For example, I read a book many years ago. I was visiting my grandparents as a young teenager and checked out a bunch of books from the Cuyahoga County Library. I really enjoyed one of them and it’s stuck in my mind for years as something that I’d like to re-read. Except that neither the title nor the author stuck in my mind. Just the plot. Something about Science Fiction, teenagers, summer vacation, a game, an island, and something to do with space — or a pig. Or both.

As you can imagine, it’s rather hard to find a book based on such sketchy information. I’d tried once or twice over the years but my attempts mainly revolved around browsing the stacks, hoping to find something familiar looking. I didn’t have much success and I’d pretty much given up on the attempt.

And then, out of the blue today, I found it. Art Carden wrote a post for Division of Labour entitled “The Kids Are Alright“. He included a brief comment that triggered a memory. Well, a partial memory. Okay, more like the half remembered smell of a forgotten scent. It just felt familiar in a way that I couldn’t quite define.

We then talked about books I enjoyed when I was younger (William Sleator). One of my favorite Sleator books was Interstellar Pig; I was pleasantly surprised to learn that one of these burgeoning movie-makers has it.

And, sure enough. Interstellar Pig is the book that I read all of those years ago. Amazing. Thank-you internets, with your plentiful, bounteous tubes. And thank-you, Art, for mentioning not only your favorite author but also the book title.