ughh im so annoyed. I'm annoyed at myself for not reading this sooner, and I'm more annoyed that I took it on holiday with me. This is a book requires quite a bit of brainpower, and the lighter reads did much better in italy. noted for next holidays to come. As I wasn't focusing, im extremely lost. I think the plan forward is to put it down for now and just read the entire thing again. Not sure it will become a firm favourite, but I do love the writing style so im tempted to pick up another calvino.

My main problem was I was finding the varying sections perhaps too short? not enough time to grip my head around each new scenario, and I prefer much more what david mitchell is doing (even though this book is an influencer of everything he has done, semi-wish I read calvino before him). Perhaps a second read is for the best as it will give me a better understanding of everything. there is certainly a lot to process with this one: think of it as an essay on reading, because in the heart that is what this is.