This week on Shelf Lives, we meet Tim—a 45-year-old veteran, psychology grad student, medieval reenactor, and unintentional philosopher—who once read He Died with a Falafel in His Hand because the font was Comic Sans and stayed for the truth.
In an hour that spans stroke survival, speculative fiction, and parenting rituals involving 2001: A Space Odyssey, Tim opens up about the books that shaped his life—from Starship Troopers to Stranger in a Strange Land, and the one quote that keeps him moving even when his legs want to quit:
"I seem to recall something about never letting go."
This episode is for anyone who's ever loved a book their daughter didn't get, ever felt like they owed a teddy bear a future, or ever stared down a rationalist identity forged in the pages of Heinlein and Sagan. It's about the books we reread, the dragons in our garages, and what it means to become the kind of man who walks into a bookstore and lets the universe decide.
And yes, there's a cat. And yes, you might cry. And no, The Silmarillion still isn't finished.
Books Mentioned:
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
Starship Troopers (1997 film)
1984 by George Orwell
You Will Go to the Moon by Mae & Ira Freeman
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968 film)
After America by John Birmingham
Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
The Works of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
The Hawking Index (HI)
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis
He Died With a Falafel in His Hand by John Birmingham
Neon Leviathan by T. R. Napper
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Once and Future King by T. H. White
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Mages by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
Glory Road by Robert Heinlein