Hey Mere Mortalites! Juan here. I've just journeyed through 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,' where road trips meet deep philosophical dives. Let's unravel the adventure, the metaphysics of Quality, and see why this classic might just redefine your understanding of life. Join me as we ride through Pirsig's masterpiece!

Mark Twain is a superb author, who else do you really enjoy?

In August 2023 I reviewed 4 books on this channel. Although it wasn't the best of the month I did really enjoy 'Roughing It'. I really just do think Mark Twain knocks it out of the park with his books.

Big thanks to Cole McCormick (from the America+ podcast) and Petar for supporting the show. Very much appreciated!

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:35) - Fantastic authors are rare
(2:05) - Amusing Ourselves To Death: Neil Postman
(4:43) - Roughing It: Mark Twain
(6:19) - The Long Tail: Chris Anderson
(8:42) - Island Of The Blue Dolphins: Scott O'Dell
(9:29) - Boostagram Lounge
(11:43) - Coming up in Sep 2023
(13:25) - V4V: 1 more month until changes


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Let's pack it up and go strike it rich!

'Roughing It' by Mark Twain is a collection of rambling anecdotes from his travels as a younger man. It details his travels to the Wild West during the California gold rush, working as a journalist in San Francisco and crossing the Pacific Ocean to reach the Kingdom of Hawaii. There are many funny stories within and is semi-autobiographical but with plenty of fictional inventions as well.

I summarised the book as follows. "I'm a huge fan of Mark Twain in general and this book didn't let me down. It really has everything: entertaining, informational, a unique perspective, historical, funny, etc,. My favourite part was the middle section and the only way to make it better would have been if it was slightly shorter."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:27) - Synopsis
(3:19) - America: Capturing it's spirit
(12:30) - Nature: Seeing is believing
(18:13) - Observations/Takeaways
(22:49) - Summary


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Would you read this to your child?

'Island Of The Blue Dolphins' by Scott O'Dell is a fictional children's novel (loosely based on a real story) of a lone girl living on an island. Karana (12) has to fend for herself after being left behind by her tribe. She must use survival skills to weather through storms, feed herself and stay safe from wild dogs and other animals.

I summarised the book as follows. "It's a nice and sad story at the same time. Ultimately it's made for kids so personally it didn't do that much for me. But there are lots of nice themes for kids to dig into and I could see this being a great launching point for fun topics of discussion."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:28) - Synopsis
(2:19) - Animals: The band-aid for loneliness
(6:56) - Survival: Little room for pity or nicety
(12:44) - Observations/Takeaways
(17:30) - Summary


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If you had all the choice in the world, what would you do?

'The Long Tail' by Chris Anderson is an exposition of how greater access to choices of products has altered business practices. Greater value can be unlocked from producers selling to consumers via better aggregation methods such as digitisation and rating systems. This has had huge impacts on music/market places/culture and given rise to massive companies like Amazon, Netflix and Google.

I summarised the book as follows. "It's a great explanation of a phenomena and trend. Generates a compelling argument of why all these companies arose with links to the deeper principles behind them. I think there are some limitations of how the long tail will apply to future trends (AI/social media/3D printing) but did a great job of explaining at the time. It could have been slightly shorter and it is a little bit dated but it gave me a lot of insights into economic and market dynamics."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:34) - Synopsis
(2:52) - The Market: How supply & demand interact
(14:45) - Economics: Clearing up misconceptions
(30:21) - Observations/Takeaways
(34:43) - Summary


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Will TV be the death of us?

'Amusing Ourselves To Death' by Neil Postman is an argument of why television as a medium lessens rational discourse and ultimately is a bad trade-off for society. The first part focuses on the past, in particular how typography is serious and encourages critical thinking. The second part demonstrates how TV is predominantly about entertainment and is negatively effecting politics, education, religion and advertising.

I summarised the book as follows. "I loved this, but it's only for certain types of people. If you are fascinated by communication & languages, marketing & media or how society is impacted by change then you will like this. You'll also need a broad base to begin with as he covers many historical topics and references a lot of things."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:31) - Synopsis
(3:14) - The Medium: The way information is conveyed
(10:14) - Amusements: The seriousness of Huxleyan mindlessness
(22:03) - Observations/Takeaways
(28:12) - Summary


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15 years late but I'm starting to develop some taste!

In July 2023 we reviewed 5 books on this channel. My two favourites of this month both have what I would call 'style'. The content within them was interesting but what made them stand out was the way they were written. I used to really suck at understanding this as artsy type things were never intuitive for me. But I think reading a lot of fiction over the last couple of years has made me understand why these unquantifiable factors can make a big difference.

Big thanks to Cole McCormick (from the America+ podcast), Petar & The Wild Hustle for supporting the show. Very much appreciated!

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(2:36) - No Longer Human: Osamu Dazai
(6:31) - Fiesta/The Sun Also Rises: Ernest Hemingway
(8:43) - Energy/A Human History: Richard Rhodes
(14:02) - The Double: Fyodor Dostoyevsky
(14:54) - Discipline Is Destiny: Ryan Holiday
(17:01) - Boostagram Lounge
(21:47) - Housekeeping
(27:14) - Coming up in August 2023
(29:35) - V4V: Give me a recommendation


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Technology is going so fast I can't see .... ahhhhhh .....

'Energy: A Human History' by Richard Rhodes is a brief flash through 400 years of human technology and history. It begins in the 1600's and shows the transition from wood to coal/steam to oil/gas and to nuclear (and beyond). It is comprised of stories and told via the numerous inventions of innovators across the centries.

I summarised the book as follows. "It's thick & lengthy but it doesn't feel like a tome. The overall theme felt relatively unbiased but I'm sure many of the stories were spruced up a bit. Unless you haven't read much history there's nothing astoundingly new, however there's nuggets of great info that can be useful to know later."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:31) - Synopsis
(3:37) - Technology: The art/craft of unlocking energy
(11:04) - Transitions: Why do they take so long?
(25:55) - Observations/Takeaways
(33:50) - Summary


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Partying hard and losing friends!

'Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises' by Ernest Hemingway is a roman-à-clef depicting 1920's life in Europe after WW1. It is told from the point of view of Jake Barnes an American expat living in France. He joins his friends for a week long party in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls but it all turns into a drunken fiasco.

I summarised the book as follows. "Hemingway's style is as unique as he was. It can kind of seem unrealistic due to the amount of partying, alcohol and lack of sleep, but there are some pretty wild people in this world. I enjoyed it for the prose but am not a fan of non-consensual violence, even if it was intriguing to learn about the atmosphere of the fiesta and bullfighting."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:39) - Synopsis
(3:06) - Friendship: Sometimes you need to cut the edge
(8:53) - Passion: Not a free ride
(15:52) - Observations/Takeaways
(22:01) - Summary


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Appreciate what you have, we're not all born the same.

'No Longer Human' by Osamu Dazai is a series of notebooks depicting the short life of a troubled Japanese boy, set in Tokyo after WW1. Ōba Yōzō is born different to everyone else and has a feeling of alienation and estrangement from society. He tries to mask this via acting, expression through art and ultimately self destruction. It is strongly autobiographical and follows many of the events that occurred in Dazai's life.

I summarised the book as follows. "Wow! This hits hard and yet doesn't have the emotional burden of a Russian/German equivalent novel. I think this is because the Japanese style is elegant & whilst depressing still shows moments of gaiety and everyday life. It's a beautiful book with an amazing title written by an unfortunate but very talented man."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:30) - Synopsis
(3:01) - Alienation: Estrangement from a social group
(7:43) - Liberation: Release from imprisonment & oppression
(14:20) - Observations/Takeaways
(20:50) - Summary


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