In good company

A while ago, I wrote about Timequake, the last novel by Kurt Vonnegut that I have yet to finish. I’ve been purposely reading the book at a snail’s pace for the past few years, in fear that I might one day finish and not have anything new to read by my favorite author.

Regarding this unusual approach to reading, it appears that I am in good company. Last night my wife and I were watching Battlestar Galactica, a show we enjoy very much. In the episode, Admiral Adama sits beside the hospital bed of the President of the Colonies, who is dying from cancer, intending to read to her. Just before he begins, the President asks Adama if he likes the book’s ending, an apparent classic in their world, and he tells her that he does not know how it ends. He explains that he loves the book so much that he has never finished it. He doesn’t want it ever to end.

I realize that I’m in good company with a fictional character, but this is Admiral William Adama, call sign Husker and savior of the human race. Even if he is fictional, he’s still a great man, and I felt a little pride in knowing he feels the same about our favorite books.

And this is nothing new for me. I once dated Jaye Tyler, the fictional protagonist from the short-lived television series Wonderfalls. Perhaps I’ll write about it sometime.