A revelation

One thing I have learned so far in my reading challenge: never underestimate a book supposedly written for children.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have stumbled across the authorship of Pádraig Kenny and if you are looking for something out of the ordinary, look no further.

Both of these books touch upon what it means to be human and Kenny uses the power of description to lure the reader into his world. I'm not easily moved by literature, but I cried, cursed, smiled and laughed while reading, and to me, that is the hallmarks of good literature. 

So, what are you waiting for? Read these gems and thank me later 

Stubborn

My reading project has been moving steadily forward for the last few weeks and it has been an overall pleasant experience - until I met this book. The well-appraised Harry Potter'esque novel for adults...

But it wasn't my first encounter with this novel - it was part of my book collection until I gave it to a dear friend as a birthday gift a few years back. I remembered vaguely that I liked the book then and when I visited York in March, I bought a new copy. And started reading...

The positive memories were soon drowned in everlasting whining from the, let's be honest, not-so-interesting protagonist, Quentin. When he wasn't complaining about something, he was acting like a combination of a spoiled child and a dickhead/idiot. But did I stop reading? No - I'm too stubborn and I was determined to finish it no matter what. So I trudged on, through 488 pages of complete nothingness - well, there were a few silver linings now and then, but the apparent stealing from Narnia, the uninspired writing and the uninteresting characters nearly brought me to my knees.

So, even if it wasn't as pleasant as some of the other books I've read so far this year, I can see it as a form of cathartic experience, because it made me suffer greatly.