NTTVBG catch up

 

Reading is something that has taken quite a hit of late, mainly because I'm struggling to hold a book and just generally find sitting or lying in one position really uncomfortable. I've therefore been falling behind a bit in my reading challenge for the first half of 2010. In particular I've missed the last two NTTVBG discussions online.   

I really did try with The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan and was seriously hoping to join in the chat about this one, but to be honest the book just got the better of me! I struggled so much to get into this and now I find myself struggling to remember what it was even about. If you want to find out more then I suggest heading over to dovegreyreader where that particular discussion was hosted – although I'll warn you that despite persevering to the end the host didn't enjoy it that much either.

A Short Gentleman by Jon Canter was a completely different kettle of fish though and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Described as a "comic novel" (often a dangerous sign) I was delighted to find that that is exactly what it is. Written as the memoir of Robert Purcell, a man who decided how his Who's Who
entry would read very early on in life, this follows the highs and lows of his life picking up on all the small details that make life the rich fabric that it is. Casting my eye over the discussion which followed over on Other Stories it seems that I'm not the only one who enjoyed this. After so many depressing hard reads of late this book was exactly what I needed. I'll leave deeper discussion to others (my hands hurt too much to type for much longer) but I'd definitely recommend picking up a copy of this, especially if you want or need something to read that doesn't require too much emotional brain power!