Name: Around the world on a bicycle ..
ISBN: 9780912593036

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themodelplumberMay 2023

I have to say that training & certification were far more helpful than books for me, especially regarding the dynamics of being in the company of others, relating, and so on.

My professional mentors helped me learn really useful things that aren't found in books at all, and I can't even recommend any good books on those topics, because they haven't been written.

As a general example, a huge component of "being enjoyed in company" comes down to the specific relationship dynamic in each situation. So it's a very common mistake to make it personal / about you and how enjoyable your company is. This can then cause the unwanted outcome where you end up inadvertently making the whole situation about yourself.

As long as you have the basics of relating covered, it's typically much more about the mix of people in the situation, one of whom is you. And in many cases it's better to treat a "how's my company, good/bad" situation as a roll of the dice, and simply move on to another set of people if your company isn't enjoyed to your satisfaction. (It's typically weird to read this and still kinda weird to write it, but it's really a thing)

There are literally relationship combinations out there that are associated with near-instant laughter and enjoyment among those involved, even among people who others think are the most dead-boring people on earth. These combinations and their dynamics have been mapped out in various ways by various groups (and this is right about where people usually ask me for books, and sorry).

Also, people of different personality dynamics tend to experience different categories of things that they _can_ consciously realize they were lacking, and then _can_ consciously change. So this leaves open the possibility that you can read very helpful books and never connect their advice with the most obviously-needed changes in your life, because you can't consciously admit that you need those changes, until & unless you discover the nature of this blind-spot dynamic within yourself.

I found that there were a lot of classic works or other public domain works which turned out to cover both the conscious / unconcious-stuff-I'll-appreciate-later aspects. One of these was _The Count of Monte Cristo_. Others include _Scaramouche_ and _Tom Sawyer._ In non-fiction, _Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin_, _James Nasmyth, Engineer, an Autobiography_, and _Around the World on a Bicycle_ were of immediate interest and later I was also able to see a different, more helpful side to them.

Batchelor's _Buddhism Without Beliefs_ and some fairly existential stories by authors like Osamu Dazai really helped me explore the conscious-existential side of life without so much of a self-help / philosophical-didactic conversion aspect. They effectively enabled some immediate and really huge relationship benefits, with regard to relating to others, that I didn't understand until later. (I translated some Dazai, and IMO if you can talk or write like Osamu Dazai, most of your up-front relating work is already taken care of, maybe)

I really appreciate this kind of non-didactic stuff that has such a simultaneously tangible effect, but sometimes it's also kind of one-trick-pony content, in that way. So later I return to enjoy it for nostalgia, a different type of self-support.

There are some way-more-didactic self-help titles that I found helpful early on, but I find them kind of embarrassing to talk about these days at the same time. For example Dale Carnagey / Carnegie's _How to Win Friends and Influence People_, L'Amour's _Education of a Wandering Man_ and _Life's Little Instruction Book_, but those books may be helpful to just about anyone at a basic level.

Just some ideas / thoughts, good luck to you in your search.

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themodelplumberFeb 2022

Here are some of mine...

Non-fic

- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman

I used to be a member of a cult, and toward the end of that experience, I laughed when I realized I had read this book more than my cult's holy texts. We used to ask each other how many times we'd read those books, and I'd always think, "don't ask me about Feynman," as his experiences really get at the analytical-intuitive mind and takes it to a spiritual level that's not really allowable or approachable from within a typical spiritual text. I still think this is a pretty remarkable feat.

- Alone in the Ocean by Slava Kurilov

Something of the opposite of Feynman's book above, this is a very spiritual feelings-oriented book but it's grounded in a very real experience--the author defected from the USSR by jumping off an official "cruise to nowhere" ship and swimming to the Philippines. It helped me consider the concept of personal freedom and how much it overlaps with feelings for some people, long before it overlaps with objective logic. I learned that my feelings can be an important early-alert system, far from an unintelligible mush.

- Around the World on a Bicycle by Thomas Stevens

This book got me back into cycling exploration after a long hiatus.

- The Mind Map Book by Tony Buzan

I can't put a number on how many helpful and even liberating mind maps I created since buying this book in 1996 or so. I eventually spun off my own system that's similar but with various extensions.

Fiction

- The Aubrey-Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian

Reading this series I realized how much depth, detail, and subtlety can really do for a work. It blew me away. Previously I had been of the mind that it was best for an author to act something like a professional communication robot, serving the reader and relentlessly cutting away any fat. But I think that kind of reverses itself if you are able to get at the human aspect, the us-fascination of your work--once it's there, it's probably more fun for both writer and reader to celebrate it.

- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

While reading, I was excited and horrified to learn that my psychology overlaps with this fictional kid's psychology in more ways than it was comfortable to admit. I decided to hold onto that, and explore it. It helped me open up a world of functionality I now use over and over in journaling and problem-solving.

- Watchmen, writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins

Wow--what _do_ you do, how do you act, what is your response in this general kind of a situation? It's an incredible setup for such a question, one in which the ideal situation has ended up on its head, completely upside down with the good looking totally bad, and the totally bad coming out even worse than before.

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mc3301Apr 2025

Is it "Around the world on a bicycle"? I, too, would like to know the name of this book. Sounds interesting!

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WillAdamsJul 2023

I've been listening to audiobooks from Librivox and stories of the circumnavigation of the globe have been interesting:

- _Sailing Alone Around The World_ Joshua Slocum

- _Around the World on a Bicycle_ Thomas Stevens

Apparently the first person do circumnavigate the globe using commercial transport was an Englishman (anyone know the name?) who did it with just a letter of credit from his bank and his visiting cards --- I believe during or just before the time of Queen Victoria. I'd be glad to know the further specifics if anyone knows them.

Another book on circumnavigation, more recent, which I've been wanting to read is _Half-Safe_ by Ben Carlin (he took a GPA around the world).

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