The author shares his experience during a year learning to unicycle and becoming more proficient, to the point that unicycling becomes his main mode of transportation and exercise.
The book is made of short chapters. About a page or two. The author relates in the first person what he is doing and what he is thinking while doing it. Some chapters are funny. I found most of them entertaining. Nothing really happens in this book, but I couldn’t let it down.
I thought about another book I read: Å sykle. En bessetelse (Cycling. An obsession) by Håvard Syvertsen. I also liked that book, but Syvertsen’s book has more of a sad tone. About that race that he could have won, but he didn’t. The memories of his father. Things gone by. About the past. Loe’s book is just joy. It is about the moment. The joy of learning something new by the age of fifty. The joy of sharing it with others.
I have never read a book that communicated the joy of learning so well. He is focused on unicycling, but the book reminded me the joy of learning something that requires effort, the feeling of seeing how the pieces fit together and finally of mastering it. I had a smile on my face while reading the book. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
I was already aware that learning new things is a good way to be engaged and happy. After reading this book I will remember, if I run out of things to learn, that I can learn to unicycle.
Last updated: 2021-07-19