James

Something about motorcycling is deeply meditative and often results in writers philosophising about life. That is the case here, although not so deep as some, it is more focused on the state of mind than the meaning of life, the universe and everything. It is also perhaps more memoir than biography. An enjoyable and quick read, at least for those of us who are into motorcycles!

I came across an interview with Harold Bloom, made at the time he published "How to Read and Why" - I liked what he had to say and thought his book might prove to be the catalyst I needed to make a more serious study of literature. The book promises to help the student commence this journey. I half expected to abandon it as I'm won't to do with 'serious books' especially when on 'dry subjects' - however, this proved to be false on both counts. I think the greatest lesson is that good literature teaches you how to read good literature and the why is to gain a better understanding of ourselves. It gives us an opportunity to view life through a different lens and just maybe pop some world view bubbles. Hopefully, this does prove to be as helpful as it seems.

While very short at 69 pages. I found Audre Lorde's Cancer Journals provided a deep and insightful look at what it means to battle and overcome (at least for a while) cancer. Written through the lens of a Black Lesbian mother in the late 1970s. Lorde shares her thoughts, in part via her journal entries and in part via essay.

It's curious. I first read this story as a teenager. Upon re-reading it, I realized that I'd forgotten much of the story, but the political ideas he explores had made a huge impression.

Heinlein gets a bad wrap for exploring socio-political ideas in his stories. (cough-cough 'Starship Troopers') . Personally, as long as it isn't actual propaganda, I think sci-fi is a fantastic medium to explore such ideas. Look at how many amazing and important sci-fi stories do this. Think 1984, Fahrenheit 451 or Brave New World. In some ways, this is what sci-fi is about.

In this story, Heinlein explores another type of political ideal. Another one that today. as a mature liberal minded adult, I find impractical and unrealistic; because humans are so very human. But I did get a sense of coming full circle, which was very interesting.

Apparently, he wrote this story either during or shortly after visiting Australia. The influence on the story is noticeable with his take on some Aussie lingo and post-colonial/post-convict attitudes shining through.

I was also blown away by his depiction of AI. While some of the technological ideas of the 1960's have been and gone - his AI character is still very relevant and spot on in terms of being a bit of a "black box" and similar to a modern "LLM".

Heinlein's depiction of life on the moon also aged well (not the cultural bits) - It turns out, the moon is an even harder mistress than he envisioned, as evidenced by the current challenges just getting remote drones to land safely and operate in its harsh conditions. Any attempt to establish a permanent base or colony will still have to overcome these same challenges - and he thought of all this before humans even got there!

I say, this novella is well worth the read, despite the very dated 1960's attitudes and cultural extrapolations.

Noraly’s YouTube adventures have been an inspiration for years. To finally read the behind the scenes’ version is a dream. Noraly is a great story teller and made me wish I was brave enough to undertake an epic adventure of my own.