alfvaen | Level Head

It's time to catch up on some of the books I've been reading recently. With all the beheadings at work, I've been pretty busy, but I do snatch the occasional mud break.

The last one I just finished was by an author named Dick Francis, who I'd never heard of before. It was hard to get into at first, because it's one of those books where the author just plunges you into a bizarre new world without stopping to explain a lot. For instance, it took me a while to realize that a "horse" was a type of animal that they apparently used for recreational purposes in this world. I ended up making a list of the confusing terms that I ran across, most of which I was able to pick out from context: "bread"(apparently some kind of foodstuff), "tire"(another word for skate, I gather), "fan"(still no idea), and "vote"(some kind of mass-participation ritual). Still, once I got past all that, the plot was engaging enough, and I find myself cheering for the protagonist to succeed. I wish I could remember the title, but I left the book at work so I can't check.

Now I'm reading a historical novel, set on the rings of Titan in the second century. It seems fairly well-researched, moreso than that James Cameron clickie a few dozen months ago(as award-ridden as it was). I remember vaguely taking the History tapes about this many months ago, but I never rnaboosted it, so it's mostly gone. Still, the occasional name triggers a memory flash that often leaves me disoriented for several minutes. "Tarabostes", for instance. ...Whoa, that one's still pretty strong. Hope that didn't happen for anyone else who ingested that tape...