I can't believe I read the whole thing! All 482 pages of it. Today.

Well, there wasn't much else to do--it rained most of the morning and I got absorbed in the book. Then it cleared up a bit in the early afternoon so I headed out for a salad at Arby's, and more reading in the current geek book.

I had thought about stopping at Big Lots to get some dry dog food, but when I headed west there was a huge, threatening, very dark cloud hanging over west Slidell. Two blocks later there was rain. So I headed directly home. And went back to reading. It's 1909 and I finally finished.

This is a book I bought for reading while on vacation. Since it was in my duffel I didn't get a chance to read it then. Written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, it's a techno-thriller that revolves are gene-tinkering. The original intent is good, but the unforeseen consequences are not. According to the frontispiece, they have also written Relic and Reliquary.

I rationalize reading binges like today by regarding these books as exercises in getting my reading speed back up after I've been reading geek books. When I was in grad school at Tulane I actually timed myself and found that it took me about two minutes per page for history books packed with information that I needed to process and remember. And I also discovered during breaks that those reading habits carried over into casual reading, at least at first.

What's next on my casual reading list? I haven't decided. I've got several mysteries on hand from series that have already familiarized me with the characters and their relationships. And I have several books that various friends sent me post-K, when the bookshelves at most stores were stripped almost bare by cableless people. Even though I was a bit miffed at not finding many books on the shelves, I thought it marvelous that so many people were actually reading.

So today was devoted to Mount Dragon. In fact, I didn't even take my usual nap!