Good Friday

It is Good Friday today, and there are very few people in the lab today. I am still waiting for my chapters to be returned, so I am pottering about (in a virtual way), correcting little typos that I see in my writing and adding little bits here and there. That I cannot think of sweeping changes or additions to make must be a sign that I have reached the natural end of the thesis. Undoubtedly, it could be made better, but the time has come to call it a day once I have implemented any necessary changes. I am looking forward to my freedom. It will be good to be able to do research for its own sake and not for a degree, although there will always be the pressure to publish.

I recently bought a secondhand first edition of Graham Greene's 'Dr Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party'. It is one of my all time favourite novels, a near perfect story told with ideal brevity and balance. I recommend it to everyone. I used to have a paperback copy, but I felt that I needed to have a good quality copy. The little bookshop across from my college had the first edition for £5, which I think is a reasonable price judging by what I see on Abebooks.co.uk, but I think the lady in the shop was a little surprised and disappointed to see it at that price. Personally, I think the shop owners tend to overprice their stock, although I am not convinced that they always know what they are doing. Still, I am happy to benefit.