I have, for the past two months, been reading Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August. This, dear readers, is astonishing. And I’m not talking about the book although it is phenomenal. No–it’s that I’ve stuck with and enjoyed this book! It’s non-fiction (not my usual fare), over 700 pages long, and about war (a topic that does NOT call to me.) It’s taken me forever because I only read before going to sleep and this is so dense, I read it far more slowly than I do fiction. I’m almost done–at the 90% mark. It’s one of the best written books I’ve ever read–here’s just one of thousands of examples:

Smitten in 1906 by the twenty-three-year-old wife of a provincial governor, Sukhomlinov contrived to get rid of the husband by divorce on framed evidence and marry the beautiful residue as his fourth wife. Naturally lazy, he now left his work more and more in the hands of subordinates while, in the words of the French ambassador, “keeping all his strength for conjugal pleasures with a wife 32 years younger than himself.” Mme. Sukhomlinov delighted to order clothes in Paris, dine in expensive restaurants, and give large parties. To gratify her extravagances Sukhomlinov became an early and successful practitioner of the art of the expense account.

It’s the sort of read that makes one feel smarter just by taking it all in. I’ve really enjoyed it and, amazingly, it’s made me want to read more about the Great War. (Suggestions welcome!)

When I need a break from The Guns of August, I’ve been re-reading some of my favorite romances. I am in the process of making a list of my personal top 100 romances and, as I do so, I’ve found I want to make sure I still love the books on the list. It’s been fun and, in general, what I liked years ago, I still like today.

I subscribe to two Substack columns: Matthew Yglesias’ Slow Boring and Freddie deBoer’s Blog. I’ve been reading deBoer for over a decade–I don’t always agree with him but he makes me think and he is willing to discuss, frankly, topics most smart people stay away from. His column today, which will irk many, is about the fertility crisis. I’m still thinking about it and I’ll own up to sending it to my four millennial kids.

Dr. Feelgood and I just finished watching the third and final season of Guilt which I loved. We just started The Great which, though a little stomach turning at times, is great fun. And, after the last two episodes of the second season of Blue Lights drops this week, we’ll watch that.

How about you? What’s been entertaining you lately?