For the past several months, Surprise! and I have been working through the "Thomas the Tank Engine" stories by Rev A.W. Awdry. They're good stuff, and always fun to revisit the classics, but...
As with when Funsize and I worked through the series, there is very definitely a sense that they become less interesting as they go - he spends more and more time with the old engines, the small railway, and other peripheral characters that just don't have the same charm as Thomas and his friends.
All of which is a shame - the early stories remain classics, and are really good. But starting by the time you get to "The Eight Famous Engines", and definitely by the time you get to "The Twin Engines", the whole venture starts to flag.
Oh well. We have three stories to go, and then "Winnie the Pooh" beckons!
