Counselling for Toads

Hello everyone

I've been meaning to post for a few days now, but been a bit snowed under with things and battling with internet problems. (The blessed thing keeps ditching us out every few minutes, so it becomes a race against time). Anyway, hopefully I can type this up off-line and then post it.

I enjoyed Counselling for Toads (with the same reservation as Helen in that some of it felt a bit forced) and it was definitely worth the slightly odd look from the librarian! If I've ever read The Wind in the Willows I don't remember it, so some of the references were lost on me, but it was a really good insight into the world of counselling. The business about much of who you are being determined in the first few years of life is actually quite scary, although it does make sense.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles takes me back to dreadful English lessons ("and now girls we will read out endless sections of the book in a ponderous manner before learning a few random quotes to get brownie points in the exam"). The only book that survived this mauling and became a cherished tome was To Kill a Mockingbird, but I suspect that book could survive most things. However, I'm never one to say never again. It will be interesting to revisit Tess and see if I like it any better without a GCSE paper looming. This is the beauty of our little reading group after all - there's no way I'd have strayed into reading Hardy again, but I may find myself being surprised.

Bye for now

Kirsty