Ted Bishop

I really enjoyed this one. The author is a college professor of English, specializing in modern literature. He's also a motorcycle enthusiast. The story is the memoir of his ride from Calgary to Austin for a sabbatical research project, and takes on library archives, James Joyce, TS Lawrence, Virginia Wolfe, motorcycle touring, the Ducati brand, and other topics.

It's far deeper on the literature side than the motorcycle side, but it did a good job of describing the love many of us have for show more motorcycle travel. It introduced me to modernism, and even his descriptions of typefaces and bookbinding - which sounds totally boring - was pretty interesting.

The book is fairly philosophical. Somewhere in the rough genre of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, though I enjoyed this one more (although I last read ZAMM when I was a 20-year-old, so perhaps I should revisit it).

Oh, and the Rilke part of the title was a bit misleading. Rilke's work only shows up late, and in a small snippet. I was disappointed in that, but it didn't ruin the book by any means. show less

Part social history and part travel memoir, this book explores the history of ink. Tracing everything from the development of the ballpoint pen to Chinese ink sticks to the growing modern community obsessed with fountain pens and inks, the book is full of interesting history as well as anecdotes from Bishop's travels while researching the book. With a writing style that is smooth and easy to follow, the book is an excellent read as it explores a topic with surprising depth. Recommended for show more those who enjoy popular history, travel memoirs, and books about books. show less

A decent read, overall. I gave it 3 stars, although my wife would probably say 4.
The topic is rather more extensive than I would have guessed. The historical and reenactment stuff I found quite interesting, but the detailed travelogues I could have done without. I mean, who cares what food or drugs the author ingested along the way? A bit too meandering into the inconsequential for my taste.
I liked the story arc ... it begins with a way to replace the fountain pens with ballpoints, and ends show more with the revival of fountain pens and ink as a medium of expression. show less

I read this book to find a point of connection with my husband: he loves motorcycles and I love books. Bishop's journey does connect those two fascinations--in both cases he appreciates an object's material presence, as much, if not more than its function. He is a good writer and it is an enjoyable read but I still don't get the pleasure of riding motorcycles. I'd rather be reading!