There are certain books that get recommended to me over and over again by different friends. Sometimes, I take the recommendation quickly, like Seymour Hersh’s excellent Chain of Command. Sometimes it takes…a whole lot longer. In January I finally read the Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. I had it in my mind that it had come out maybe 10 years ago. When I was done with it, I looked at the copyright date and saw that it actually came out in 1983, so it took me 22 years to finally read the damn thing (and to the dozens of people who told me I’d like it, you were right). Perdido Street Station by China Mieville is another one. Again, recommendations have flowed in for years. I’ve finally started carrying it around in my bookbag, because I always need something to read on the bus. Well, at the moment it hasn’t tempted me away from Matthew Parker’s engaging history Monte Cassino: the Hardest Fought Battle of WWII, but once I finish that I think I’ll be in the mood for a good novel. I’m pretty sure I can read Perdido Street Station before 2023 rolls around in any event.