The author of Foucault’s Pendulum and The Name of the Rose died today in his home. I must confess I’ve never read a word by Eco, but a friend of mine insists that Travels in Hyperreality is “fucking wild.”

That brief review and the following Tweet are all the excuses I need to catch up:

Rich Smith is The Stranger's former News Editor. He writes about politics, books, and performance. You can read his poems at www.richsmithpoetry.com