Had a lovely chat this evening with lit'ry friends @Sarah_W_Morris & @lodeslan & I've been thinking more about some of the things we touched on - specifically, formative reading experiences, and also the story I'm trying to wrangle at the moment...

Anyhow, I realised that as well as all the other stuff which has influenced this story, there's also one of those 'books you should read to understand me' books (it's one I often miss off because I forget not everyone's read it): Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Note: I'm just talking about that one book, not the rest of the series because although they did influence me, it wasn't in the same way.

Now, there'll be spoilers ahead, but since the book is nearly as old as my dad, it's covered by the "reasonable time since release" rule...

Foundation tells the story of a civilisation & how it evolves & changes over centuries - possibly millennia. But not as one long tale.

It's a series of stories set at the crucial pivot points of their history, but each time there is a close focus on a small group of people (maybe just 1 or 2, it's been a while since I last read it) so it feels both vast & intimate.

But what struck me tonight (whilst lounging in the bath, post-chat) was that I always felt, when reading it, a longing to know more about what happened in between those pivot points. About how the different societies grew & were formed. For all the close detail, we only get...

...the sketchiest information about how the changes follow on from the moment we read on the page.

And it occurred to me that that's what I'm seeking for when I read history books & watch documentaries different cultures: what happens in between, or adjacent to, the big stories.

And, while I'm not sure where this is leading to other than "I need to find our copy of Foundation & put it on my TBR pile", but I find it rather fitting that a fictional book set in the far reaches of time & space inspired my lifelong quest learn more about my fellow humans.