It is April Fools’ Day, which reminds me of one of my most favorite words: folly. Fun to say, and fun to read.

I finished “Affairs of Honor” the other night and actually found the very last pages before the footnotes section some of the most interesting. In the “Note on Method”, she briefly gets into a bit about the psychology and emotions of our 18th century ancestors, and how to go about attempting to analyze such things from such a long distance. Loved it.

Anyway, so I somehow ended up with only ONE book on my nightstand (“The Quartet”), which simply will not do. At the top of the pile I keep stacked on the lower shelf, the story of the US Navy, “Six Frigates”, lent to me by a commander I know. I better get it back to him in a timely way, so I decided to dive in. A couple dozen pages into it, and I am already awash in tales of British cannon balls decapitating their French foes. Blimey!

Also my local book club has finally chosen its April/May title — a novel called “This is Your Life, Harriet Chance!” I think it will add much-needed balance.