I just read a book on obituaries. Yes, really.

[switchknitter]

The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson is... interesting. I had no idea that there are people in this world obsessed with obits, much less that they have a newsgroup and an annual convention. Fascinating. Johnson is a fan, and a professional writer of things besides obituaries. For the book she interviews a lot of obit writers who are famous among devotees of the genre, giants in their field. It's a very strange book, one which I enjoyed enough to devour the 223 pages in a couple of hours.

So that's two books I've finished today. I love vacations.