One of the nice perks of running a successful publication is that people are constantly sending you free books or, as they're called, 'review copies'. For my own personal reading I'm usually not that interested in political books. But when I came back into work today I'd received a copy -- not sure why precisely -- of Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell. It's the kind of book I'd like to read. And especially now because I just came off reading The Ruin of the Roman Empire by James J. O'Donnell, which I found a touch weirdly written and a bit under-edited but also engrossing, with a reasonably persuasive argument about Justinian's key and under-appreciated role in triggering the collapse of the Roman world through a combination of religious persecution and foreign policy adventurism.

But all that aside, I've got this great book in front of me -- who knows about the content but great in terms of all the cool aesthetics of a fine clothbound book.

But, honestly, I'd rather download it on my Kindle.

I'm hooked. Ruined.

Late Update: Foiled! It's not available on Kindle. WTF ...