Perhaps two years ago, I bought Quicksilver, the first of the three volumes of Stephenson’s The Baroque Cycle, and considering the vastness of the world I was entering (more than 900 pages per volume), I decided for a calm and slow approach. No method planned, though. I am ever so often stymied by method(s) when I write, I really don’t want any when I read. So the plan was simply Read as many pages you like when you can. The pace has admittedly been intermittent, with high and low tides in reading, almost always depending on my truly-free time and general disposition.

Now I’ve reached more or less the half of Quicksilver, and I’ve resumed the reading after a four-month pause. What’s amazing is that I remember exactly what was happening before I stopped last December. And I still have a pretty vivid idea of what I’ve been reading so far. I usually have a good memory but it can’t be just that. It’s surely also due to the power of Stephenson’s writing, his ability to draw detailed scenes and passages in such a way that they’re easily retained and you can reunite with the narration anytime as if you just left it the day before. As a writer, this is certainly something to aspire to.