currently reading: Schama, Arlen, Phillips

I suspect the baby has been growing by leaps and bounds the last ten days, because I've been too tired to do anything except for read, watch the swimming competitions in Rome, and sleep. In a way this has been peaceful, even satisfying, but I was very glad to wake up this morning with a lot more energy, as my list of things to do pre-baby (which includes items both necessary and fun) has been nudging at me.

So today -- a few book posts (one hopes), some dishes (one promises, as one's husband has been patiently doing them but with the workload that is about to hit him at his paid job it really is time to take back over), and almost certainly some more reading. Right now I'm working on:

• Simon Schama: A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World, 3500 B.C.-1603 A.D -- Yes, sometimes I do read books written recently! I stumbled across this at the library & picked it up because years and years ago an editor who I respect mentioned how much he loved Schama's Landscape and Memory (which, being me, I own and haven't read). Anyway, I finally started this and I am loving it; I know a great deal of the history already, but Schama's voice is incredibly engaging and funny and occasionally provocative, and the full-colour illustrations are not only beautiful but very well-chosen. I may have to ask for this as a birthday or Christmas present...
  
• David Graham Phillips: The Great God Success -- one of the unknown-to-me early 20th century authors I discovered by reading the advertisements in the back of May Sinclair's Superseded. I am so very glad I picked this up, because I'm really enjoying it, even though I think it's going to end badly for the main characters.
  
• Michael Arlen: The Green Hat -- I've been meaning to read this absolutely forever, as innumerable other books from the 20s mention it, but it's taken me forever to pick it up. I was expecting it to be a quick, light read, but instead I'm finding myself wanting to linger over certain scenes; Arlen is very good at the little moments which develop relationships between two characters, and those are the moments I like to daydream on before continuing.
  

Time for ablutions and physical fortification involving apples and multi-grain toast with Boursin, and then I will try my best to write proper posts for the books I've finished in the last few weeks.