Read and Release

A few nights ago, we were at the Fire House Grill in Evanston for dinner and had an amazing encounter in the Ladies' Room:

(I'm not lost! a booklover left me here

 for you to find & enjoy -- See inside

 for more info -- http://www.bookcrossing.com)

This was definitely my first random literary encounter in a public restroom. Kinda cool, kinda unhygienic. But hey, an encounter nonetheless by a furtive organization called bookcrossing.com.

My friend Carly actually snagged the book (one hopes not from the top of the tank) and will present a book report on The Starfollowers (yes, one word) of Coramonde in this space just as soon as she is able.

Until then:

Gil was blown back with enormous force by a ball of swirling transplendence. The entity, freed from the seal, sizzled and lashed out, knocking him sideways. The thing floated toward the baby. Suddenly, the sword of Blazetongue flared incandescent.

Carly tells me that fantasy writers are passionate about using the "Find Synonym" option in their word processing, inventing vocabulary as necessary. And they rarely miss an opportunity to name inanimate objects, such as swords and comets (in this case, Blazetongue and Trailingsword.)

And while I am not a devotee of Fantasy, I do love to read. And I think the Read and Release program is brilliant. Here's hoping the program fares better than the free bikes of Paris, which at last count were pretty much all in Bratislava and Bucharest.