What I've been reading

Bits of Me are Falling Apart
by William Leith

"With his trademark darkly humorous mix of personal story and social commentary, Leith attempts to answer the question: is everything really falling apart? Or is it just him? He examines the ageing process in humans, and in everything else as well, from the universe to the banking system. And he comes to realise that, even if he can't solve the problems of the world, at least he has a thorough understanding of failure."

The first of my extensive collection of birthday books bought with my birthday book tokens, or in this case, given to me at our birthday party. Boy, this one is a downer. I can't even let Mr A look at it, in case he is moved to take his own life, or more likely, hunt down the author and kill him with an axe for being so self-indulgently miserable. I could only bear to read it because I was relentlessly chipper and optimistic about my life while I was reading it (on our short holiday to Kent).

To summarise: the author is having a bad day in the course of a bad year following a bad life in most ways up to this point. I am not optimistic about his future, and I resent the fact that a good friend of mine has supported his whining misery by supplying him with royalties by buying this book, and potentially encouraging him to write another one. Steer clear.