What are you reading right now ?

'Lothingaria' by Simon Winder. The third in his trilogy of books about European history. The other two, 'Germania' and 'Danubia', are also well worth reading and re-reading. They fill in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of European history, which is basically what I learned at A level ('Say no more, it's the battle of Namur', as my history teacher used to say).

Probably because I spelt it wrong:

www.amazon.co.uk/Lotharingia-Personal-History-Europes-Country/dp/1509803254/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1GE7AS4D5VPQ0&keywords=lotharingia+simon+winder&qid=1568907000&s=books&sprefix=loth%2Caps%2C147&sr=1-1

'At the heart of western Europe lies a huge swath of land, stretching from the mud and fogs of the North Sea coast, down through countless market towns, ports, fortresses and ancient cathedrals, through a mass of river systems and forests, all the way to the great barrier of the Alps. Divided by their languages, religions and frontiers, everyone living there shares one thing: that they are inhabitants of a lost part of Europe – Lotharingia.

In his highly entertaining new book Simon Winder tells the story of this ghostly but persistent presence. In AD 843, the three surviving grandsons of the great Emperor Charlemagne met at Verdun. After years of bitter squabbles over who would inherit the family land, they finally decided to divide the territory and go their separate ways. In a moment of staggering significance, one grandson inherited what became France, another Germany and the third Lotharingia, the chunk that initially divided the other two chunks: ‘the lands of Lothar’. The dynamic between these three great zones has dictated much of our subsequent fate.

Lotharingia is a history of this in-between land and joins the equally fascinating Germania and Danubia in Simon Winder’s personal exploration of Europe. In this beguiling, hilarious and compelling book we retrace how both from west and from east any number of ambitious characters have tried and failed to grapple with these people. Over many centuries, not only has Lotharingia brought forth many of Europe’s greatest artists, inventors and thinkers, but it has also reduced many a would-be conqueror to helpless tears of rage and frustration.'

This week I have read a few while on holiday.

Stickman, The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child, The Highway Rat, Monkey Puzzle, and a few other Julia Donaldson books because my son loves them.