R, you’re right, I was recently reading Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, and yes, I recommend it, although at 900-some pages, it’s a real commitment. It’s very engrossing, and you’ll get good and involved with the characters. The thing I liked most about it is that it pinned down its era of English history for me: you know how a good historical novel can make the history stick in your head better than a non-fiction historical work? Well, I’m now quite clear on why there was confusion over who should succeed Henry I, which gave rise to the time known as the Anarchy, with Empress Maud (although I had to look elsewhere to understand why she was an Empress instead of a Queen) and King Stephen battling it out; the eventual succession of Henry II and what exactly his beef was with Thomas Becket, etc. (And of course, the Anarchy was a major driving force behind Henry VIII’s desperate attempts to get a male heir–and look how much history we got out of that!) What’s great is, that’s all background, for the most part–in the foreground, you have the people of one small English town, whose fortunes rise and fall based on who happens to hold the crown this month, etc. It’s very well-done from the perspective of how great events far away affect the daily lives of regular folk.

CZ, so sorry to hear that summer lingers on for you. It’s gloriously autumnal here, overcast and damp, but not yet so cold that we need to put on the furnace (although I have switched to my heavy fleece robe and my felted slippers are my constant companions!) On my walk this morning, I smelled the delicious smoke from more than one fire in the neighborhood (fire-place/stove type fires, not “augh, call 911!” fires.) I don’t know if there’s a more comforting scent in the whole world, when you’re out in the drizzle, than to smell a warm fire close by. Unless it would be cinnamon rolls.