I should have done more today. I've been thrashing some Empire TW. I also went into town to see some friends, which was nice.
A couple of things have happened this week which are of note. Firstly, my daughter and I exchanged our first few letters. She writes well and to the point. It's nice to hear from her.
Secondly, like an idiot, I sent a copy of my translation of Nennius' History of the Britons (moreover a rough draft, yet more or less complete, if not completely free from error) to a historian to review it. I learnt a thing or two (1) Never send someone a copy of your book until it's published. This is for many reasons. An incomplete, unaccredited pdf of my work floating around on the web is never a good idea. Yet also, (2) the momentum and enthusiam from the reviewer (she is an accomplished, well educated historian) may wain.
Thirdly, A friend of mine who I kept some books with (a complete copy of the Encyclopaedia Britannica - minus one volume, also a few other stray books) is moving, so she's given me notice. She is very generous and offered to take the books with her to her new home. I have arranged a little time off work to go and get them. Across the street lives another friend, who is also very kind, and she is keeping several boxes of critical editions of Shakespeare for me, and a few other literary works. They are the dregs of my collection, and in truth, I have nowhere to put them. I would have to lose a load of lesser books to make room for them (books I've picked up on second hand stalls on a whim, which are not particularly informative). I will donate them all to a local supermarket book stall. My favourite supermarket only has a children's books section now (of which I own none), but another supermarket has a little stall (tiny). I should imagine it will take several trips to do this (for I own a great many books) but it will be better than giving them to a mercantilist book seller. People can just have them. Besides, such an encyclopedia (scores of volumes) is an excellent asset. I have noticed that online reference works have been getting more and more concise, offering less and less information, as people's attention spans decrease in this flick through the web/text message/short video culture we have. The online Encyclopaedia Britannica is no exception (and besides, I won't have access to the University's databases forever). Therefore, although somewhat dated (the editions I own are mid-80's) the entries are copious, very informative, and another second section is offered in a companion volume if further research is required. They are also authoritative. It's not like citing Wikipedia (or whatever). I used to live by them, but those were in my greener days as a scholar (pre-Latin, pre-master's), so not I tend to see the Encyclopaedia Britannica now as a good starting point, in order to get a brief overview of a subject. The only similar reference work I own is the 'Petit' Larousse (which is whopping, there's nothing 'petit' about it). Almost all the other reference works I own are on languages, foreign language dictionaries, grammar books, even four massive volumes of English language etymological dictionaries, that is, except for a few biographical dictionaries, which I find are curious and interesting to read.
All this points towards one thing: I need more space, to house more books, and, more importantly, have somewhere for my daughter to stay when she comes to visit.
One thing which really enthused me about reading her letter (which was in French, which is fine, because I understand the language well enough) is that she 'devours' books, she 'loves' reading books, and indeed writing. She wrote that she has a library in her apartment. That, and the fact that she plays classical piano, makes me a very proud father indeed.
Max.
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