Our school year is beginning, and as that comes together, I am compelled to read some of the books which the kids are reading.

One of those books is an old and respected history of England called Our Island Story , which is quite informative, but not my first choice for entertainment.

Now this will seem unrelated, but stay with me for a sec: while I was at the dinner party which I mentioned on my little frantic post of Sunday evening, I sat next to a delightful 90 yr old gentleman and as we talked about things, the topic of my running and reading was introduced by the lady sitting opposite me. So the gentleman I just mentioned had also just heard all about our studies of the Middle Ages which are imminent, and I saw a little light go off in his head.

Early the next morning he arrived at my door with the book you see pictured here at the top of this page.

1066 and All That is a parody on the very book of English history which I am reading, and has nearly ruined my ability to take that text seriously. It's as if Wodehouse were writing English History (this is a quote from David).

I actually read the first third of this book aloud to the boys yesterday, and we were all laughing so loudly, we woke up several people who were asleep upstairs (!).

So, it's not on my list, but I am about to go through that list anyhow, because I am substituting some of the extra books I have read for some books I have been unable to locate. Then this title will be included with my 100.

1066 and All That is only 155 pages long, and makes the bold claim that it contains all the memorabls history of England. It is short, and I read it all in an hour I guess. But after The Brothers Karamazov (which I ended up finishing in the text, not the audio version) I was just ripe for a short book of fun.

And btw, that two hour run was pretty fine. I was quite wobbly coming home and I had what I suspect might have looked like a creepy frozen smile fixed on my face for the last 15 minutes, and yesterday every part of my body from my chin to the soles of my feet was sore, except for my hands. And I am not running at all today!