At Home with Old & New Friends...

I don't know if is because I am a bit of a strange character, or not. But some of my most enjoyable moments are while reading a good book. I read a lot of books, I suppose, and I would not call all of them good, by any means. Or, to qualify that statement, some books are of much higher caliber (quality) than others.
A writer whose books I have been reading for a long time is William Gibson. Between yesterday and today I managed to read his most recent book, Zero History. Many of the main characters in Zero History were also in his last book, although they are both stand-alone novels (meaning you don't have to read the first in order to read the second, or vice versa). Now, for all you English learners, this is not a book you should try to read in English. If you want to check it out (try reading it), you should do it in your own language. The author is very literate and descriptive in his language. The combination is even a bit much for me upon occasion, and I need a dictionary close to hand.
Like many books, as well as stories, it starts off kind of slow, but after the first twenty to thirty pages begins to pick up momentum. In fact, the story gathers speed fairly rapidly. As I said, I began it yesterday, and finished it this afternoon. And it is a 400 page book.
I really do like William Gibson's work. With this book, he tells a wonderfully unique kind of industrial spy story that touches on cutting-edge fashion, marketing, & spy-ware, among other things.
But for me, reading this book was kind of like coming home. Characters, friends if you like, that I was able to become familiar with again, as well as new friends. A story that was engaging, with action, suspense, and beautifully written. And, besides all else, it actually has two romances. One that actually began in the previous book, and one just beginning in this one. But the romance in the book is not overdone (I wouldn't call it sappy). It is the perfect amount for the story. Although it was enough to bring a tear to the eye (ok, my eye) once or twice. And enough to add to that happy glow at the end of the book when everything well, as I hoped it would.
To use an expression, finishing the book made life, and all things in the world, seem "right as rain."