You will have seen from the sidebar that I have been reading Iain M Banks’ Matter for a couple of weeks now (with a slight detour to Michael Palin as discussed a couple of days ago). I am not making much progress with the novel, being about a third of the way through, but this isn’t because I’m not enjoying it; on the contrary I’m really savouring the story and that’s part of the problem. I want to sit down for at least an hour at a time to immerse myself in the world of the Culture, but pressures of work and the daily commute (which means I’m standing most of the time in crowded carriages which makes a book this size difficult to read) mean I just haven’t been able to find that dedicated time. However, today is a rare day off work and although I have the usual errands to run I intend to carve out a slot for Matter, so watch this space.