[neilmarr]

Just got back from surgery and a couple of weeks in hospital. Holding a sitting position at my desk still stings a bit, so this is the briefest of messages to thank everyone for their good wishes before I was whipped in.

I'm afraid I can't find my original 'Get Well Slow' thread, but, yup, I did my wee Sony 505 full justice during my incarceration. Read a couple of novels for work (assessment reads that I'm afraid won't make the BeWrite Books cut) and then settled down to some uninterrupted recreational reading: John Updike's In the Beauty of the Lillies, Steve King's Under the Dome and Mary Johnston's 1492.

My only disappointment was with King. He sometimes does let me down, but I love much of his work, so that's OK. And maybe I was just in a bad mood, anyway, and felt much too early that far from suspending my disbelief this time, I couldn't help thinking it was little more than a literary version of The Simsons' movie.

The other two were nothing short of magnificent in every way. Very, very highly recommended.

And what a great feeling it was to know that if anything went wrong and my hospital stay dragged on, I had a full library in my bedside drawer.

Very best wishes and thanks again for the kind thoughts. I have a feeling the good vibrations worked. Neil