The places we will go . . .

I've been reading a new comic strip this week and it has been all about a baby trying to figure out what to do with a book since he can't figure out how to turn it on. Today, he decided to try opening it, revealing a treasure trove of characters. I thought it was perfect - after all, you never really know where a book is going to take you when you open the covers.

As I walked into the library this afternoon, I noticed the book Crazy for Cornelia on the sale rack. I read this book years ago, I will be honest, out of desperation - one of those facing a long weekend and nothing on hand to read selections. Well, as often happens, I was pleasantly surprised. It is a funny romance, what would normally have been a pleasant book, soon forgotten. But there is a really strange aspect to this book that took me off on tangents I never saw myself exploring. If you haven't read this book, Cornelia is obsessed with Tesla, and spends much of the book trying to produce one of his creative concepts. Yes, Tesla, in the middle of a standard humorous yet touching romance. Not knowing anything about Tesla other than that famous coil, I spent some time afterwards reading about Tesla. Fascinating - and so useful when I randomly watched The Prestige (one of those facing a long weekend with nothing on hand to watch selections). But it all was an unexpected bonus to reading the book - I learned something without meaning to, and found myself exploring a new interest.

When I was putting together the "Today Is" sheet for December 6th, I happened onto the anniversary of the Halifax Explosion, the largest man-made explosion prior to WWII. I already knew all about it - why? Because I read A Wedding in December, by Anita Shreve of course. I read Anita Shreve occasionally, and was on a kick of her books at the time I read this one. If you haven't read this book, there is a parallel story going on that is the text of a book being written by one of the characters, and that story is all about a romance in the midst of the Halifax Explosion. I just happened to be reading this all when the terrific book The Curse of the Narrows, by Laura MacDonald came out. What a fascinating book, detailing the whole tragic event in Halifax. Again, something I would never have dipped into if I hadn't read the Shreve book. With that tempting glimpse at the explosion and aftermath, I ended up again learning something quite painlessly. Did you know that Boston gets a donated tree from Nova Scotia to this day in thanks for Boston's help after the disaster?

So, share your experiences with unexpected tangents from reading a book. I know I will be interested in hearing.