For me, it's a love/hate thing. Like my treatment of so many other objects and subjects, I either dismiss or approve in an instant. Others are not so flimsy in their treatment of life's second to most important pastime.

As Kevin sagaciously points out, reading the classics is like eating porridge; it's horrible but you know it's good for you. My ongoing battle with Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady has driven me to the edge of unfinished book hell. What would I say to this literary genius if I had the opportunity? "Get to the friggin' point". That's what I would have said. I picked this book up in Wellington, New Zealand last December and have only picked it up handful of times since.

I used to cry when my mother made me eat porridge. It's like she's standing over me once again with a Penguin Classic in her hand this time instead of a wooden spoon.

Published by Colm.