This is why writing down notes on everything I read is an important habit I've sadly let falter. My own preference is a Github repo full of markdown files with notes on books, blog posts, and whatever else I want to save for later. Important syntax rules, term definitions, personal tricks or ideas, quotes or summaries - I write down anything I find inspiring or useful from the texts

The production of ‘A Forest’ is explained in details in the December 04 edition of Sound on Sound Magazine

Git is made for, and encourages, non-linear history. If that puts you off you might be better off using a simpler VCS that only supports linear history.

I think you should keep your history true. Get comfortable with tools to analyse it, and don’t fall for the temptation to rewrite it. The rewards for rewriting are minimal, but the risks are great. You’ll thank me the next time you are bisecting through your history to track down a sneaky bug.