thoughtcrumbs

I've been holding my breath for three years

And Quicksilver is finally out tomorrow. From Christina Schulman's review:

This is also not a book that gets anywhere quickly. It's 900-plus pages, and it's not padded so much as it is fractal. Stephenson wanders down side tracks, stages elaborate adventures and morality plays, explores philosophical issues and geometric proofs, assembles obscure puns, and drags in all manner of famous people and events, purely for his own amusement. Either you sit back and enjoy the game, or you hurl the book (with effort) at the wall somewhere in the first few hundred pages.

To appreciate how long I've been waiting for a sequel to Cryptonomicon, consider what's happened in the dating lives of my friends in the meantime (names changed). Brian, I was reading Cryptonomicon that day in the quad at UO after the Valentine's party when I mentioned (at Jo's request) that you hadn't returned her email (which, turns out, you'd never received). The UO mail ghosts had frustrated her nascent love life, especially when coupled with your surprising delivery of roses to Jo's roommate the next day. But, never fear, with a little help from yours truly, you and Jo eventually found each other and dated for several months. Then she moved across the country and pursued a dating career worthy of the best reality tv shows (which we all live vicariously through; thanks, Jo). Brian, after an appropriate period of relationship mourning, found your match in roommate #3, and you and Heather have been happily hiking and baking bread for almost two years. And me? I've just been waiting for this book to come out.