About the only merit I can honestly discern from my current enforced idleness is the time I have to just sit and read.  I have become a devourer of books finishing four in the past ten days.  I have been fortunate.  When Alan M came to see me in hospital last Sunday he brought with him an arm full of fishing books, mainly by American authors which I had not previously heard of.  These have been life savers.  Their vivid and very different descriptions of fly fishing on rivers vastly different to the Ribble have conjured images that take my mind well beyond the confines of the hospital ward, of my sitting room and help to relieve the sense of claustrophobia induced by my incapacity.

I started with two books by John Gierach who writes with a style that sparkles with his humour and enthusiasm.  He has a light touch well suited to lifting the spirits when the discomfort and helplessness of ones situation begins to crowd in.  His descriptions of both fishing and the wider environment of the American Mid West are evocative yet seem strange when viewed from the context of our heavily regulated, tightly managed and jealously guarded English fisheries.  One gets a sense of the immensity of the Mid West landscape, the freedom of extensive public fishing as well as their lack of safeguard that are one of the benefits of our more elitist history of fishery ownership.

Next came James Babb.  Slightly heavier and more philosophical in style, but he too evokes the spirit of truly wild trout fishing on rivers that seem vast by comparison to our own trout streams.  He paints pictures with words in a style that is a joy to read and draws you into his obsessions and observations. 

Finally, Thomas McGuane is a deeply philosophical and very American writer in the style of Steinbeck or Hemmingway, a more challenging read where you really need to stop and reflect on what he is saying and consider its impact.  Again he has the knack of summoning images from the page, but these are darker and more subtle, shaped by a deep and abiding passion for fly fishing in the most challenging of conditions and circumstances.

I would strongly recommend these authors to all of you who have the time to sit and read. If you just want to dip in then chose Geirach for a more absorbing few hours that will really make you think about why you fish then pick up McGuane.  For a good, solid holiday read chose Babb.

Ian