i finally put night watch and thud into boxes and sealed them up. yes, fastidious mummification by brown paper and glossy tape.

i am feeling rather sick.

what's worse, they're going by boat.

but i'm going to wheel them off to the post office quickly so there's no mind changing and mad-woman scrabbling and clawing at packages to get them out again.

though - i thought to myself last night - it's just possible that with night watch, thud, and the fifth elephant, i may never need another book again on my desert island.

i guess this is where my intellectual reputation collapses!