Reading Foucault's Pendulum

During January I will be reading Foucault's Pendulum (not to be confused with a Foucault pendulum) by philosopher Umberto Eco.

Skimming the Wikipedia pages, I expect the book to be philosophically cryptic. Which is good, as I enjoy picking apart deeply layered and convoluted ideas, both in fiction and philosophy. Each week I'll report my philosophical progress here on my blog.

My main objective in this reading is to extract the significance of measuring the Earth's rotation in a story about exploring conspiracy theories and the occult. I usually don't start reading a book with any set intention other than to let the characters lead me where they will, but the title of this book so directly compels me that I must start with a steadfast pre-loaded agenda.