Invasion of the Universe

I wonder how many of those of us who write exclusively on literature and read only novels, poetry, literary criticism and occasionally into related subjects, have an otherwise unaccountable curiosity with another beyond the literary horizon. Many, I imagine. I'm not talking about an interest like Colchester United or clay pigeon shooting but an area of fascination, something studied with no view to an output. In my case it's Easter Island. I read books on Easter Island, I watch documentaries on Easter Island and look at webpages on Easter Island. While this isn't quite the revelation – fourteen years ago I wrote about Nicolas Cauwe's Easter Island: The Great Taboo, the best book I've read on the subject – I have yet to read one that addresses let alone answers the question that fascinates me. Despite getting tired of seeing the same archeological facts repeated and the same popular legends raised, examined and debunked, I still look out for new books. The latest is Mike Pitts' Island…