Do you ever worry you'll spoil your love for a book if you read another by the same author and it's a drag? When I read a dud by an author I revere, it inevitably diminishes my overall opinion of their work and it happens more often than I'd like.*
Unfortunately, this was one of those times and I just didn't enjoy Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. There were moments of humour and cleverness, but by the end I was left wishing I'd never picked it up.
As a reader, I was greedy to recreate the magic of Three Men in a Boat where I should have been content to leave it as a standalone reading experience beyond compare. Have I learned my lesson though? Probably not.
My rating = **
Carpe Librum!
* Which is why I'm reluctant to read anything else by John Williams, author of Stoner.
