I’m kind of creeped out by how pervasive the weblog influence is in some circles… I had just hopped on a plane the other morning and was settling in when the guy next to me pulled his book out of his bag and I noticed that it was Google Hacks. I asked him what he thought of the book and he replied that he’d just started it, but that it seemed really good. I explained I was curious because I’d liked the book and knew the editor, and he became more effusive. As it turned out, the guy works at another search company and saw the book as a brainstorming guide.

I found the coincidence kind of amusing, and not all that surprising, until just before take off when another man sat down on the other side of the guy next to me. He shuffled around a bit, stowed his bag away, and took a look at the cover of the book the guy was reading. "Hey, Google Hacks! That’s a cool book. What do you think of it?"

"It’s good so far. And this guy knows the fellow who edited it." How many of these Google fans are there in any given airplane?

Odd enthusiasms aside, I suspect there wouldn’t have been so much excitement about a book of Teoma hacks. Of course, it’s not just the subject matter that makes the book so compelling. I’m thinking part of the reason the book is doing so well is because of the current resurgence in popularity of the Lord of the Rings books. I mean, don’t the names "Tara Calishain" and "Rael Dornfest" sound like hobbits or something?

Maybe it’s just me.