What does your significant other think of your cycling hobby?

[Reynard]

Entire wall of 'study', probably 30-40 linear metres of books.
Pile in bathroom for immediate perusal.
Pile on table outside bathroom, either on way back to shelves or 'prospects' for later.
Pile next to bed, probably 5-6 that I am in the middle of.
Kindle next to bed, containing 2-300 books, just in case I need to revisit the Sherlock Holmes stories in the correct order again.
Shed/workshop full of boxes of Mum's books, to be sorted out and kept/disposed of, 18 years after her demise.
Also Dad's books, ditto, 32 years on.

I have a complicated relationship with books.

Bearing in mind I live in a teeny, tiny little cottage... There are books in most rooms. I'm probably at least double your "shelfage", adding to the fact that many of the shelves in the hall are actually double-stacked. Then there's pushing three decades' worth of Autosport back issues, an almost entire print run of Prix Editions (I'm only missing like 5 copies), not to mention all the stuff in the garage and on the loft (house and garage).

The only thing I don't have is a kindle.

 

[Reynard]

I think you can tell a lot about a person on examining the books they have in the toilet.
Currently mine are "Invasion" - the various invasions of (and counter measures to) Britain. An encyclopedia of knots. Two maps of North Wales and Western Scotland (you can but dream huh?)

Hmm, I have an eclectic selection of sci-fi novels, cat magazines, numerous cookery books, a volume on political insults and a rather battered copy of James Clavell's "Shogun".

 

[Oldhippy]

I always view a kindle as cheating and somehow contributing to the demise of books.

 

[Reynard]

I'm going to put my 'academic' hat on for a moment having given this advice to many of my university students: get yourself back into the study routine now before it's too late. 2nd year neurosciences? It's going to get tough otherwise. This year counts for 25%/33% of your degree (if Nott'm Uni / Trent).

Concentrate on your studies young lady. The rest will sort itself out. Honestly.

Very wise advice.

What I can add, is use the cycling as the reward for doing a chunk of stuff, whether it's an assignment or writing up notes or whatever. If you use the cycling to procrastinate, then things will slide to the point where it's damn bloody hard hard to dig yourself out of the hole you've made for yourself.

Fortunately I caught my personal slide just in time. In my second year, I had lectures 9 till 6 every day except Wednesdays, plus a three and a half hour round trip commute every single day. When you're tired and you don't like the modules you're taking but that you have to (in my case dynamics and fluid mechanics), it's hard to motivate yourself, but you have to do it.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Hmm, I have an eclectic selection of sci-fi novels, cat magazines, numerous cookery books, a volume on political insults and a rather battered copy of James Clavell's "Shogun".

I'll get back to you with what I think that lot means about your character.

On second thoughts perhaps you need to see your GP! You're spending too much time in there.

 

[mudsticks]

Many fields are. It never ceases to amaze me how little we humans really know about ourselves and the world(s) around us.


Science is a global community in a way that other things I've done in my life are not. I'm sure that the OP will have many opportunities to meet interesting people. A bit like cycling!

Let's hope so.. Last year whilst touring I cycled for a while with a Spanish woman who was hoping to come to the UK to study astro biology, who even knew that was a thing!!

Sadly it was starting to look sketchy as to that possibility with the whole brexitty uncertainty of the erasmus scheme - very annoying

It is never too late to learn either. I learn new stuff every day! Even reading dusty old theories and applying a different view or idea can completely change the way we view the past and how we got to where we are now. Sadly academia still sticks rigidly to to its own disciplines and if they crossed referenced findings with each other we would learn more faster.

Oh I don't know if that's altogether true regarding academic compartmentalisation.

I've been involved in a few interdisciplinery research projects..

Mostly funded by the EU
Food policy, ecology, economics, and agroecology and water resiliance resource sustainability.

My ol pa who was a bit of a leading Prof in his field, was combining geology with archeology back in the early nineties, sadly he popped his clogs too soon to finish it all.

It's very short sighted and limiting if competition for funding leads to silo thinking
You'd think we could by now see the benefit of interdisciplinary collaboration.

I like to combine yoga with agricultural practice.

I call it my farmer dharma

 

[Reynard]

I'll get back to you with what I think that lot means about your character.

On second thoughts perhaps you need to see your GP! You're spending too much time in there.

Hmmm, well a girl needs suitable reading material for when she's having a nice soak in a hot bath with lots of scented bubbles.

One of life's little pleasures IMHO, and how I like to unwind in the evening before heading off to bed.

 

[RichardB]

I always view a kindle as cheating and somehow contributing to the demise of books.

I thought that until some kind person bought me one. Now I rejoice in the fact that I can go on holiday with enough reading matter for ten years in a package the size of a small paperback. And I can browse Amazon and buy a book on my way to bed, and it is delivered to my Kindle before I reach the bedroom.

I buy my books roughly half in physical form and half on the Kindle, so no danger of books dying out as far as I am concerned. I wonder if there was a similar reaction to the advent of the paperback? "It will mean the demise of the proper book", etc.

 

[Reynard]

I've no kindle, because I've no immediate need. On the other hand, if one does a lot of travelling / commuting then it makes perfect sense.

 

[mudsticks]

Hmmm, well a girl needs suitable reading material for when she's having a nice soak in a hot bath with lots of scented bubbles.

One of life's little pleasures IMHO, and how I like to unwind in the evening before heading off to bed.

Another separated at birth moment, love me a hot bath.


I seem to have lots of mates into this cold water swimming malarkey atm.
But you'll not often find me in the sea after September..

I've no kindle, because I've no immediate need. On the other hand, if one does a lot of travelling / commuting then it makes perfect sense.

I've got one, but refuse to give Ama3on any of my hard earned.

So I'll only download the free, out of copyright books onto it.

Feels like some kind of a win, anyway

 

[Reynard]

Another separated at birth moment, love me a hot bath.

I seem to have lots of mates into this cold water swimming malarkey atm.
But you'll not often find me in the sea after September..

Swimming... In cold water. Nope. Just nope...

I took up fencing at school to get out of swimming lessons. Much prefer sticking swords into people. Entirely legally, of course.

Hot baths, on the other hand... Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

 

[DCBassman]

Just to divert this thread even further, there's a site called bookbub.com that will email you a list of cheap or free e-books once a week.

 

[screenman]

I always view a kindle as cheating and somehow contributing to the demise of books.

Having poor eyesight I consider a Kindle a huge bonus.

 

[tyred]

I live alone but my cactus doesn't seem to mind when I go out cycling.

 

[vickster]

I live alone but my cactus doesn't seem to mind when I go out cycling.

Maybe she’s just very good at hiding her spikyness about it