Quicksilver

I’m about halfway through Quicksilver, Neil Stephenson’s new novel. This book is going to appeal to a lot less people than Cryptonomicon, mostly because you have to be a real hard core geek to love what he’s doing in this novel, not just some half-ass computer nerd who built his last computer. That being said, and unhumbly labeling myself as a member of the former class, so far the book has me hooked.
But what I’m really writing this entry about is not to give a review of the book (see the New York Times review or Lundblad’s review.) …especially considering I haven’t finished it yet! What really struck me in reading Stephenson is how his books remind me of the best conversations I’ve had. You know one of those conversations at a party where the ideas flow like spittle from a rabid dogs mouth (hee hee!) Where you lose track of time and how cold it is standing outside on the back porch in the middle of winter but wouldn’t give up your company or the conversation for anything. In fact, when I think about all of the authors that I consider my favorites, all of them, Philip Dick, Thomas Pynchon, Jorge Luis Borges, etc. give me this same feeling.
Well in honor of Stephenson, I don’t know how to end this entry.