapter breaks the ice deeper and deeper in this cold case thriller that relies on memories distorted by fear, suspicion, and trauma.

  • I have imposter syndrome

    On September 29, 2025, I joined Pratt’s School of Information to present a “speakeasy” on my professional work and the manifestation of my imposter syndrome. It was a fun discussion that allowed me to shine a spotlight on how my own insecurities have hindered my professional progress regarding my successes and advancements.

    Overcoming, or repressing, my imposter syndrome has come with developing my skills as a problem solver. Being a good problem solver can make facing challenges, failures, and even successes in your work easier. Problem-solving is a skill I discussed in my previous post, The joy of problem solving.

    If you would like to contact me about presenting to your group on imposter syndrome, email leaheconstantine at gmail dot com.

    See a sample of my presentation below:

    Leah Constantine Speakeasy 9_29Download

  • Receipts or it didn’t happen: documenting reference for institutional memory

    As Archives Senior Manager at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) Archive, I’ve seen the enhancements that tasks from reference and research have on every aspect of archives, from writing finding aids, labeling boxes, and deciding processing levels. It is one of the most fundamental aspects of a proven functional archive that puts the organization to the test. To put the work of reference and research at the heart of our archive, I have enforced workflows that link this activity to the resource record in our ArchivesSpace instance.

    I knew the topic of reference was missing from public discussion as an attendee of most small and large conferences. I was happy to co-present on this topic with LCPA’s Reference Archivist and tie this to the importance of staff stability and public trust.

    ArchivesSpace Member Forum Presentation

    Presented on March 27, 2025

    The LCPA archive team has implemented workflows to build institutional knowledge into the collection catalog and system. Our goal is to enhance material use and support the transmission of knowledge from one generation of archivists to another using ArchivesSpace’s features for managing controlled values and creating events in parallel with a project management and document storage system. Reference Archivist Amelia Bathke and Archives Senior Manager Leah Constantine co-present the workflow following reference and research requests and explain how ArchivesSpace event creation maximizes access to archival collections.

  • The joy of problem solving

    Anyone who has talked with me long enough knows my love of public radio and ritualistic listening to the Brian Lehrer Show. I love Brian’s bright optimism, necessary skepticism, and willingness to learn new things. It’s a balance that brings me joy and inspires my curiosity. In the middle of any conversation, I might contribute with a quick, “I was listening to The Brian Lehrer show and…”

    A segment on March 3 with Jessica Gould discussed a topic that I have always been practicing in my personal, professional, and academic life: problem-solving. The episode is called “A New Way to Teach Math.” While this segment was about the debate of a new math curriculum, I couldn’t help but realize this topic is applicable to any area of life.

    “This way of doing math, according to the curriculum developer who I spoke to, they want kids to work out problems, struggle with it a little bit, a productive struggle.”

    Jessica Gould on “Illustrative Math”

    As a child, I struggled to overcome challenges and roadblocks. I didn’t learn the common sense skills to move through intellectual obstacles and solve personal problems with productive practices. It wasn’t until my college days and becoming a dog mom that I learned the value of supporting myself through problem-solving. It’s a skill I value and always look forward to practicing.

    As a (new) instructor and a staff supervisor to new and mid-career archivists, the skill of practicing the “productive struggle” is equal to the information they take with them. I always invite them to tell me when they are facing a struggle: a problem has occurred, part of the puzzle is missing, something went wrong, or there is more than one option moving forward. I want to be invited because I want them to become comfortable with first recognizing the problem and not being scared that it has occurred. The first step to problem-solving is identifying that the problem exists.

    “emphasis on discovery at the beginning”

    Next, we practice analyzing the problem: what is introduced, what can be reduced, what is the risk, and where did it start. From this information, we learn how to avoid redundant problems.

    Finally, we create a path forward. We want the final result to include the problem-solving aspect because it justifies our decision-making process and proves that the other wrong answers have made this the right answer.

    In math, the correct answer is supported by knowing all of the incorrect answers. The same goes for all other life skills. The more problems we encounter, the closer we are to reaching a solution. So, if you ever find yourself amid a struggle, practice the key concepts of problem-solving:

    1. Recognition
      • Recognize the problem exists
      • Understand when the problem started
      • Document what factors created the problem
    2. Collaboration
      • Who can bring the skills necessary for the problem
      • Who can contribute other perspectives
    3. Application
      • Apply the skills for the solution
      • Apply all the necessary tools
    4. Solution
      • Document the results
      • Attribute your collaborators

    I hope eventually everyone who wants to become an expert problem solver finds themself as excited to practice this as I am. Maybe it begins with listening to Brian Lehrer?

    WNYC. “A New Way to Teach Math | The Brian Lehrer Show.” Accessed April 13, 2025. https://www.wnyc.org/story/a-new-way-to-teach-math/.

    Even deeper than navigating problems is navigating rejection. If you want to take problem solving to the next level, I recommend regularly practicing rejection.

    WNYC. “What You Learned From Being Rejected | The Brian Lehrer Show.” Accessed April 13, 2025. https://www.wnyc.org/story/what-you-learned-from-being-rejected/.

  • That’s right—I made a spreadsheet resume

    I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of the same thing. I’m talking about document resumes.
    As an archivist, I spend most of my day exploring the complexities of a spreadsheet. Functions, data validation, text-to-columns, drop-down lists, and number formats make everything look better. If you are my intern at any point in your career, you will hear me say that the one thing no one will teach you, but is essential in any information science field, is proficiency in spreadsheets.
    You will bulk import and export data in spreadsheets. You will track changes to your data in spreadsheets. You will use OpenRefine to transform data. Data is translated better in organized sheets and tables, which is what makes them so essential. So why not make my data accessible in a spreadsheet?

    For your viewing pleasure, this is my new spreadsheet resume.

    Why?

    Live data is easier to update
    Easier control of formats
    Sorting values for essential skills looks better for resumes
    Notes hide and expand supplemental information that crowds a doc
    I want to prove my love of spreadsheets!

    This is not to say that this is the most beautiful resume spreadsheet that exists online. This is my first attempt at something new. I’m always looking for resources and webinars to fuel this monomania. Keep watch of this space for newer, better, and more beautiful resumes.

    Want to learn how to make your resume from a sheet? leaheconstantine at gmail dot com.