Serendipitous triangulation....

Last evening I began reading Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. The choice was a result of serendipitous triangulation. First came the suggestion from Ciarán after my reference to the hoax behind the Priory Sion that formed a key to the plot of Brown's The Da Vinci Code. A few moments later, I came across an article in the Saturday Book Review section of the Guardian that made reference to the book as one of several novels by Eco. And finally, there's that copy of the other Foucault's The Order of Things that I am carrying around in my backpack (a copy borrowed from a colleague that I needed to use in one of my research projects). Too many "signs" pointing me in the direction of this book. And since I happened to be near the Waterstone's bookshop in Belfast's city centre, I surrendered to the coincidences and purchased my second copy of the book (I know there's one sitting on a shelf at home in Massachusetts). Seriously, I am finding it increasingly desirable to have one book on my current reading list that is not part of any research or writing project I am engaged in at the moment. In the past I would have regarded this kind of "side reading" as an unnecessary diversion to be avoided rather than relished. But now these diversions have turned into pleasurable substitutes for spending time in front of the TV and other brainless pursuits of entertainment. Not that I am giving up on the "telly" -- as past blogs indicate, there were some shows that serve as a "Distraction" during quiet evenings in Belfast. But I am finding a good read to be a more satisfying -- and less guilty -- way of filling the time. Of course, the same thing can be said for my obvious growing attachment to blogging....