Peter H Wilson, Europe's Tragedy: A New History of the Thirty Years War, Peter Høeg, Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow

Bookcases installed and filled!  Downstairs there are three full Liatorps and a half Liatorp, plus a corner Hemnes. I've spent most of my spare time recategorising and moving things about to get the right balance between similarity, aesthetics and practicality (different shelf heights). Life at the moment revolves around children's parties; I haven't managed a run since the Great South in October, and I have a half-marathon in a few weeks. In the week we have a new pick-up routine which seems to be working; I head down to nursery to pick up Libby first. Normally this is walking, but I had Fred's scooter last week and almost killed myself and several bystanders by scooting far too fast down White Rose Lane and attempting to stop by jumping off. What an idiot. After picking up Lib, who is so chatty at the moment and has new words all the time, mostly related to food, violence or the assertion of possession, we take the buggy up the hill, singing 'Wheels on the Bus' on the way. Lib does the 'Gangnam Style' horsey ride dance when I sing 'The Freddies on the bus go 'Gangnam Style!''. Then we pick up Fred from Gemma's, which always turns into an event with their wonderful whirling sofa that spins round. Luke and Fred seem to get on so well. They had a playdate on Sunday and then a party; Freddie seems to be turning into a real little boy, with a little gang  running round causing chaos.

Freddie's favourite game at the moment is 'wrap and sandwich' which involved him and Lib pretending to be cheese and salami and getting wrapped up in a blanket and then lying on top of a pillow, having another pillow put on top, then Libby, then another pillow. I've been writing a joke for him every day too to encourage his reading. A Sample is 'What flies and wobbles? A Jellycopter!'

After pick up from Gemma's we have a scooter race back through the town centre. Normally this involves stopping at the ice cream parlour, Starbuck's, the Library, the cookie shop or similar. He's getting really quick now, I have to really run to keep up. He's been out on his bike a few times too with me holding the handle.

I struggled with the history of the Thirty Years War, 800 pages of battles and politicking. At the end of it I couldn’t tell you the first thing about that messy period. Miss Smilla was the book that kickstarted the Nordic noir genre in the UK. It seems very familiar now with the dark brooding atmosphere, but must have seemed very new at the time. The early part on the book is set in Copenhagen, and after The Killing and Borgen it eas like reading about an old friend. When the action switched to a ship and then later Greenland I got disoriented; outside the comfort zone. . .